The Institute of Field Archaeologists -Why Join?

When I first started digging I had absolutely no idea what the IFA was or what it did. From what I could gather fiom conversations with my more experienced peers, they were some mythical entity which wielded a kind of mysterious power, and acted in some way like the Masons, where no-one really knew how to get in or if they did they weren't letting on.. .and whe was I to be asking anyway? To be fair I was young and nalve, but even now I am not entirely sure of the purpose they serve, and if you ask yourselves the same question you may be struggling too. I have a lot of friends who have joined the Institute, and who will sing the praises of the establishment. They point out that by joining they are proving themselves to be of an acceptable standard in order to undertake certain work, and anyway the extra letters after your name look good, don't they? My personal problem with this is that I have worked for quite a long time as a digger, I have a long and impressive enough CV, I have gained a lot of skills, and I don't have a lot of problem getting work. So why should I spend £50 a year (plus the £10 non-returnable "application" fee) for little reward? The argument that by joining you are proving yourself to be a far better digger than your non-member compatriot seems ridiculous. I know members who cannot dig for toffee, besides which most, if not all, units will go on quantity of experience rather than membership of the IFA as a selling point ... especially these days where acceptable d i m are baoming a rarer species. Most units will now employ diggers on the back of only a few weeks experience if they are desperate enough, which in itself is not necessarily a bad thing as it means more people get the paid digging experience they deserve, but this just emphasises my point. Why join? Exponents of the IFA will point out that actually the conditions we now fmd ourselves working under are entirely down to the IFA issuing guidelines which units can now follow in order to come under the umbrella title of 'professionals' (to quote their literature, their aims are 'to provide an active professional organisation', and 'to develop professional guidelines7 for field archaeology and some other nice fluffy stuff). As an example, English Heritage and the IFA are at present doing a survey of pay and benefits (e.g. accommodation) in order to attempt to standardise job titles and pay scales as guidelines for units to work by. This is not a bad thing (how can it be?), because the one thing this job needs is some form of professionalism to kick it into the nineties. But the IFA's guidelines are not mandatory - no IFA police will come down heavy on a unit who chooses to bend a few rules and cut a few corners. We all know

only too well what this means ... low wages, short contracts and no comeback - no change. The IFA have a big thing about any members (note you have to be a member, this doesn't work on non-members) bringing the profession into disrepute because when you become a member you have to be a 'proper person' and joining has to 'mark a new threshold in an individual's professional development' (I'm not making this up ... it is the Masons!). As far as I am aware only one person in its entire history has been brought up in fiont of the council and actually reprimanded. To me, the Institute has now effectively been rendered powerless, if it ever had any power, by the outbreak of 'unsolicited' units on the back of competitive tendering which.it can no longer reign in. All it now seems to exist as is a talking shop between increasingly older members who are in comfortable positions within the profession and who can afford to discuss the higher problems of archaeology in a relaxed and convivial manner without ever having to change very much for those that matter on the ground (if you pardon the pun). So after all this opening build up it may surprise you to know that I am going to join the IFA, and that I think you should too. My reasoning is this. The Institute may be outmoded, out of touch and at present may serve very little purpose, but at present it is the o& thing we have which allows us any form of clout as regards the profession we are in. Whatever we may think of them now, they started up for the same reasons that we are presently fighting for. Apparently, in the past, other opposing groups did start up but they never got anywhere (or things would be better and we would have heard of them), so why not use what actually exists and is firmly established for our own ends? As it stahds at the moment, nothing will change through the IFA because no diggers are joining, and if they do, no one is standing up to the say "e rm... I don't like this ... change it, please". They have conferences! We could make lots of noise and really upset the people who actually give us the crap wages, long hours and woefully short contracts. By getting large numbers to join to pull weight in elections, and using the newsletter as a rallying point, we can use our numbers to get someone on to council and to push through motions which favour diggers' work conditions. Sub-groups exist in the IFA as regards (for example) finds/environmental staff, so at the very least we could push for a sub-group to be formed for us. So that's why I'm joining. I want to make a difference in some way and I think by doing this I will ... what do I have to lose? (Apart fiom £50 a year.. .of course). It is the only way. Or is it? What do you think? Are you a member and disagree with this writer's point of view? Or is the writer mad to join? Or what? Write in.

