14th July 2008, 12:31 PM
I am actually ready to sit down and watch it comfortably ... to chortle away, and scream abuse at the telly... a thoroughly enjoyable nights telly viewing.
What I do want to know is why they bothered with any archaeology advisor at all... as it could have romped along fine...
Mark Horton gave a spirited defence with awry smile too .. but a couple of his points bothered me... and being an anorak
Hmmm... so getting over the possibility of a developer handing in a single coin.. and then a development with no conditions suddenly finding themselves with a condition, based on a single coin find?? Called in to do a standard PPG16 evaluation? Is that possible?
As somebody pointed out, TT is television, and hi viv causes camera flare - but hard hats and boots are worn, not woolly hats and sandals (in a trench within a development site) The Hi-viz is worn by a banksman who controls the JCB during filming, in a 'real' excavation... the glow of Hi Viz can be seen from the moon.
What a damning indictment of to-days archaeology departments... and sadly very very true... archaeology degrees now produce people who know quite a bit about 1st century AD trading patterns in the Levant, but don't know how to dig in a commercial environment.. That a serious problem, well highlighted by Viv's inexperience
To be absolutely accurate, they did not say early 14th century, they said between, 1300 and 1320 (ah the joy of video recording!)
lets see... You decide...
![[Image: geoph.png]](http://www.bajr.org/images/geoph.png)
we have already got orders for this machine... though there could be a wait... [:p]
I for one will sit back and have a laugh, it gives people once more a baffling view of archaeologists .. but hey... we can live with that, ... can??t we?
If we put aside what nurses, police, firemen, eastenders and others have had to deal with?K then we could enjoy it for what it is?K. Mindless fun, even if the script is as wooden as a true cross ??
"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu
What I do want to know is why they bothered with any archaeology advisor at all... as it could have romped along fine...
Mark Horton gave a spirited defence with awry smile too .. but a couple of his points bothered me... and being an anorak
Quote:quote:1) The developers found the coin while sinking a geotechnical borehole. The site, - which is at Larkhill just to the west of Bath incidently - produced this dirham (which was right by the way). It was not on the SMR, but the Uni was called in do a standard PPG16 evaluation, paid for by the developers. The city archaeologist was proposing the site should be sealed under a concrete raft - but the site was then bought up by Laygass etc.
Hmmm... so getting over the possibility of a developer handing in a single coin.. and then a development with no conditions suddenly finding themselves with a condition, based on a single coin find?? Called in to do a standard PPG16 evaluation? Is that possible?
Quote:quote:2) Health and Safety? When does anyone wear high vis or hart hats on time team then.....
As somebody pointed out, TT is television, and hi viv causes camera flare - but hard hats and boots are worn, not woolly hats and sandals (in a trench within a development site) The Hi-viz is worn by a banksman who controls the JCB during filming, in a 'real' excavation... the glow of Hi Viz can be seen from the moon.
Quote:quote:3. Viv's unprofessional conduct in digging the wood out. This was deliberate - Viv is a rather naive student, fresh out of Uni, with very little experience - this is part of her character. This was needed for the later scene with the news of Helena's miracles.
What a damning indictment of to-days archaeology departments... and sadly very very true... archaeology degrees now produce people who know quite a bit about 1st century AD trading patterns in the Levant, but don't know how to dig in a commercial environment.. That a serious problem, well highlighted by Viv's inexperience
Quote:quote:4. Radio carbon - dates to within 20 years. We only say early 14th century. The print out was the callibration curve from OxCal - showing the callibration of the date. We did speed it up a bit to help the story along....
To be absolutely accurate, they did not say early 14th century, they said between, 1300 and 1320 (ah the joy of video recording!)
Quote:quote:5. Geophys. The blotches were not meant to be bodies, but large grave pits - a series of mass graves with the skellies piled in. This was in the eye of the beholder.....
lets see... You decide...
we have already got orders for this machine... though there could be a wait... [:p]
I for one will sit back and have a laugh, it gives people once more a baffling view of archaeologists .. but hey... we can live with that, ... can??t we?
If we put aside what nurses, police, firemen, eastenders and others have had to deal with?K then we could enjoy it for what it is?K. Mindless fun, even if the script is as wooden as a true cross ??
"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu