15th April 2010, 05:34 PM
Interesting discussion. In conversation with a noted academic archaeologist from one of the big universities, it became clear to me that he not only understood what an HER/SMR was, but used them too, so it is not all academics, although I have encountered more than a few, who did not think that commercial archaeology was really relevant to them. Shame on them. On a side note, I once rang up a professor at a northern university in England for a reference for one of their students and was treated to a long rant about how appalling commercial archaeology was. They finished up by commenting that they never employed "circuit diggers" on their research digs because "circuit diggers" had too many bad habits. They never did actually give their student a proper reference. It rather exemplified the divide between academe and the commercial sphere to me. How long is it since there have been "circuit diggers" around?
'Reality,' sa molesworth 2, 'is so unspeakably sordid it make me shudder.'