Here are some of the items that may be appearing in the next issue. A11 The IPMS (archaeology division) -yes, archaeologists do actually

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comments welcome. have a union. Does anyone actually know what it does and how we

can make it workfor us? A league table jor units - (coming over all New Labour for a nzomenl), who are the good units to workfor, who are the bad units to work for and why? Student archaeologists - how do you feel about the job market ... can you even get work?

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The Digger Yes, it's now your chance to participate in our statistically dubious and irreverent league of archaeological units. Just write back to us regarding units you have worked for and each issue we will make some vain attempt to get them into a table as a guide to where to go and where not to go. In six mor,:hs iime h e winning unit's director will receive a Creme egg; the loser a rotten egg. Check out the following points: + wages: above f 190 or below? + pay problems - yes or no? + sick & holiday pay - automatic or

conditional? + travel eqenses paid - yes or no? + _;ommodation:free, charged or non-

existent? + provision of equipment - e.g. boots? + length of contract - above a month or

below? + level of respect - valued colleague or

trowel fodder? Dead easy! Get writing. Also on Lhe subject of reviews.. .

The Archaeology Training Forum is a delegate body which represents all those organisations which have an interest in the issues of training and career development within archaeology. The Forum has recently conmussioned a review of current training in haeology and is looking at how promlon should be developed in the future and at particular areas of need. Part of the review has included interviews with a sample of archaeologists, drawn from the membership of professional groups, to seek their personal views and record thei~ experience of training. A nunlber 01 respondents have commented 011 the serious problenls faced by hose working on h e digging circuit, in particular the general lack of training and career developmeill opportunities for those entering the

( profession on short-tern coiltracts ol employment in archaeological field projects. The AFT is concerned that the views of this particular section of the archaeological coinmunity are not properly represented ir the interview sample for the review, so we are taking the opportunity to seek views and constructive colnments from you on the

Issue No. 2, February 1999 PO Box 39 1, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3GS

:went training situation and how it might ,e improved. f you would like to volunteer to be nterviewed in confidence as part of the ,eview, please contact the AFT'S consultant ~t the address below and let her know when md how she can get in touch with YOU.

nterviews are usually conducted by phone )U[, K you prefer, you can fill in a luestiomaire (available either from 'The ligger' or from the address below). Or ;imply write with your views. AI1 records of nterviews and comments of respondents .emain anonymous. four contribution to the training review will )e appreciated, and is a chance to make ~ractical suggestions and add some iubslance to the case for change in the way .hat Lrai~ng and career development are xganised in archaeology.

Sill Chitty, Hawkshead Archaeology and Conservation, Hawkshead Home Farm, Highfield Lane, Bolton le Sands, Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 8AE

+ A joint IFNEH survey of archaeological employment, Projlrng the Profession, will be published shortly, and a summary will appear in The Archaeologist (the F A mag) and will also be accessible via F A , CBA and EH websites. If like me you have accen to none of Lhese (!), you will be pleased t c hear that the author, Kenneth Aitchison o: Landward Archaeology, will be writing ar article on it for us, on its publication. + The next F A conference is in Glasgon behveen the 7th and 9th of April 1999. Thc annual elections to the FA'S governin{ council are this sunlrner, when member! will be canvassed Tor nonlinations. Ge joining and let's get a dlgger on council The Director has also asked if some form o meeting could be arranged between digger! and the IFA, quote: "to learn more abou your concerns, and to discuss with you ou strategies for addressing some of thc problems the proTession faces". Anyone u~ for it? Feedback welcome.

- t Carlisle Archaeology Unit are to be aken over by Bradford University in iugust. What effect this will have on the vages and work conditions of the unit staff lnce they are no longer council run is .nyone1s guess. A meeting will be held with tafT in March.

Winnersh Farm, Reading One bog for thirty people Morning time bad Zen.

Fobney street, Reading Curl one down in the river No Elsan on site.

Hampton Court Palace Trowelling gravel four weeks Finding nothing there.

Wine stained through T-shlrt Chop stripped down, oil in grill pan Road kill and rank feet.

Soaked through the bone, Slithering through wet clay. God let's get wasted.

Project Officer Hot on the tails of female Student volunteers.

