5th May 2011, 09:52 AM
Should the commentators views be anywhere near representative of the public at large then we only have ourselves to blame. I`ve banged on for years about the perceived "value" of archaeology and how to raise the public perception of the same. Collectively-we have failed. Archaeology to the public en masse is simply titivation and entertainment. I wholeheartedly agree with subscribers above on many of the points raised but not one of us has accepted that collectively-we have done very little to confront the negative perceptions that abound out there.
I was lucky enough to have had some guests come over from Australia last week-it was their first time in the UK and they loved it. They went off on the grand tour with a vengeance-everything from changing the guard at Windsor to Stonehenge, Avebury, Winchester and God only knows how many other places. Visitors come to the UK primarily to see the sites that to them-characterise who we are. Not one of the places on their itinary was a hospital, a doctors surgery, a solicitors, a stockbrokers or an Asda. I can`t even begin to put a monetary value on the income from foreign visitors (anyone?) but can imagine that it`s huge. Archaeology makes money in the wider economic landscape and for that-we really don`t need to defend ourselves.
The commentator does however have a very important point: What does archaeology do for the man in the street who works for a living? (paraphrased). That is a question that we do need to consider. Elsewhere on this forum, we have discussed the potential of archaeology as a social asset and the role it could play in citizenship and community relations. Our failure to communicate efficiently with the public and with few exceptions-leave that to media interpretation- has meant that the public are largely ignorant of what archaeology actually is and what it can do for them. Politicians are quite adept at waving flags (that they don`t understand) and banging on about our "great pride in our heritage" when it suits them. Some sections of society wave flags representing an Middle -Eastern borne hermit from a Turkish island and are violently proud of being "English". This despite the fact that any Anglo-Saxon blood in the UK is only represented by 6% of maternal DNA. This despite the fact that roughly speaking, since the end of the last ice age, we have hailed from the Black Sea or the Basque region. We have demonstrably failed as a profession to integrate archaeology into mainstream public life. Stop anyone on the street and ask them about the origins of their home town. Ask them about their ancestors. Ask them how society worked in the past and how it has moulded them today. Total silence......mystified.
Archaeology has the potential to be of enormous value to society in so many ways-where is our pro-active think tank on this? Or is Time Team enough?
I was lucky enough to have had some guests come over from Australia last week-it was their first time in the UK and they loved it. They went off on the grand tour with a vengeance-everything from changing the guard at Windsor to Stonehenge, Avebury, Winchester and God only knows how many other places. Visitors come to the UK primarily to see the sites that to them-characterise who we are. Not one of the places on their itinary was a hospital, a doctors surgery, a solicitors, a stockbrokers or an Asda. I can`t even begin to put a monetary value on the income from foreign visitors (anyone?) but can imagine that it`s huge. Archaeology makes money in the wider economic landscape and for that-we really don`t need to defend ourselves.
The commentator does however have a very important point: What does archaeology do for the man in the street who works for a living? (paraphrased). That is a question that we do need to consider. Elsewhere on this forum, we have discussed the potential of archaeology as a social asset and the role it could play in citizenship and community relations. Our failure to communicate efficiently with the public and with few exceptions-leave that to media interpretation- has meant that the public are largely ignorant of what archaeology actually is and what it can do for them. Politicians are quite adept at waving flags (that they don`t understand) and banging on about our "great pride in our heritage" when it suits them. Some sections of society wave flags representing an Middle -Eastern borne hermit from a Turkish island and are violently proud of being "English". This despite the fact that any Anglo-Saxon blood in the UK is only represented by 6% of maternal DNA. This despite the fact that roughly speaking, since the end of the last ice age, we have hailed from the Black Sea or the Basque region. We have demonstrably failed as a profession to integrate archaeology into mainstream public life. Stop anyone on the street and ask them about the origins of their home town. Ask them about their ancestors. Ask them how society worked in the past and how it has moulded them today. Total silence......mystified.
Archaeology has the potential to be of enormous value to society in so many ways-where is our pro-active think tank on this? Or is Time Team enough?