The future of commercial archaeology from a digger's point of view

[Dinosaur]

A couple of photos of nice neat trenches stuck on the portacabin wall has worked as a subtle hint in the past - I'm sure they can do it, it's just that no one can be bothered any more.....good thing no one digs sites in boxes over here any more.....did a job a few years back consisting of 1m square boxes (borehole starter pits) where one of them had a couple of features in the bottom, but by the time I'd straightened one of the more sloping sections back, largely so I had enough space to stand in the bottom while recording it, I had four features.....aaaaggggghhhhh!!!!! No one seems to understand that a 1m square hole at the top should also be.....:face-crying:

[Madweasels]

Always keep a straight face and a clean bottom, simples.

[Jack]

No no no! A fair days pay for a fair days work. It's not a hobby its a job! We get paid for 8 hours work, so you get 8 hours work, not 12! This isn't the middle ages
Works starts at 8.30am on the dot, no late comers, breaks are 15mins, lunch 30mins. Work stops at 5pm.

The bits between you work your nuts off. Sections are vertcal and straight, catalogues filled in properly, sample tubs labelled properly, context sheets are filled in and checked on site!
Orders follow the chain of command, manager to project officer to (assistant supervisor) to digger.
Discipline is kept by sergent major, parades are every morning at 10am...erm....erm seem to have drifted off into another reality there.

But seriously, out of hours reading, training (down the pub) is fine and dandy.......but as soon as someone does the site archive checking, finds washing, writing up out of hours for free, then the managers will expect us all to do it! And before you know it we'll be back in the mills!

Pride in your work is essential (during work hours), but article 8 of the Human rights act states we all have a legal right to a private life. :face-stir:

[dmama]

yes geli i quite agree but i also agree with jack. and as for mad weasel... thats just what the doctor ordered. brilliant. can i use that?

[Oxbeast]

I tend to agree Jack, one of the major problems with digging is that the managers generation still regards it as a paid hobby, rather than a proper profession for professionals. Any attempt to improve things would be met by stories of living in tents on the spoil heap, working 15 hour days for three shillings or whatever. I shouldn't think that engineers, plumbers or electricians regard it as a traversty for people to work their contracted hours. If you start working for free, they will always expect you to work for free.

[Madweasels]

Go ahead Dmama. I was told it in the late 70s by a pal who heard it from someone else, who probably heard it etc etc.

Although I am of the 'older' generation and can just about remember a lot of 70s and 80s (even the late 60s - but I was very very young at the time, of course) and the way things were done, I have to agree with Jack. Discretionary effort should be just that, discretionary, and no one should be held to account if they do not wish or are unable to work beyond their contracted hours. A place I once worked in took serious advantage of the conscientiousness of some of their staff who would put in many extra hours to do their work justice (much of it in post-ex, where funds are often limited as we all know) - to the extent that their managers knew that so-and-so would always work an extra hour a day and perhaps a Saturday and secretly build this into their calculations - so a task that should normally take, say, 4 person months was costed at 3.5 for that individual - the 12.5% saving being presented to the client as the cost effectiveness of the unit concerned. The discretionary effort of that person, then, did not result in 'extra' work but simply ensured that the job was done to a standard that suited their manager, not their own professional opinion.

This discretionary effort is also expected in the bleatings of the current government who are expecting Departments etc to 'do more with less' and are pushing the 'Big Society' idea. It will cause problems for those who simply cannot step up to the plate to do the extra discretionary work - single parents etc. Over time, their lack of 'input' (interpeted as lack of commitment) sadly gets noticed. I also know of someone, back in the very early 90s, whose on-site record was exemplary, but because he had family commitments (collecting a young child from after school club at a specific hour every week day during term time) always had to leave on time, the same time each day. Believe it or not, this counted against him when his case was discussed when his name came up for redundancy. Fortunately he wasn't, in the end, made redundant but it still irks him to this day that his good time keeping and on site effort seem to count for nothing simply because he always left site at the same time. He has worked to rule ever since, incredibly efficiently and conscientiously, even though his daughter is now long grown up. It is the only 'protest' he has had over the years. To make a fuss might have cost him his job a long time ago.

[Optimus Trowel]

Couldn't agree more Mr Weasels.I'm all for taking pride in your work, but at the end of the day we're all professionals here (well, the vast majority anyway) and should treat our job as such. There's nothing wrong with a bit of out of hours reading and research, going to conferences, etc, but as long as its for your own benefit/enjoyment. During work hours I'll put maximum effort in, be as productive as possible, be conscientious with my record keeping, but when the day's over I'm up and out of there. I accept that when working as a supervisor you have to put additional time in, but that's part and parcel of the choice you make when deciding to take a step up to a higher level of responsibility. I don't like it, but it's part of the job.

However I think I've got a little off topic there. Sorry, got a bit carried away.

I think the future of archaeology will be decide by the government spending review in October. If they start slashing departments it will have a knock on effect, not to mention if the decide to scrap any upcoming infrastructure projects. However I'm not yet convinced that the future is exactly as grim as some are portraying it, but as with all things only time will tell.

[Dinosaur]

Nice one, Jack, was a little worried everyone was agreeing with me :face-approve:

Suppose gone are the good old days when no one except the supervisor owned a watch and all could be camouflaged by a trip to the supermarket on the way back to the digs where all the missing time just got blamed on the slowest shopper....BAJR, fancy doing a 101 tricks for supervisors to go with the 101 tips for diggers? :face-stir:

[BAJR]

Good idea... after all... they need a few extra skills, including cake buying!

[trainedchimp]

I'm sure they can do it, it's just that no one can be bothered any more.....

Course they can. It's down to the direction they get from the supervisors and POs. I got this kind of condescending sh!te about the youth of today when I started digging, but fundamentally, if the supervisors don't get their diggers to do it properly, they've only got themselves to blame. Pride in your work cuts both ways.

There. disagreeing with Dinosaur again. Feeling better.

And as for unpaid overtime and treating it like a hobby, the only unit I've worked for who expected that (and camping on site, toilets only to be used at tea breaks!) didn't pay holidays or bank holidays, expected me to work down deep unshored trench and stood and watched concrete being poured on a good half-metre of stratified Roman deposits. They also had beautifully straight sections, plans in colour, a medium format camera and a 'site planner'. Whither professionalism?

Agreeing with Jack. Suddenly a bit queasy.