The IFA write back ... R Your anonymous correspondent's article The Institute of Field Archaeologists - Why Join? (The Digger, I , December 1998) zontained a number of nusconceptions about the Institute, some of which I know to be widely held amongst dyggers. Before tackling them I should point out that although addressing those working in the field, the IFA is the professional body for all archaeologists, whatever branch of the discipline they work in. Your co:-responder.t rig!iUy rubbishes the argument that by joining the F A you 'prove yourself to be a far better dygger than your non-member con~patriot'. You don't. But you do demonstrate that your performance as an archaeologist has successfully undergone the scrutiny of your peers, and that you have made a personal commitment to a demanding code of professional ethics. You have undertaken work only in a responsible, professional way. The article unkindly likens l l~e IFA to the Freemasons,

and although both organisations are exclusive - for very different reasons - only one of them is secretive. We publish the identities of F A members, and we expect them to encourage others to adopt our

I professional codes - somewhat different from Uueatening to cut out the tongues of those who reveal our secrets! The article and the editorial make similar points about what the IFA considers to be the biggest problems facing archaeology today: generally poor pay and conditions, inadequate training, job ilis~cti~ity 2nd t!te lack of career structure. In essence, improving the situation could be straightfonvard. The only group of people that wants to solve these problems is the only one that can. It's up to archaeologists to sort the profession out. Employers - most 01 them - pay diggers badly because theii competitors do. It's no more reasonable tc expect a single employer to act unilaterallj than it is to expect a sole excavator to refuse to work for less than E25,000 a year. Bul there's no fundamental reason why the whole archaeological profession shouldn'l move together to address these issues, f o ~ the benefit of all. That's what the F A is about. It's made U[

I of individuals who realise that archaeologj needs regulating, and that i t has to br

L- - - 1 regulazd -from within. Its members havr 1 agreed to submit themselves tc I deinocratically agreed regulations that arc

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far more stringent than those demanded b) the archaeological marketplace. If al: archaeologists agreed to be bound by thr Institute's regulations, and to use it! democratic procedures to ensure that a1 areas are covered, our problems would bt few. Your writer has pinpointed the' rea issue: its not the F A that's the problen (however much he or she may see the neec for reforming it), its the non-members. B! not conlnlitting themselves to improving thc profession, they help to perpetuate the woe: that they complain about. So I'm glad that your writer will be applyin! for membership. His or her zeal fo changing the profession is just what the Fi needs, and the suggested Special lnteres

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~ o u p for excavators (excavators are pecialists) is long overdue.

'eter Hinton, Director, The Institute of Tield Archaeologists

ro sz~ggest that all the woes of the n-ofession can be blamed on non-members s simplistic; surely the blame lies with the 'FA, for not addressing the reasons why >eople generally aren't joining (no point, lever do anything, waste of irroney ltc.).. . how about making the joining and ~ie~nher.vhi,u,fees myre manageable:' El.

,..as do the diggers!

Zl 1 am well impressed that the newslette~ sot together. I 100% agree with the arlicle m the F A . 1 have always shunned the F A , :onsidering it completely ineffectual where 11 mattered. 1 still thmk that, but as the uticle says, change isn't going to happen where it needs to by shunning the issues: and infiltration with change from within is definitely the way forward. Fuck it, 1 am going to join.

E? The last issue lamented the fact that the [FA does not discipline or investigate it: own members; to be fair this might be dlfficult or inappropriate as the 1FA i s on15 an association and has no real status in law The problem is that an individual membei lacks the resources to gather evidence tc make a good case against miscreants anc runs the risk that the subject of thc investigation might take retaliatory action ir the courts or elsewhere. On the other hanc there are no other organisations who arc either willing or able to take concertec action to do th s kind of thing , and somt regard it as distasteful even to conside! gathering evidence against fellov archaeologists. There is also the problem o evidence; most archaeologists are reluctan to 'put their heads above the parapets' Again the fear of reprisal comes in employers take a dim view of such activitie: - being a whistleblower is never apopz!~r The case of sites where no report i, produced also presents problems - how dc Credit

ve separate general slippage in post- :xcavation work from the deliberate viiithholding of information? There is the pestion of interpretation; important sites :an be 'talked down'. It only needs a vatching brief or a few trenches placed so as o find nothing. But how do you prove any )f ths? Sites have a 'subjective' component, ~ n d effective monitoring by curators cannot llways happen; what goes into the diggers wke t when no one is looking is anyone's pess. In the end, if you want to be a cowboy here's going to be no sherrifs posse after {ou and if things get a bit hot in one county hen you can always work elsewhere. Join he F A by all means, because one day there nay be an opportunity to get rid of these :rooks.

