21st May 2006, 07:55 PM
I understood 1man to mean something essentially uncontroversial and obvious: that a consultants role is to advise their clients on what is the minimum they can get away with doing. Dress it up however you like, but that is their role and it can't be any other.
Whats refreshing is to hear a consultant acknowledge that, rather than talk about how consultants are the guardians of archaeology etc.
Note that I am not saying that consultants don't - as indivduals - care about archaeology, some do. I guess it must hurt sometimes when they are constrained by their role to argue for less rather than more, and to represent their clients interests in minimizing costs to the appropriate authority.
Whats refreshing is to hear a consultant acknowledge that, rather than talk about how consultants are the guardians of archaeology etc.
Note that I am not saying that consultants don't - as indivduals - care about archaeology, some do. I guess it must hurt sometimes when they are constrained by their role to argue for less rather than more, and to represent their clients interests in minimizing costs to the appropriate authority.