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Last revised: 28 February 2000
Newbury - The Archaeology Bypass by Jill Eisele, Third Battle of Newbury. "I thought that AONBs were protected from development; that English Nature, English Heritage and the National Rivers Authority stood fast against the threats of large scale development... I also thought that police were nice men in helmets, who always told the truth. Now I know better."
A New Manifesto for British Archaeology by Paul Graves-Brown, RESCUE. "...archaeology in Britain has lost its sense of purpose. Through bureacratization and the constraints of the contracting system, the importance of archaeology to society has been eclipsed by the administrative demands of planners and the financial needs of developers."
Historic Landscape, Human Landscape by Simon M. Chadwick, The Land is Ours. "...archaeologists and heritage workers must take a lead by presenting a more holistic view of the nature of the historical and cultural landscape. "
Archaeology in the post-election climate Jenny Jones, The Green Party. "Remember that to do nothing is to accept what is happening. That is also a political statement, a political act, to let things continue as they are without standing up and demonstrating that there are other possibilities."
Archaeology in the UK: A view from the Council for British Archaeology by Richard Morris, World Archaeological Bulletin:
"It is the stronger services which are most vulnerable - in the rest, there is little left to cut. Each year one or two of the remaining broader-based services are put in jeopardy. Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire suffered in 1997 and 1998. This year services were threatened in Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Somerset, and elsewhere."
UK: Local archaeology and a bright future: "...history without community participation is history confined. What we understand, admire, or find intriguing is more likely to be cherished than something which is ignored or underestimated. Statutory protection will always be needed, and a sound planning system enables choices to be made between competing demands. But listing and scheduling will never cover more than a fraction of Britain's inheritance. A public sensititised to the historic environment can embrace it all." Richard Morris in British Archaeology, July 1999.
UK: What do developers think of archaeologists?: "I would not have minded if they found had found the tomb of Tutankhamen," he told me. "But who cares that a farrier lived here 600 years ago?"
UK: Roads to Nowhere: Bill Bevan considers "archaeology, landscape, and a planning process that by-passes more than towns" in a paper prepared for the A&D conference at Newbury in 1996.
USA: The Declaration of San Antonio: A declaration resulting from the meeting of the InterAmerican Symposium on Authenticity in the Conservation and Management of the Cultural Heritage in March 1996: "...some archaeological sites are still held to be sacred by the descendants of the creators of the site, and as such, should be minimally disturbed, or not disturbed at all, by archaeologists or development."
USA: Time Crime : Protecting the Past for Future Generations: by Robert D. Hicks (a specialist in the law enforcement section of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Criminal Justice Services in Richmond. ) Examines the conflicts between archaeologists and amateur diggers: "...Inspecting the property, police found human remains strewn everywhere. Aerial views of the bulldozed site, which aired on national television, showed a pockmarked landscape that, according to many observers, resembled a World War I battlefield. In their quest for wealth, the men had pushed aside centuries of a people's history--their tools, potsherds, hearths, and houses--while leaving modern debris, including soda and beer cans, among the artifacts. In particular, the men had disturbed or destroyed hundreds of graves...."
CANADA: "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore": The rise of archaeological consulting in Ontario, by Neal Ferris (Archaeology & Heritage Planning Ministry of Citizenship, Culture & Recreation): "...each year marked by millions of dollars in CRM archaeology being spent, and hundreds of archaeological sites being found and excavated. However, the archaeological community has been slow to recognize and respond to the challenges these changes have created, and in so doing has increasingly left itself open to criticisms of paying only lip service to a high- minded conservation ethic, while pursuing rather baser, economic motivations."
UK: Archaeologists put a price on the past : Competitive tendering threatens to force local teams out of a £35m market, reports Nigel Hawkes. "Developers were accused of hiring cheaper archaeologists from outside areas, who then failed to publish their discoveries through local talks and booklets. Council archaeology teams said that the trend prevented them from using their local expertise and could result in their going out of business.... Richard Morris, director of the Council for British Archaeology, said that cost was often a leading factor in deciding contracts. "There are concerns that, in some cases, corners are cut to the point where quality goes out of the window.
"There is also a danger of eroding the local basis of archaeology, which has implications for public understanding and for building up knowledge of an area. Archaeology is not just academic site-clearance - it's about knowledge and explanation."
UK: Letter to The Times by Christopher Sparey-Green: "The real problem, however, is the impact of privatisation on standards. Commercialisation has too often simply led to the casualisation of employment, shoddy and over-hasty fieldwork and the production of repetitive, formulaic reports that are of little benefit to developers, the local community or academic researchers - that is if any final reports are produced in the scramble to secure the next contract. "
World: Heritage of Value, Archaeology of Renown: Reshaping Archaeological Assessment and Significance: Abstracts of papers presented to an interesting conference at Bournemouth University, UK, in 1997, with contributions from the UK, the USA, Holland, and Australia.
World: Significance and preservation of world cultural heritage: Report by Dr. Susanne von der Heide on the International Symposium in Hildesheim on World Cultural Heritage: "Many of the most beautiful and most significant examples of the cultural and natural heritage of our civilized world now often suffer more damage in one decade than in all the centuries before. This shocking fact is not only a challenge to the international community, politicians and scientists, but requires the public as a whole and as individuals to act responsibly. However, it also requires new concepts in order to protect the cultural heritage of the world from destruction and decay and to make it accessible to a public which must be made more sensitive to the problem worldwide. EXPO 2000 in Hannover would be the ideal place in which to present suitable concepts."
UK: Effect of PPG16 on the preservation of Medieval towns in England: An interesting thread from the British Archaeology (BRITARCH) email list on the difference PPG16 has made.
Getting their hands dirty?: "...instead of receiving accolades... the curators found their ethics under fierce attack. The accusation? Presenting the public with illegally obtained booty."
Who owns the past?: "...the amateurs should refrain from excavating archaeological sites, but the professionals should provide information about what we find and what it means to the interested public. "
Archaeology and ethics: Articles on the About.com archaeology website.
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Radical Archaeology as Dissent by Theresa Kintz, New York: "Archaeologists could become very effective social critics of rampant technological change, corporate domination, hierarchical class systems and unsustainable development if they chose to interpret the "evidence" they study in a different light. "
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