Whilst doing a bit of research earlier I came across an article in The Observer that I missed when it was published. With continuing threats to heritage funding in the UK dominating many archaeological discussions I thought it would be worth summarising here for anyone else who didn’t see it :
“Large quantities of important archaeological material, the fruit of years of fieldwork, are at present lying, unexamined…”
An eminent archaeologist discussed this unfortunate state of affairs with the newspaper:
“British archaeology….is working under a very serious handicap, which may be stated briefly as lack of adequate funds and adequate facilities for research. The idea that the work is completed when the excavation of a site is finished and a report published is quite erroneous.
The article goes on to discuss other issues facing archaeology in the UK (including one which I imagine will be a growing issue if undergraduates with large debts cease to enter the archaeological workforce):
“There is to-day a dearth of archaeological experts who are qualified to conduct excavation and to deal with the finds…”
Oh, and the date of publication?