10th November 2011, 09:42 AM
Well, quite a rant from Mr Selkirk.
Two things not previously commented upon immediately struck me:
'Finally, the sheer weight of reporting now required is quite excessive. Small societies which in the past produced an annual report two pages long now find themselves having to produce a dozen pages'
The final report is surely THE most important part of any archaeological work. I've written hundreds of site reports, even the most negative watching brief rarely comes in at much under 12 pages!
'When professional archaeologists are called in, they tend immediately to put barricades round the site so no-one can see what is happening, and that is not the point of archaeology at all.'
If local societies don't put up the 'barricades' they will find that the HSE may start kicking up a fuss!
All in all, I thought Mr Selkirk displayed a distressing degree of ignorance, not just of commercial archaeology, but also of English Heritage, the county curatorial services and the requirements of the HSE.
I assume he doesn't run or manage fieldwork himself? Mind you, there may be one or two commercial concerns which have a similar outlook...
Two things not previously commented upon immediately struck me:
'Finally, the sheer weight of reporting now required is quite excessive. Small societies which in the past produced an annual report two pages long now find themselves having to produce a dozen pages'
The final report is surely THE most important part of any archaeological work. I've written hundreds of site reports, even the most negative watching brief rarely comes in at much under 12 pages!
'When professional archaeologists are called in, they tend immediately to put barricades round the site so no-one can see what is happening, and that is not the point of archaeology at all.'
If local societies don't put up the 'barricades' they will find that the HSE may start kicking up a fuss!
All in all, I thought Mr Selkirk displayed a distressing degree of ignorance, not just of commercial archaeology, but also of English Heritage, the county curatorial services and the requirements of the HSE.
I assume he doesn't run or manage fieldwork himself? Mind you, there may be one or two commercial concerns which have a similar outlook...