15th October 2005, 01:14 PM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by BAJR Host
What is the point of digging hundreds of skeletons?
erm, that would be to comply with the new EH/Church of England guidelines on best practice for treatment of human remains. That's like saying what's the point in digging up loads of bits of pot, or what's the point of recording those Roman walls properly. Human remains, disregarding the fact that they are the remains of once living people who deserve to be treated with respect, are a vital part of the archaeological record. That lovely glass vessel, or that fine bone pin that I'm sure you wouldn't even question the necessity to excavate and conserve properly, well, those skeletons, the people they once were, they made all those artefacts that some seem to believe should be treated with more care than the people themselves. Archaeology without a consideration of past peoples is, frankly, pointless, and can sometimes, naming no names, be reduced to a mad scramble for pretty things to stick in a museum cabinet.
++ i spend my days rummaging around in dead people ++