Volunteers in commercial archaeology

[sarahlouise]

Should amateurs be allowed to get involved in commercial archaeology excavations?

[Gog]

Do you mean as unpaid labour?

If an amateur is paid for the duration of the work, are they not technically professional?

Me, pedantic? Surely not

[Els]

I would say it depended on the project (sensitivity, time pressures, etc.), but they shouldn't be barred as a matter of principle. Many times it's the only way to get commercial experience as a newbie.

[the invisible man]

No-one should work for nothing on a commercial contract.

We owe the dead nothing but the truth.

[destroyer]

If, by letting amateurs on a commercial site, you mean having a half dozen members of the local archaeological/historical society tramping around then I'd say no. The contracting unit has a paid job to do, probably won via competitive tender, and using amateurs en masse to cut costs isnt ethical.

However I'm happy to take on occasional volunteers, on a case by case basis, whilst working on commercial sites. After all that's how I got started.

However this tends to be limited to only one at a time and is often a local person or who's gone out of their way to contact us, book a weeks leave from their own job, just to have a go. Yes, they're working for nothing on a commercial contract but it doesnt provide us with any benefit as they'll need/expect someone to take time out to explain everything and supervise them.

If they had any experience and could be left alone we'd be hiring them from the start.

[BAJR Host]

It is (imho) best practice to have a fully staffed and resourced team on the site... and OVER and ABOVE that... local volunteers and others should have a chance to be involved (when included in a Project Brief) So that the "job" is carried out by professionals, but there is extra allowed for local involvement... after all... who are we doing this for??

NEVER replace staff with vollys... but remember that they have skills that can be useful... a geologist? a house surveyor? etc etc....

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[sarahlouise]

Great comments - the whole paid/unpaid comments seems to be based on the fact that volunteers would be people who eventually wanted to get paid (e.g students). But there are people who just want to do it for fun (mad that they are) and may built up alot of experience but are not interested in it as a job. I think that sometimes it can be all too easy to see these people as an alternatives to staff which I agree with all is highly unethical.

[Beardstroker]

quote:Originally posted by sarahlouise

Great comments - the whole paid/unpaid comments seems to be based on the fact that volunteers would be people who eventually wanted to get paid (e.g students). But there are people who just want to do it for fun (mad that they are) and may built up alot of experience but are not interested in it as a job. I think that sometimes it can be all too easy to see these people as an alternatives to staff which I agree with all is highly unethical.

I think it's that split between those who want to acrue valuable excavation experience and those who just want to do it for enjoyment is often where it can get a little acrimonious at times.Probably not helped by the rather misleading views perpetrated by certain popular archaeological publications..*ahem*

I have absolutely no objection to people doing archaeology purely for enjoyment (I think I did it once!) but I get slightly irritated by the toys-being-thrown-out-of-pram kind of reaction that comes from some volunteers,implying that we're all rather relieved that they aren't on site, getting in our way.

Ideal situation is very probably that of Mr Hosty's, vollies acting as a suppliment to, rather then a replacement for professional staff.

[the invisible man]

There's a lot depending on definitions. If the individual is contributing to the work, and thus the profit, of a commercial organization on a for-profit contract, in my view they should be paid. Otherwise there is a clear and direct flouting of the BAJR/IFA pay scales. If unpaid, another word amateur would be unpaid professional! This would apply to an "experienced amateur".

If however we are talking about an interested "member of the public" then the kind of scenario outlined by Hosty comes into play, an outreach or public particpation programme. I see this as a totally different kettle of fish and not what I would call commercial archaeology, even if run by a commercial/professional unit and maybe even in advance of development (in which case an enlightened client will be required).

We owe the dead nothing but the truth.

[sarahlouise]

Yes that sound like the way to go - clear dilineation between the two.