17th October 2013, 01:13 PM
Wax Wrote:So what does the School of Jack see as the main skills needed as a supervisor in:
Commercial Archaeology
Academic ( research) Archaeology
Community Archaeology
Or are the skills the same? personally I think you need a thick skin and the ability to cut though the c... when dealing with staff, clients, academics, and the public.
The lessons of The School of Jack only refer to the world of Commercial archaeology.
As will be detailed in later lessons the main weapons a supervisor should develop to survive in the commercial world are.
The ability to learn, and keep learning
The ability to adapt to the often strange, incomprehensible foibles of the construction industry without loosing your head.
The ability to cover one's own rear
The ability to smell archaeology
Confidence to (politely) stand up to anyone (from shovel-leaner to prime minister) when you are right
The ability to know when you are wrong
The ability to know when to retreat
The ability to predict the unpredictable
Attention to detail that borders on OCD
The ability to "manage"/inspire/manipulate people
As to the issue of an important archaeological relationship existing or not someone is obviously missing the point of supervising a dig.
As the work continues someone should be developing the digging strategy with respect to the evidence being gathered with reference to the regional research frameworks/ current academic thought. Questions that exist or are arising.
An important relationship could be, for instance, the intersection of the first enclosure ditch with a field system, or the only point where a grave from your Anglian cemetery intersects with your enclosures. Or could be a spatial relationship of a group of postholes to enclosure ditches.
It is irrelevant in the first instance whether the phasing of these features is visible in a section. The question should be how can we maximise the chances of discerning these important relationships. DO we need to increase environmental sampling for radiocarbon dating or finds recovery? Do we need to dig the intersections as a series of doglegs to increase the number of photographed and drawn sections that interrogate the phasing or would digging in plan be better? Do we need to strip beyond the enclosure to see if these pits extend beyond it? etc etc.
The important relationships exist. Whether you unravel them is up to you.
Which leads The School on to the issue of fault/responsibility.
Grow a backbone, stand up to your own faults, take responsibilities for your mistakes. Learn. Be better. Save more archaeology.
But of course be nurtured, be comfortable, protected. Its ok, you don't have to try harder, your doing your best. Its only archaeology.
Choose your path. Resist or Convert.
The School of Jack is not responsible for its thinly veiled references to modern media