30th September 2013, 01:35 PM
201 'So you think your ready to be a supervisor?': Getting on in the world of commercial archaeology
Course introduction
As the practitioner gains experience of commercial archaeology through time on site, a mastery of the basic techniques should start to come into reach.
An experienced digger should be capable of excavating, understanding and fully recording an 'area' of remains with minimal input from their supervisor. However,
A good digger should know when they are out of their depth, and consult a supervisor.
Each site, each feature presents a new set of questions that will evolve as the dig progresses.
In the constant battle to rescue as much of the significant archaeological evidence, the archaeosoldier must be quick to adapt, but must keep the objectives in sight.
With experience comes a greater understanding of the bigger picture, a greater understanding of the tactics employed by the supervisors and managers, a greater understanding of the problems presented by the differing geologies, or the differing types of site.
Some actions on site may seem incomprehensible without the insight gained from what has happened in the planning stages or what will occur in post-excavtion assessment, analysis and publication. The excavation is only a part of the campaign, a vital part, but is only a link in a chain of events.
To the experienced archaeologist the site written scheme of investigation (WSI) is not an incomprehensible or uninteresting document of jargon, it is the detailed plan of attack that everyone is (or should be) following. The site desk-based assessment (DBA) is not a boring mass of tables and dots to be skimmed, it is a detailed plot of the battle zone; within its depths lurk the hints and traces of what is to come.
But even so, with experience and understanding, the practitioner may not be ready to make the leap from digger to supervisor.
To do so successfully requires a huge leap in skills, a mass re-evaluation of the what archaeology is, a shouldering of the burden of command amongst other hidden surprises.
The ascendance from digger to supervisor is not the end of the journey, it is the start. Suddenly the practitioner opens a door to find the wider world awaiting on the other side.
So read on, listen to the lessons of The School and hopefully the world of commercial archaeology beyond the site may come more into focus.
Course introduction
As the practitioner gains experience of commercial archaeology through time on site, a mastery of the basic techniques should start to come into reach.
An experienced digger should be capable of excavating, understanding and fully recording an 'area' of remains with minimal input from their supervisor. However,
A good digger should know when they are out of their depth, and consult a supervisor.
Each site, each feature presents a new set of questions that will evolve as the dig progresses.
In the constant battle to rescue as much of the significant archaeological evidence, the archaeosoldier must be quick to adapt, but must keep the objectives in sight.
With experience comes a greater understanding of the bigger picture, a greater understanding of the tactics employed by the supervisors and managers, a greater understanding of the problems presented by the differing geologies, or the differing types of site.
Some actions on site may seem incomprehensible without the insight gained from what has happened in the planning stages or what will occur in post-excavtion assessment, analysis and publication. The excavation is only a part of the campaign, a vital part, but is only a link in a chain of events.
To the experienced archaeologist the site written scheme of investigation (WSI) is not an incomprehensible or uninteresting document of jargon, it is the detailed plan of attack that everyone is (or should be) following. The site desk-based assessment (DBA) is not a boring mass of tables and dots to be skimmed, it is a detailed plot of the battle zone; within its depths lurk the hints and traces of what is to come.
But even so, with experience and understanding, the practitioner may not be ready to make the leap from digger to supervisor.
To do so successfully requires a huge leap in skills, a mass re-evaluation of the what archaeology is, a shouldering of the burden of command amongst other hidden surprises.
The ascendance from digger to supervisor is not the end of the journey, it is the start. Suddenly the practitioner opens a door to find the wider world awaiting on the other side.
So read on, listen to the lessons of The School and hopefully the world of commercial archaeology beyond the site may come more into focus.