Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2005
4th November 2008, 12:30 PM
This has gone slightly off topic but is a good debate. It is frustrating being a highly skilled professional but more often than not ending up over recording endless netative watching briefs and evaluations, i'd love to see us given more opion to excavate and record more juicy archaeology within commecial archaeology. We need some direction in this troubled economic time otherwise years of experiance is going to be lost out of the profession
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2008
4th November 2008, 01:09 PM
More research digging would be great, but...
Nu MSC and New Deal schemes (of which I have a lot of experience, good and bad) are not the way to do it. What we need is proper research money for professionally managed and staffed research, not a 'training' scheme that does nothing but exploit low-paid/unpaid inexperienced staff, adds more diggers in an already over-staffed world and generally lowers the profile and status of the profession as well as pay and conditions as the rules of supply and demand kick in. Ever wondered why you always get asked 'Are you all students then?'
That's what I mean when I think that the majority of archaeologists have low aspirations. If we don't hold out for what we think we deserve, we will deserve what we get.
Posts: 2
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2006
4th November 2008, 09:02 PM
proper money for and professionally managed research seems but a pipe dream in these days of PPG 16 etc, and i cant see a way forward .... ????
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2008
4th November 2008, 11:06 PM
In the current situation, I'l agree it's difficult. But it's what we need to aspire to.
How we get there is harder, particularly at lower levels of the food chain, but at the risk of repeating myself again, not exploiting others or allowing ourselves to be exploited would be a good start.
Expect more and act directly- there is a stark choice, either do everything in your power to get on and build the new world order or, if you knows of a etter 'ole, then go to it. Th change will be gradual, and probably generational, but it needs to happen, and it needs to happen in our minds first.
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2006
5th November 2008, 05:46 PM
It's important to point out that the MSC schemes didn't result in trained (or new) archaeologists getting work in many cases, unless you were lucky enough to blag your way into a supervisor job. So all in all I don't think that's the way forward!
New world order..... hmmmmm...... bagsy benign dictator!
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2008
5th November 2008, 09:44 PM
Job's yours- we need a ruthless Cromwell to my Lilburne, which unfortunately means I'll be first up against the wall when the revolution comes. Still, no one will hate me as much as you after I'm dead, and I'll have been right all along...
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2006
6th November 2008, 10:54 AM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by shovelnomore
Job's yours- we need a ruthless Cromwell to my Lilburne, which unfortunately means I'll be first up against the wall when the revolution comes. Still, no one will hate me as much as you after I'm dead, and I'll have been right all along...
I can live with that!
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2006
6th November 2008, 11:37 AM
In fact, as I'm benign, I'll commute the death sentence to something more sensible...... Will consider.....
Back to the original topic, not me personally but people I know are digging some rather nice looking early Roman stuff, 17th century pits etc and are looking for LIA/RB stuff, at the moment, all in evaluations at this stage.
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2005
6th November 2008, 12:38 PM
This week we have found a new, previously unknown, hill fort. Or at least a hill-top enclosure.
Last week I was exploring priest holes in a 16th century house.
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2008
6th November 2008, 12:41 PM
"New world order"
Didn't Gordon Brown use that phrase at the UN earier this year?:face-huh:
