20th May 2005, 11:33 PM
My wife things all U.K archaeologists are mad for working for such low pay!!!
On a serious level the stress of low pay, lack of job security, all the central problems that BAJR is trying to help sort out can led to mental health problems for archaeologists as in other type of employment with the same problems. Mix that with our drinking and for others drugs !!! yes the A in archaeology is for alcohol. Nearly All of us have been there as anyone who dug at Ennis in Ireland know.[:p][xx(] The mix of stress, low pay etc is a cause for some to develop mental illness.
The constant moving of people from different sites and companies means that for some their problems go unspotted or unhelped. In certain companies poor management has led to the diggers on site having to live with the problems of dealing with the fall out from people who needed medical help. Also a small number use the system to aviod being spotted." been away from archaeology for a few years" and miss off on their C.V the last messed up sites they have been on.
It would be useful to have a research study carried out on how archaeology has affect those who work in it for the last few decades and ideas on how we treat those people who need help.
On a serious level the stress of low pay, lack of job security, all the central problems that BAJR is trying to help sort out can led to mental health problems for archaeologists as in other type of employment with the same problems. Mix that with our drinking and for others drugs !!! yes the A in archaeology is for alcohol. Nearly All of us have been there as anyone who dug at Ennis in Ireland know.[:p][xx(] The mix of stress, low pay etc is a cause for some to develop mental illness.
The constant moving of people from different sites and companies means that for some their problems go unspotted or unhelped. In certain companies poor management has led to the diggers on site having to live with the problems of dealing with the fall out from people who needed medical help. Also a small number use the system to aviod being spotted." been away from archaeology for a few years" and miss off on their C.V the last messed up sites they have been on.
It would be useful to have a research study carried out on how archaeology has affect those who work in it for the last few decades and ideas on how we treat those people who need help.