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Hello everybody i am writing to ask about field schools firstly i have no education in archaeology or any experience in that subject,I can see from a lot of the topics and replys here that archaeology degrees are just about obsolete with respect to getting a job,now my question basically is as an uneducated person in archaeology and definatley not uni type - would taking field school courses be a good way to be involved in archaeology as i am currently thinking about taking some courses but i find it rather expensive for around 13 days tuition at a site for nearly 1000 euros sometimes more ...what would someone like me recieve at the end of a field school course and how would it help me if i wanted to continue i am not interested in a degree..but i would like to be trained to dig and to restore finds etc even if i have to pay for a field school or simillar ....any advice would be helpful
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2005
I think Gary that it would be incorrect to suggest a degree in archaeology is 'obsolete' when it comes to getting a job. I think the point that a number of recent corrospondents to BAJR have made is that merely having an archaeology degree is [u]no guarantee</u> to getting a job in archaeology. At least in the UK. I have no idea what the situation is in Serbia...
Likewise attending a field school (with or without a degree) can be a rewarding and in certain instances a life-modifying experience. However at the end of the day that too is no guarantee of obtaining further work in archaeology. At least in the UK. Again, I have no idea what the situation is in Serbia...
I think you may have to consider your options, (and the costs. There are for example some field schools in the UK that offer places for at and about ?100 per week), but there is no clearly defined path into archaeology as an interest and certainly not as a profession. I suspect if you recieved a thousand stories of how individuals in UK archaeology got to where they are, they would all be different...
With peace and consolation hath dismist, And calm of mind all passion spent...
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hello kevin i think i mis-worded my sentence a little but you actually said what i was meaning in that having a degree is no guarantee in getting a job in that field,but then again i should already know that as my wife is a professor of speech therapy and speaks 4 languages fluently and she cant get a job in her field now for 20 years.as far as the situation here regarding archaeology it is pretty much the same ....no jobs etc and very low pay ,also the pay is so low.basically here no-one is interested in archaeology at all until you say gold and then all hell breaks loose,since i posted my questions i realise that obsolete is the wrong choice of word so for that i appologise ,i have recieved an email that is of interest to me from an archaeologist who has worked within the vinca culture dig site in belgrade and she will come to belgrade in around 2 weeks so we intend to meet up and she has mentioned that she will introduce me to new contacts etc as well as going to the vinca site ...so i am looking forward to it .also i was talking with a friend of mine about the vinca and he comes from a small village just outside belgrade and he has stated that there is a mound come cliff type face that the locals are always pulling out vinca period pottery out of so i intend to go with him to see this site very soon.thank you for the information kevin regarding field schools ill check it out gary
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
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Joined: Apr 2005
Good luck Gary.
Although I have not had the chance to work in Serbia I have some Serbian archaeologists as Facebook friends and they seem to be very nice people. I agree that the economic circumstances of Serbian and UK archaeology bear plenty of comparisons.....
With peace and consolation hath dismist, And calm of mind all passion spent...
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hello again kevin
i had the opportunity to go to the vinca site in Belgrade around 2 weeks ago as it was my wifes birthday and also the skipper of the boat on which we got married is the tour operator for the site, so i arranged for 4 of us to go by boat with 44 other passengers on board and to have a meal after the tour at the vinca site restaraunt ....if you ever get the chance to come here please go and visit the vinca site you will be amazed by how much archaeology and pottery is simply sticking out of a 10 meter high face of constant occupation 3 layers of burning cleary visible and simply thousands and thousands of pot shards everywhere and they have been working on that site since 1911 i believe and less than 2% has been recovered and it covers 15 hectares it is huge and very much worth the trip in my view .and i agree the serbian people are very nice its just economics politics and desperation thats the problem here.
Gary Cullen
Teodora Drajzera 8 Topcider
11040,Belgrade,Serbia
Tel:062 230 855