Zl My thoughts on field archaeology in the 30's6? Beyond the obvious "goddamn rip-off' 11s pretty much the way you expressr i t

yourselves in the newsletter. It's a disgme that our employers place such a low value on what we do. Compare [our wages] with the werage E15K p.a. that graduates of other sciences walk into. Experienced staff are leaving, or suffering in silence. And the people responsible f o ~ iius rake in the cash. mb their hands in glee and congratulate themselves. They don't want us to lead clccenr Irappy iives b~cause- it wiil cos1 ii1e111 money. What fucks me off most about archaeology is that it doesn't transfer to anything else. I've tried [all the jobs]. All any employer sees is that you've done 20+ lobs, none have lasted long and you've moved all over the place. And if you're passed 30, you're basically dead. You can't settle, you can't hold a job down, you're a waster. The most tragic t hng is for an -a £50 I'd be happy to stay in archaeoldgy. Fifty fucking bar. The difference between a happy life in my chosen career 1vluc11 I do very well and living hand-to-mouth. The sanle amount as a "Time Team" presenter's nightly bar bill ...

Please send any $cn hatc zai! io !he address above.. .

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Every now and then it comes to the point when you want to moye on, so you pitch out your CV and wait. Eventually you get a phone-call from some unit you've heard good things about who say that they've got a kbul3ns si:e, i ~ o f i t h of wcric, con^ on down and join t k m . Excitedly you ask them all lunds of questions ... and then the question of accommodation comes up. "Sorry I 'm afraid we don't actually provide anyhing" is d ~ e inevitable answer. OK, you think, I'll wing it ... Lf ~rou're lucky enough to have friends al,dy working for Lhe unit, you may-be able to doss down onra male's floor fqr a wlule, but of course tlus can only be a shop Lerm tl~ing. Even the best of friends will eventually nind up not speaking to/liurting/killingg each other after 2 weeks of foot odour and vegetarian coolung fallout in a two metre squared box room. You also feel like somc free-loader, no matter how many pints you buy them. so alternative measures need seekng.. . The B&B is always a tempting alternative ... a cooked breakfast every morning, clean sheets to come back to, complimentary soap, Swedish porn on Lhe satellite telly ... ern1 ... it's too good to be true. Except it never is of course; the places usually end up as some bad version 01 F ~ . 4 t y Towers on acid, there's always a lo, scally building crew living there and every time you stumble in drunk fronl whatever hostelry you may have frequented. there will be some blue-rinsed scary lad] giving you the evil eye for existing. And they are incredibly expensive, especially or our wages. Scratch h a t one.. . The inevitable and horrible result is that y o ~ will have to rent somewhere, and iiii! always presents problen~s, especially wher you Inay be renting somewhere else already as is often the case for diggers with partner! andlor faiiiilies. The hunt is always r drag ... endlessly trudging around over-price( bedsii ratholes ivith mould on the walls unti finally you cave in and agree to a 6 montl contract with a months notice, even thougl your employn~ent contract notice is only :wc weeks and you will inevitably lose money 01

an unoccupied room. Finding the bond i ;~lways enterlaining ... sccmping togetlie

very last little saving and squeezing every chap went misty-eyed and said he wished he unce out of the credit card so that at the nd of the dig, some despotic landlord can urn round and say he's keeping it all ecause you've chipped a mug he mm. 'hen the biggest downer of all...all the bills hat suddenly fly your way as soon as your lame is down on a contract. Council tax, vater rates, gas, electricity, TV licence. - hey all lace up their size 12 Docs and give IOU a good booting when you're down to lour last few pence, no matter how long you ry and duck them. And then t!xy 'forget' to ,eimburse you when you have to leave as lou've been hid off early, only to traipse off o another unit to do it all again. The knock In effect of course is that you never have tny damn money ever, and that f iS9 per veek you are doled out ends up nearer hall hat. lust occasionally the answer to that question will be "of course we supply icconunodation" ... at tlus point be very veq :areful. To be fair often the accommodation ;upplied is way above par...for e.uample, 3ci;!i;?& IT..-:'",..'

" k " L U 6 U .""Pp:. L̂"..':' U k U U L I l W ' l

~cconunodation, but for a cost (it was free, ~ u t thanks to the government any free 3ccomrnodation supplied to workers is nov axed.- Free accommodation is seen as E

?erk, ergo taxable, so EH are now forced tc ?ass on the cost to the diggers - beware, thi: may soon happen to other units too). Yet the jtories of appalling and insanitary l ivin~ ;paces are legion - caravan sites with nc heating in the depLlis of winter; ex-drui rehab hostels wilh junlues breaking dowr [he doors to get in; sleeping in tht portacabin in Februaq; an old chapel wit1 snow coming th:ough the holes in Llle roof an abandoned warehouse, building you. own room out of scrap metal - tliese have al been considered acceptable accommodatioi at some time by our illustrious leaders, whc potter off in tlie Volvo at night to their IUCI

cenlrally-heated semi. Most frightening i that we are often charged for these hovel by those caring employers of ours. The: appear to view tliese ex~eriences as bein] "jolly things to do, an exercise in Dunlurl spirit, the team pulling together for Llle gooc of the dig". A friend recently relayed ,

conversation undertaken with a senio arcliacologist about how he'd been stuck i a caravan with a gas fire which l e a k Carbon Monoxide by some unit; the 011

ould do all that again. Hello? Tlus would le seen as a near fatal accident in the real vorld, yet in archaeology it is vicived almost omantically. :he ideal solution would be units ecognising that for an initial outlay of say ;75,000 they cr~uld buy up a house; do i! U@

md rent it at low rates to dggers, and still ~e well in the black vis-a-vis mortgage Iayments etc. Tlus would provide enough Ieace of mind for us ro maybe consider aking on jobs that we would ofien like to do jut can't because we can't afford to: live tnywhere in the south, for example. The sad act is Lllat Llus will probably never happeii ind diggers will carry on losing money land over fist while Q i n g to get by and :am a living, or end up in some godawful ;hack which most people wouldn't even louse their dogs in. Sad but true. 301 any wdwlievable acco~n~nodation rules 'o relav7 write in.

If aayone is going tn f!ie F A cnnferc-?cc .

~t Glasgow University between the 7th and 9th of April, could Lhey write us a little $ece about it? (preferably satirical but 1 leave that up to you!). Due to the rather unfortunate choice of days (i.e. Wednesday to Friday) we can't actually go, as !he ~astards we work for won't give us time off. Failing Lhat, anyone fancy dumping a load of copies of this newsletter around, get in touch.

Also, if anyone knows the outcome of the nieeling behlieen Bradford University, Carlisle Archaeology Unit and he i r enlployees please let us know. We just love juicy gossip.. .

IFA JIS Swizz'? PZ Most archaeologists I know are only members of the IFA because it advertises jobs that can't be seen elsewhere. Perhaps The Digger could set up a job search facility as a separate entity from thc newsletter (at a small fee to cover cos!^)'? All it needs is for readers to inform you of anything they hear going .

.4 urce idea, Our this p~rblrcafion is proving un a~nply fime conswning rusk on i f s own! Wh-v don '1 you give i f a go? We could point

peuple in -vur/r dirrciiuii Q" rlecessary. On [he su~ne topic.. . :-i I was intrigued bj. your article on the IFk, and in particular the reply from the director. What bdfles me is the conslant claim bj' tlus pamcdar organisation that [hey are in some way battling for the rights of archaeologists, when to my mind their Jobs l~lt^ormation Service is so over-priced. For some time now 1 have subscribed to their jobs-sheet as a non-member. For the j- r r l b ~ i i l . .,. silbscrip!ion of E60 a ;-?;v I receive one shecl. . a week (except where the organiser is on holiday) listing all jobs available h a t particular week. Now I've found this service very useful - a lot of jobs appear in there that don't actually appear on a Wednesday in the Guardan - but there is something which puzzles me. A double- sided A4 sheet costs at most 10p to photocopy, often as much as a th rd less-if photocopying in bulk, which they must do. A Grst class sta!!p costs 26p. An envelope costs around 2p (again if you are buying in bulk). Add i t up . . . 38p, at the highest possible cost. So out of the £1.15 w h c h you pay for each release; you get s o m e h n g which costs 38p. A profit of 77p for the F A . or two thirds of what you pay them. - - -.- - T h e x 1s the aigi~iiefir rkzi d i ~ y are provihng a service, and it costs to do tlus (e.g. Lynne Bevan's salary), hence the figures. But let's have a look at their advertising rates.. . E40 per week for up to an A5 ad (which most are). If you count up the ads in any issue wllicli you happen to pick up, you will find an average of about 10 (except maybe over the Christmas period). So on each issue the IFA nets £400 ir advertising rates, which is not a bad little sum, especially when you consider you're paying for the ~uedlum on which it is produced. If Ms. Bevan is being paid E200 per week, which seems reasonable, there's still L200 going into the coffers. Even wheu you have actually joined the IFA, you have to supply S.4F.s to ge! the bulleiin, whlch l think is distinctly fishy. I think most archaeologists woidc appreciate a substantial reduction in thesc rates fcr what really is a life-line for mosl

