Have you used the ICE Conditions of Contract?

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quote:Naturally commercial archaeology is related (in fact I would say part of) the construction industry in the wider sense: it would not otherwise exist

it is very persuasive but something that archaeologists should probably see beyond particularly if an archaeologist should value archaeologys academic worth.

I too am a big fan of Mr Heaton. I can read virtually all of his stuff and think it all relevant to me. He is obviously someone who has gone off on their own and presumably filled in a self assessment in which he has possibly declared that he is an archaeologist as an undertaking. I like the idea that he in the midst of Wessex.

The example of archaeologists being involved before finalising project budgets and preferably before site purchase is a case in point, which as I have built my client base is a situation that I have become involved with.

But
I can also wonder whether Mr Heaton declared himself an archaeological consultant and wonder whether consultancy might have clouded his view to what an archaeologists does and the contractual environment an archaeologists should work in.

So in the example of finalising project budgets before site purchase I do have a problem with working for the buyer/developer. I want all landowners to hold their archaeological deposits on their land as an asset to be protected and which has value. If it was my land that is what I would do. I work in a predominantly rural landscape and the massive and overriding threat to my archaeological resource is from agriculture. Ever since rescue times we have been sending little search parties off into the rural hinterland and all have returned telling use how horrendous it is, civil engineering is barely a problem. But meanwhile civil engineering has had foisted on archaeology a polluter pays principle and basically turned archaeology as an undertaking into pollution and a liability to the landowner.