22nd February 2011, 12:49 PM
While I agree largely with what is being written here, I'm not sure where its getting us. We all know much of this and, at present sometimes we accept it in the commercial world, sometimes as an aspiration and occasionally as achievable. We are all aware of the divisions between the commercial and academic fields as well, and the various reasons (although I would suggest its a fairly simple list) why this schism exists.
I'm intrigued by the idea that archaeology can be something else, though. Can it transcend the current cult of the commercial that we all swim around in, depressed and with gripes that we can never seem to solve? Can it represent something else to society beyond those trudging tours around muddy fields followed by pensioners and middle-aged time-team fans (and beyond half-cocked, dumbed-down nonsense to appease viewers who can understand but can't be bothered to read a book)?
I'm a commercial archaeologist. I'm wrapped up in commercial archaeology, I contribute (I hope) to doing and producing good work which has academic value and where possible, I embrace the idea of inclusive community involvement and contribution. I've undertaken community based work in various forms in the past, although probably nothing beyond the standard types of projects that many of us at all levels do. In the past I've held the frustrations at the academic community who don't capitalise on the huge quanitites of data we produce, and frustration at the large number of academics who really should retire and stop clogging up the system (and I think that applies as readily to the commercial world as well, I should add - that isn't a gripe I hold as particularly relevant now or is relevant to this, nor a debate we need to get into on this thread).
However, I do not see this as being a justification for archaeology's existence either to society or to politicians or to the commercial markets we 'serve' in clearing away the archaeology they don't want to be there.
I hear what you're saying about the value of archaeology to commercial developers and in some limited areas this is embraced by them. If you're building a middle class gated community in Berkshire then maybe it will be a selling point. But if a developer is cramming as many plots into a surburban site in Manchester, Birmingham or Leeds to be sold as starter homes or 'value' properties as most housing developments are, they won't give a monkeys about what was there. The most you might get them to do is put up a banner or placard somewhere, outlining the projects findings and nice publicity piece on the local news. That said, image is worth a lot in the ongoing battle for big businesses to stave off the 'big, bad and corporate' image and exploiting archaeology for that is something developers across many industries already recognise as their primary proactive aim in hiring archaeology companies. I have no doubt commercial and academic archaeology can change and develop and improve and evolve into better things, but along those routes will always be the pitfalls of likeability to certain markets. University archaeology departments have been continually shut down or merged or shrunk over the past few years because universities are now largely business orientated and archaeology depts can rarely offer the types of income that medicine, engineering and various sciences etc can. Commercial archaeology will always be subject to the whim of developer's lobbies and the blessing of public interest and political support.
But the question is, where else can we go with this?
Are we destined to be slaves to the developers and to our own poorly evolved systems. And is the public destined to only view archaeology through the lens of a production company's cameras with a 'knowledgable' and 'likeable' fella fronting some slightly more complicated theory interspersed with interesting graphics and a lot of hyperbole?
Push on, people. Lets think anew!
I'm intrigued by the idea that archaeology can be something else, though. Can it transcend the current cult of the commercial that we all swim around in, depressed and with gripes that we can never seem to solve? Can it represent something else to society beyond those trudging tours around muddy fields followed by pensioners and middle-aged time-team fans (and beyond half-cocked, dumbed-down nonsense to appease viewers who can understand but can't be bothered to read a book)?
I'm a commercial archaeologist. I'm wrapped up in commercial archaeology, I contribute (I hope) to doing and producing good work which has academic value and where possible, I embrace the idea of inclusive community involvement and contribution. I've undertaken community based work in various forms in the past, although probably nothing beyond the standard types of projects that many of us at all levels do. In the past I've held the frustrations at the academic community who don't capitalise on the huge quanitites of data we produce, and frustration at the large number of academics who really should retire and stop clogging up the system (and I think that applies as readily to the commercial world as well, I should add - that isn't a gripe I hold as particularly relevant now or is relevant to this, nor a debate we need to get into on this thread).
However, I do not see this as being a justification for archaeology's existence either to society or to politicians or to the commercial markets we 'serve' in clearing away the archaeology they don't want to be there.
I hear what you're saying about the value of archaeology to commercial developers and in some limited areas this is embraced by them. If you're building a middle class gated community in Berkshire then maybe it will be a selling point. But if a developer is cramming as many plots into a surburban site in Manchester, Birmingham or Leeds to be sold as starter homes or 'value' properties as most housing developments are, they won't give a monkeys about what was there. The most you might get them to do is put up a banner or placard somewhere, outlining the projects findings and nice publicity piece on the local news. That said, image is worth a lot in the ongoing battle for big businesses to stave off the 'big, bad and corporate' image and exploiting archaeology for that is something developers across many industries already recognise as their primary proactive aim in hiring archaeology companies. I have no doubt commercial and academic archaeology can change and develop and improve and evolve into better things, but along those routes will always be the pitfalls of likeability to certain markets. University archaeology departments have been continually shut down or merged or shrunk over the past few years because universities are now largely business orientated and archaeology depts can rarely offer the types of income that medicine, engineering and various sciences etc can. Commercial archaeology will always be subject to the whim of developer's lobbies and the blessing of public interest and political support.
But the question is, where else can we go with this?
Are we destined to be slaves to the developers and to our own poorly evolved systems. And is the public destined to only view archaeology through the lens of a production company's cameras with a 'knowledgable' and 'likeable' fella fronting some slightly more complicated theory interspersed with interesting graphics and a lot of hyperbole?
Push on, people. Lets think anew!