25th February 2009, 09:50 PM
Well, first off we're all in a much better place than the start of the last recession thanks to the ubiquity of the internet. Last time round, even mobiles weren't that common amongst diggers. Now, thanks to the falling price of hardware and the magic dongle (gosh that sounds rude) we can share information much more quickly. Not only about jobs, but general trends, and other opportunities too. BAJR has become a very important information node (thanks for the tremendous effort you've put in over the years) and this couldn't have happened until fairly recently.
I'm not pretending that the next year at the very least isn't going to be very rough, but archaeology is not going to disappear. I think that we can all help by being personal ambassadors for archaeology, because it is only by the good will of the population at large that we're even a part of the planning process. Most people don't have a clue what we do, so tell them in a nice way. For example, my bathroom floor is currently being replaced as the joists have rotted through. The tradesmen who came to fix it went away having learnt about the history of brickmaking in the region (there were nice makers' marks in the underlying rubble) and the social history of the street. As they were local lads they were interested once I found their angle. Hopefully, they'll pause for thought on the next job. I know people get pessimistic in the face of big business, but even big business is made up of many individuals....
Also, it's not too early to start thinking about how we're going to re-recruit experienced archaeologists once the sky stops falling. Now would be a very good time to really push for a charted organisation and be ready with a clearer career structure. As much as it pains me to say so, we are all romantic fools. Ask us again and again and we're still willing to work for cakes and ale, but the one thing we're almost all agreed on is that we badly need a little more career structure. Now, whilst everything is in the air is a good time to really start planning and doing something about it other that kicking away the ladder.
I'm not pretending that the next year at the very least isn't going to be very rough, but archaeology is not going to disappear. I think that we can all help by being personal ambassadors for archaeology, because it is only by the good will of the population at large that we're even a part of the planning process. Most people don't have a clue what we do, so tell them in a nice way. For example, my bathroom floor is currently being replaced as the joists have rotted through. The tradesmen who came to fix it went away having learnt about the history of brickmaking in the region (there were nice makers' marks in the underlying rubble) and the social history of the street. As they were local lads they were interested once I found their angle. Hopefully, they'll pause for thought on the next job. I know people get pessimistic in the face of big business, but even big business is made up of many individuals....
Also, it's not too early to start thinking about how we're going to re-recruit experienced archaeologists once the sky stops falling. Now would be a very good time to really push for a charted organisation and be ready with a clearer career structure. As much as it pains me to say so, we are all romantic fools. Ask us again and again and we're still willing to work for cakes and ale, but the one thing we're almost all agreed on is that we badly need a little more career structure. Now, whilst everything is in the air is a good time to really start planning and doing something about it other that kicking away the ladder.