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)ecple working in the fieid - if they make so nuch on advertising why not provide it iee?

us. Bevan replies: Thanks for suggesting hat a wage of £200 per week is a reasonable sum' for my labours - l wish! 1 :ompile the JIS as a part-time job (for which

receive a part-time wage) in addition to ny full-time work at BUFAU. I'd like to loint out that 1 started in field archaeology md spent two years contract digging, so I io appreciate the i l if icdti~;& esqxrienced !)y lour readers. Apart from my salary, yolu correspondent is ~ad ly rnisiaken about our adverlising revenue. We don't have paid adverts every week, or even every month, as most of our adverts are a e n from newspapers and iournals, -which leads to a hefty annual newsagents bill on top of our other expenses @hotocop$ng, postage, telephone and fax :os:s, stationery etc.). Our -adverlising revenue is essentially unpredictable, fluctuating throughout the year, and would not finance my modest wage, never mind all of our adhtional expenses. Besides, there is no secrecy about our turnover. It's published annually by the E A . From the feedback I receive, I know the JIS is 'a lifeline for people woiklng in the iieici' but I disagree it is 'overpriced'. The JIS is provided to IFA members at a substantial dlscount (which just covers costs) as a benefit of men~bershp. For example, if you1 correspondent joined the F A as an for only £12, they could pay the annual nizmbers rate of L30 subscription, spending £42 and saving £18 on a nonmembers subscription as well as receiving Thc Archaeologist and the annual director) which contains useful addresses for the job. seeker. Sending SAEs would cost the samc m o u n t in postage and envelopes as the £3C subscription. (cheersfor the tip! Regarding the suggestion that the JI5 should be provided free to 1FA nlenlbers, : send ou: ';CO S M s ro IPA nlernhers eve? week. Lf the IFA paid for postage an( envelopes, it would cost over £100 pel month in addition to photocopying cosir

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10p a sheet no discount) and my time (if lnly costs us 6p per sheet ...&l ). @y ncrease in membership would illcrease hese costs dramatically. Members sending ; a s need only receive the sheet when they leed it, for example, when a contract is onling to an end. Bear in mind ihat the FA is financed by members subscriptions a d it cannot afford tc make a loss. 'ersonally, 1 was against the subscription aise for non-members hvo years ago, but he JIS is still value for money. ~ y n n e Bevan, !SA JIS Compiler

'lease send any fan / hate mail 10 the zddress above.. . anrljinally . . . . .

iere i t is, part one of our statistically fubious and irreverent, cut-out-and-k

1 eague of archaeological units. You write to IS regarding units you have worked for and :ach issue we make some vain attempt to ;et them into a table as a guide to where to ;o and where not to go. In.six ulonhs time he winning unit's director will receive n 3 e m e egg; the loser a rotten egg. First up ln the block.. .

. . .S - - - - - - - --.. - .. - -. -- - . . ... .-, -- - - - I I l B.C.AS (aka LbRedford") I

I Wages - above E l 90? 0 I I Sick pay ? 0 1 I Holiday pay? 0 i f Acconunodation? I O£ ! ! Free eaui~ment? l @ ! ; Any available training? ; Contracts 1 month+?

l I Level of respect for staff 0 -- , I

Good archaeology? .. I V L --------------- L - - Q - ~ J

Key: @ GreaUyes @ Passablelyes @ Badlno 2 Total poison - auoid! 6 ND. of months wai!. f Costs a bit!

hrot a bad score. More next issrre. ..keep 'enr rolling in. -. Debit L47.00

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'The Digger' is a non-profit nlaking newsletter existing on donations. All donations welconq payable t b b ~ h e Digger'. Any of funny stories, cartoons, art, crosswords etc. (black and white only, please) welcome. Back-issues available.

