1st June 2004, 08:15 PM
I think that there are two main problems with asking for a watching brief. The first is that many archaeologists go out with the expectation of finding nothing, and consequently may not be as observant as they could be. The second is that, if something does turn up, the archaeologist is often not willing to hold up the construction schedule in order to deal with it properly. Reading that back, it sounds very critical of contracting archaeologists, and I don't mean it to be. It's just that I think that carrying out a watching brief needs an archaeologist that is confident enough in their role in the planning process to halt a site in the face of pressure from the developer.