19th November 2005, 01:17 AM
Evening Roy. I also worked in a very similar multi-disciplinary environment.I`m not remotely interested in medals or indeed-being treated like royalty.You make one clear point-without the field archaeology the conditions are not met.It seems to me that whilst your good self and your colleagues enjoy a career with appropriate remuneration and benefits taboot, the field specialists are expected to put up with 2oo a week, absolutely no benefits, accept lowest level membership of Institutes and for me the worst of all...we have to put up with the end results of your "exhaustive process". Whilst a client may be only too happy to see 800-1000 a day as good value for money when paying consultants, the archaeology on the ground is in no way treated to such pampering. Quite simply, money is made and exchanges hands in the build up to the main event but when it actually happens- all the soddin compromises land on the trenches.Very similar to the way that Iraqs debt is bought and sold and massive profits made before the job is done.Huge business is generated in archaeology-its a national shame that the archaeology itself (the entire point of the whole exercise) is then carried out on a shoestring budget.Make lots of profit-stuff the finite resource.