29th April 2010, 03:58 PM
Ok, let's take it that community involvement is the thread, shall we? The first important piece in this jigsaw is trained community archaeologists. Archaeology in the field is still amateur (come on guys, you know this is the case) - taking professionalism to equate to having a career structure for all and being trained for and during that career and being constantly reviewed. I was in the field for nearly 20 years and never had a days training, despite asking until blue in the face. All skills were learned on the job, unless you wanted to specialise and your face fitted. This is not how a profession is run, in any sector. The buildings sector see archaeologists as as a joke and a nuisance, from management to digger. They are professionals dealing with amateurs. With community archaeology we need to start as we mean to go on. I am trying to work as a community archaeologist and would love to have some structured training program, as I wish I had had in the field. I will leave it to others to list all the skills needed for the job. Who is to provide the training, for CAs & future diggers? As in the field this needs to be taken out of the hands of the units but supported by them. How about the IfA, with a means tested tax on all registered units? If we are to serve the public to the best of our ability we need trained, professional community archaeologists, reviewed by the IfA (as with units) so that we do not make the same mistake as we did in the field and have a 'profession' growing out of a purely academic and amateur subject. The public will respect the people working in this field of archaeology and without that any pontificating about instilling a 'sense of place' and 'community identity' will be cast on stony ground.