The School of Jack Yr2

[barkingdigger]

Fore warned is fore armed

...and four-armed makes it hard to buy a coat! (Apologies to Groucho.)

As for whether a dropped context record in a forest makes any noise...

[RedEarth]

Nail on the head. Fore warned is fore armed

The School of Jack takes no responsibilities for injuries incurred through following its teachings, especially those involving nails.



The School of Jack does not recognise 'fun' or 'enjoyment' in any of its forms. There is, however, a 'Field Trip' forthcoming. It will not be fun.

Attendance on the 'Field trip' is mandatory.

The lessons taught are learned from the cold hard real world so no reading list is applicable.

I refer your last comment to a previous comment by The School of Jack.........

The School of Jack does not recognise kindness, nor does it enter into the philosophies of the bleeding hearts.

To The School of Jack something is, or it isn't.
There is no grey, no mitigating factors, no excuses. If you filled the site bus with the wrong fuel, you filled the it with the wrong fuel. Stand up to your responsibilities and make it right. Learn from the mistake and don't repeat it.

The School of Jack is not responsible for the rantings of its members

As site supervisor (PO etc), if some important archaeology is destroyed without recording, or an important relationship is mangled beyond understanding it is your fault!

The School of Jack does not apportion blame. It only speaks truth

I think if I went to your school I would be asking for my fees back and leaving pretty quickly before the mental torture made me want to kill someone.


Not on topic, but I can I (hopefully) be the first to ask: 'What does the BAJR say?'

[Tool]

I think if I went to your school I would be asking for my fees back and leaving pretty quickly before the mental torture made me want to kill someone.

Why? What is wrong with the concept that commercial archaeology is just that - commercial. Someone is paying money (that they don't want to spend) on us doing a job. So, do it right, do it quickly, do it well, and if something goes wrong put it right. And if you can't put it right, have the gonads to say so. Just like any other business. If you think Jack's view of commercial archaeology is harsh, try, well, virtually any other industry.

[P Prentice]

how do you prove that an important relationship ever existed. surely a fundamental is that important archaeology only exits after its been copyrighted. Perhaps this course needs some lessons on shrodiggers cat

surely archaeology is in the doing of, whether it be digging, explaining, writing or thinking but i agree that you can not prove that an important relationship ever existed you can only provide a reasoned explanation of what might have been

[P Prentice]

Why? What is wrong with the concept that commercial archaeology is just that - commercial. Someone is paying money (that they don't want to spend) on us doing a job. So, do it right, do it quickly, do it well, and if something goes wrong put it right. And if you can't put it right, have the gonads to say so. Just like any other business. If you think Jack's view of commercial archaeology is harsh, try, well, virtually any other industry.

right and wrong have no place in commercial archaeology any more than in academic archaeology. it is a conceit of capitalist propaganda and should be rejected by all students of archaeology. i think what you are referring to is an accepted orthodoxy that has very little to do with study and everything to do with expediency

[Wax]

So what does the School of Jack see as the main skills needed as a supervisor in:

Commercial Archaeology
Academic ( research) Archaeology
Community Archaeology

Or are the skills the same? personally I think you need a thick skin and the ability to cut though the c... when dealing with staff, clients, academics, and the public.

[Dinosaur]

...whether a dropped context record in a forest makes any noise...

Ah! That's what they've been doing with them - have been having trouble identifying some of the stranger stains and accretions... :0

[RedEarth]

Why? What is wrong with the concept that commercial archaeology is just that - commercial. Someone is paying money (that they don't want to spend) on us doing a job. So, do it right, do it quickly, do it well, and if something goes wrong put it right. And if you can't put it right, have the gonads to say so. Just like any other business. If you think Jack's view of commercial archaeology is harsh, try, well, virtually any other industry.

I agree, but it was the general tone of negativity in Jack's previous post that got to me. How many times are the words 'mistake', 'fault' etc used in it? Where's the positivity, the encouragement, the sense of worth rather than the sense of blame? If we can't instil this in each other then why should anyone else take us seriously (and pay accordingly)? It's very depressing to see it trotted out as normal. Are all other industries/work places really like this?

It struck me as being a little like this (and apologies to Irvine Welsh): 'Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose training. Choose progression. Choose good pay. Choose a contract. Choose fair working hours. Choose decent working conditions. Choose a sense of worth. Choose purpose and direction. Choose prospects. But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose archaeology.'

[Sikelgaita]

right and wrong have no place in commercial archaeology any more than in academic archaeology. it is a conceit of capitalist propaganda and should be rejected by all students of archaeology. i think what you are referring to is an accepted orthodoxy that has very little to do with study and everything to do with expediency

Sorry for being a bit dumb, but could you please elaborate. Why do right and wrong have no place in commercial archaeology?

[Jack]

So what does the School of Jack see as the main skills needed as a supervisor in:

Commercial Archaeology
Academic ( research) Archaeology
Community Archaeology

Or are the skills the same? personally I think you need a thick skin and the ability to cut though the c... when dealing with staff, clients, academics, and the public.

The lessons of The School of Jack only refer to the world of Commercial archaeology.

As will be detailed in later lessons the main weapons a supervisor should develop to survive in the commercial world are.

The ability to learn, and keep learning
The ability to adapt to the often strange, incomprehensible foibles of the construction industry without loosing your head.
The ability to cover one's own rear
The ability to smell archaeology
Confidence to (politely) stand up to anyone (from shovel-leaner to prime minister) when you are right
The ability to know when you are wrong
The ability to know when to retreat
The ability to predict the unpredictable
Attention to detail that borders on OCD
The ability to "manage"/inspire/manipulate people


As to the issue of an important archaeological relationship existing or not someone is obviously missing the point of supervising a dig.

As the work continues someone should be developing the digging strategy with respect to the evidence being gathered with reference to the regional research frameworks/ current academic thought. Questions that exist or are arising.

An important relationship could be, for instance, the intersection of the first enclosure ditch with a field system, or the only point where a grave from your Anglian cemetery intersects with your enclosures. Or could be a spatial relationship of a group of postholes to enclosure ditches.

It is irrelevant in the first instance whether the phasing of these features is visible in a section. The question should be how can we maximise the chances of discerning these important relationships. DO we need to increase environmental sampling for radiocarbon dating or finds recovery? Do we need to dig the intersections as a series of doglegs to increase the number of photographed and drawn sections that interrogate the phasing or would digging in plan be better? Do we need to strip beyond the enclosure to see if these pits extend beyond it? etc etc.

The important relationships exist. Whether you unravel them is up to you.

Which leads The School on to the issue of fault/responsibility.

Grow a backbone, stand up to your own faults, take responsibilities for your mistakes. Learn. Be better. Save more archaeology.

But of course be nurtured, be comfortable, protected. Its ok, you don't have to try harder, your doing your best. Its only archaeology.

Choose your path. Resist or Convert.

The School of Jack is not responsible for its thinly veiled references to modern media