29th September 2004, 04:01 PM
After a fun but gruelling Scottish Archaeology Month... it suddently came to me.. their is a fine fine line between treating archaeology as a business and treating it too much like a business. I often thought that I was telling clients that I was there to make sure that they did not find archaeology... and if they did I would make sure that they could work around it - An archaeologist who did not find / want to find archaeology...... is this right!.
BAck in teh 80's and enven the early 90's... it was possible to excite the client with tales of Roman postholes and Viking Wattle fences... you felt as if you were there to discover and find out amazing new things to offer to the public....
Did anyone notice when this stopped?? Am I the only one to think that the fun has gone... and only when you do things like national archaeology weeks/months does a glimmer of the 'way it used to be' come back?
I recently asked a group of diggers if they were enjoying a site....
nah... not really... there's nothing here... but at least the money is good. ---- I pointed out... interesting a number of things which would be of interest... including the why no archaeoilogy on clearly a suitable site... hmmmm yeah I suppose so they collectively shrugged while keeping an eye on the clock and the contract.
[xx(]
BAck in teh 80's and enven the early 90's... it was possible to excite the client with tales of Roman postholes and Viking Wattle fences... you felt as if you were there to discover and find out amazing new things to offer to the public....
Did anyone notice when this stopped?? Am I the only one to think that the fun has gone... and only when you do things like national archaeology weeks/months does a glimmer of the 'way it used to be' come back?
I recently asked a group of diggers if they were enjoying a site....
nah... not really... there's nothing here... but at least the money is good. ---- I pointed out... interesting a number of things which would be of interest... including the why no archaeoilogy on clearly a suitable site... hmmmm yeah I suppose so they collectively shrugged while keeping an eye on the clock and the contract.
[xx(]
