15th November 2010, 05:15 PM
Been away for a while. Back again.
In response to an earlier post from peter, I am sorry but I see very little in the Minister's responses actually supporting archaeology. The PAS? Yes. The need for revision of the definition 'Treasure'? Perhaps yes. A single Treasure coroner? Well, if we can afford it, so probably no. I didn't hear anything along the lines of 'this Government is proud of the quality of archaeological work done in the field, universities and museums etc - nah, nothing of the sort. Just - well, there are cuts that have to be carried across the board (Coalition euphemism for 'fairness') and so stop whining.
As for getting the politicians to listen to our woes - I fear they are getting such mixed messages. We are, as a discipline, a pretty undisciplined and fragmented bunch. The threads on this forum show how there are problems between the HE sector, museums, units, local planning depts, voluntary sector. Tensions exist between them all - lovers of Venn diagrams would have a field day with British archaeology. We simply have too many talking heads, too many 'lobbyists' coming from far too many parts of our discipline.
Simply, I would propse that we beef up The Archaeology Forum (The AF). Its current website hasn't been updated, I think, since early 2009 and they only meet four times a year. Well, times are hard and they are getting harder. So here's the thing. The AF needs to meet monthly for the foreseeable future. It needs to channel through its website - or through someone's website - the results of all its individual initiatives with the political sector, both central and local. It is imperative that these are shared with us so that we can all become advocates of the common cause when we, as individuals, have to represent archaeology to others.
But most importantly, the AF needs to be chaired by somene who commands the respect and support of the majoirty of British archaeologists among the diverse, fragmented bodies of our discipline. I would propose CBA's Dr Mike Heyworth MBE. He is already secretary to APPAG (which is in need of kick-startign and should be the groupd through which our concerns/vision should be related to Government), on behalf of The AF. But, he also fronts up CBA - and is probably up to his neck in things. Surely, someone of his calibre needs to be given the support and time to speak on behalf of the many groups around the country. I would propose, somehow, the CBA (perhaps with some financial support from all the groups that make up The AF) gives him the necessary sabbatical to act as our champion, speaking for us all, articulating the various strands of our subject and its value to our country, its economy, its progress through development, its education etc etc.
There - I will leave that one with you all. Think about it - we need one voice, one well-respected person, one knowledgeable person.
We need a hero - (cue Bonnie, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBwS66EBUcYr)
lol
In response to an earlier post from peter, I am sorry but I see very little in the Minister's responses actually supporting archaeology. The PAS? Yes. The need for revision of the definition 'Treasure'? Perhaps yes. A single Treasure coroner? Well, if we can afford it, so probably no. I didn't hear anything along the lines of 'this Government is proud of the quality of archaeological work done in the field, universities and museums etc - nah, nothing of the sort. Just - well, there are cuts that have to be carried across the board (Coalition euphemism for 'fairness') and so stop whining.
As for getting the politicians to listen to our woes - I fear they are getting such mixed messages. We are, as a discipline, a pretty undisciplined and fragmented bunch. The threads on this forum show how there are problems between the HE sector, museums, units, local planning depts, voluntary sector. Tensions exist between them all - lovers of Venn diagrams would have a field day with British archaeology. We simply have too many talking heads, too many 'lobbyists' coming from far too many parts of our discipline.
Simply, I would propse that we beef up The Archaeology Forum (The AF). Its current website hasn't been updated, I think, since early 2009 and they only meet four times a year. Well, times are hard and they are getting harder. So here's the thing. The AF needs to meet monthly for the foreseeable future. It needs to channel through its website - or through someone's website - the results of all its individual initiatives with the political sector, both central and local. It is imperative that these are shared with us so that we can all become advocates of the common cause when we, as individuals, have to represent archaeology to others.
But most importantly, the AF needs to be chaired by somene who commands the respect and support of the majoirty of British archaeologists among the diverse, fragmented bodies of our discipline. I would propose CBA's Dr Mike Heyworth MBE. He is already secretary to APPAG (which is in need of kick-startign and should be the groupd through which our concerns/vision should be related to Government), on behalf of The AF. But, he also fronts up CBA - and is probably up to his neck in things. Surely, someone of his calibre needs to be given the support and time to speak on behalf of the many groups around the country. I would propose, somehow, the CBA (perhaps with some financial support from all the groups that make up The AF) gives him the necessary sabbatical to act as our champion, speaking for us all, articulating the various strands of our subject and its value to our country, its economy, its progress through development, its education etc etc.
There - I will leave that one with you all. Think about it - we need one voice, one well-respected person, one knowledgeable person.
We need a hero - (cue Bonnie, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBwS66EBUcYr)
lol