Yeah, I have noticed the same thing. I have been talking a lot to some of my mates who are in archaeology also, and we all agree that people are being put off by the pay and tempory contracts. It is annoying to have gone throuh univeristy, got a degree, got into debt and then spend the rest of your life on barely the minimum wage with sometimes, no possibility of moving up in your career.

I'm not put off by this, archaeoloogy is what I've always wanted to do and getting payed to do something I love is good. And again, the jobs ARE there..you ust have to look for them. You have to show people that you are capable of doing the higher payed jobs..otherwise you'll get no where.

Is it just me or does there appear to be more archaeological jobs about at the moment. I know we are heading for summer and most units are looking for the usual summertime canon fodder yet the jobs that are increasingly advertised at the moment, not just on BAJR but on other sites as well, increasingly show a growth in higher positions such as Project Officer, consultant and increasing specialist roles.

Does this highlight a shortage in the profession as more and more graduates realise the numbing inevertability of poor career prospects within the profession and coupled with higher debts to pay off are seeking employment elsewhere.

My firm is finding it increasingly hard to find archaeologists of all types as many have fallen foul of increased house prices and council tax`s and forced to find employment elsewhere.

Although I feel a glib smug satisfaction about this and an air "We told you so" I do worry who is now getting these jobs and will incompetance abound within archaeology in the near future.

Our history is relient on those that can interpret the evidence archaeology provides, if this evidence is portrayed poorly then its not just the profession that suffers it is the very fabric of history itself.

So to all you Units out there that have underpayed and taken advantage of all of our collective enthusiasim`s and treated us so poorly over the years it is not just the employee you harm its the very thing your dirty, tired, underpayed dissolusioned archaeologist set out to do in the first place. And as a reminder does anyone remember this:

"We Owe History Nothing But the Truth".

I am helping a local museum (North East Military Museum, Exhibition Park, Newcastle) with the research, design and creation of an exhibition. Unfortunately some of the dummies for the display are shop window mannequins and not very life-like. Many are female and need to be male, and many of the female dummies look a bit feminine. I am trying to alter their appearance by painting them using my limited knowledge of war-game figure painting and theatrical make-up. If anyone has any tips I would like to hear them.

I am a archaeology graducate currently writing a planning thesis. I am looking for a best practice example of archaeology discovered during construction that was well protected, whether this means well excavated or left in situe. If you don't know of any examles offhand maybe you could point out a source where I could come accross one myself.
Thank you.
Martina

The recent statement from Tarmac should in no way be seen as "reassuring". They have simply said that they will not touch the henges as they are protected. They will however, no doubt excavate everything else around them leaving them as islands. This is a perfect illustration of how pathetic our current "laws" are. Their move to leave a ten year gap between now and when they start eating up to the very limits of the henges is designed to help us all to forget, calm down and leave them alone to secure their profit margins un-molested. A similar "ten-year" strategy is regularly employed by the good old IFA in order to avoid reality and take responsibility.Don`t let Tarmac treat you like muppets-propaganda and carefully penned words hide many a monster.......

Recent workin jolly to the near east revealed a bit of a nightmare thought you might like to hear about...turns out that a national museum allows foreign excavations to deposit their goodies in the museum in the foreigners own systematic ways. No standard policy issued by the museum means that finds are stored in some of the most ridiculous ways and the associated paperwork is either non-existant or totally irrelevent! Get the idea that professor-types take students as labour, trash complex archaeology in the sun, wrap em` up in clingfilm, make no notes, go home and create all sorts of fabulous publications resulting in endless lecture invites. Hmmmmmmm. How do I approach such a museum without sounding patronising or arrogant? Any conservators out there like to help me out here?[?]

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hi

BAJR is at it again...

there are now 9 online books (8 from the British Museum and one from BAJR)

This is a big test - I really would love feedback... suggested enhancments
(like the ability to print pages - that one I have had already!)
I should remind people that this is still prototype... and to save download
speeds I ahve put up a low res version - I need to know how it works on
different machines, browser, operating systems etc....

I see this as an amazing way to display information in museums or the
like... especially on touch sensitive screens.
This 30 page example allows you to navigate by the contents page or by
dragging the corners of pages back and forwards....

enjoy (though you need Flash 6!)

http://www.bajr.org/pageflip/TestBook/am...dBook.html
David

I am working on a project aiming to review and integrate the historical and archaeological evidence for naval health and medicine in the period around 1475-1700. I would grateful if you could contribute any suggestions, references, contacts, information sources, pers comms, research questions or ideas.
Here is a list of key topics- naval/military surgeons and surgery, barber surgeons, medical history/theory of the period, written and artistic sources, military history (battles, weapons), medical antiques and artefacts, diet and disease at sea, ship layout, underwater archaeology, wreck sites and finds, skeletal remains.
In short I would like to know about anything that relates or links to medicine at sea 1475-1700.