For anyone currently working in the north- east and north-west of England. it appears tha! Bradford University seem to pop up everywhere, whether its carrying out upland sumeys to just straight-fonvard escavation. This is no bad thing. as i t demonstrates a commitment on the part of the university to a wide range of experiences for its students, and provides in essence a well-rounded vocational background for all those who ha1.c attended its courses-there. However. Bradford are now looking to enter the commercial market through their

rger with Carlisle City Council A-ichaeological Unit, a move which has been on the cards for some time (as previously mentioned in February, Issue 2). The benefits are reciprocal on both parts: the university will get to buy in to a cornmcrcial market which already esists through the unit's long history of archaeological work. and any associated research which comes from this tradition of working intensively in one area on some of the most archaeologically fertile areas of the country (e.g. Hadrian's Wall): the unit will be assured a safe future as an independent yet university owned company, and will be able to terider for work outside of the city boundaries for the first time evert being no longer restricted by council bureaucracy. The unit will also benefit from the wide

:e of research opportunities and scfentific facilities on offer at the university. which will in theory ex~and :he possib:!ities of work undertakeable by the unit (e.g. geophysics), and will provide core staff members with the possibilities of personal research and development. In order to outline the coming changes. due to go through in August, the university and unit director held a meeting with the core staff in March at the unit in Shaddon Mill. The 'temporary' digging staff were not invited to this meeting, despite the fact that a number of the diggers had been with the unit for two to three years with continuous service on open-ended contracts. A correspondent describes how, as an "appeasement", they were finally allowed a meting of their owl: "It was the feature of the meeting that all the diggers were trying to find out in

essence what would happen to them come . .

the merger. Apparently our conditions .of service are guaranteed to remain the same. initially. However, we're a little confused as to what would happen should they lay us off for a period before the deadline then rehire us. or whether our conditions have to remain the same afier a sis month period. Another concern voiced was the possibility of paid professional diggers being gradually laid off, and their nunlbers being. replaced by Bradford students. We were assured this would not happen, and i t might well not. as I can't see them coming over to Carlisle (or wherever) in term-time. However, in a 'goodwill' gesture from the unit director, four Bradford placement students have already been taken on (on full pay with no esperience). I have no objections to training anyone, as long as it does not interfere with the archaeology. Everyone needs a start. but preferably it shouldn't be by being thrown in at the deep end on a highly comples urban site suffering time and money pressures! How about some in-house training for the current staff? Any chance of being able to mingle with Bradford people, learning new skills, stimulating our interests and makmg ourselves more marketable? The university representatives were very helpful and suggested that perhaps we could get reduced rate courses ... except that, of the people in the room, a majority had already gained pos?gr&unte qua!ifica:icns. S= what good would that be? A further point was also made that we are all on temporary contracts. and these are not normally compliant with course Icngths! Everyone accepts that archaeological digging is quite a transient occupation; the good point of the unit is that it does try to keep people in employment as long as possible. The bad point is that i t takes the rather excellent talents of its workers completely for granted. The point that thc diggers were trying to make the hardest is zhat yes, we are temporary, yes, we are hirable aud fireable, but that can be relative. A years solid work is pretty good going whether as a fised term contract or an open ended one, let alone three years! With that in mind. perhaps Bradford could consider

the skills base available, and invest in i t in terms of opportunities for noncore staff to provide input at a greater depth to archaeological projects." The correspondent also voiced some of the diggers' concerns about just how well such a merger will work: "geographical distance isn't necessarily a factor, with the es!stence of technology such as e-mail; sadly. Carlisle is a little behind arid only purchased a fas machine in the -past .twelve ~nonths. We were told that by joining with the university it would enable digging outside the county, something not permissible at present - but how can this be feasible when the unit has very little experience of escavations outside of Carlisle, let alone Cumbria? We were also told that there would be no drop off of work within the boundaries, as the council would still give all the work to the company because of the 'friendly' relationship with the director. However, many units are gleefully awaiting the merger so that the so- called exclusive area becomes open, once the unit is no longer council-run: one unit already has a dig within the city limits." In what can only be described as sonlething of a hvist. Bradford University are now in the process of merging with one of those 'gleefully awaiting' units as well, Lancaster University Archaeological Unit. From those who know and work in the north-west, it is alleged that Lancaster and Carlisle have both had occasional differences regarding the pursdi: af conirxis, so ii now seems strange that both units will be operating as part of the same company - but perhaps i t will work. Lancaster provides a greater range of services than its future sister-unit. particularly within the spheres of survey and building recording, so there is a possibility of greater concentration on those areas, with Carlisle undertaking more of the excavation work. If anything the unit is far more in tune with a possible merger. as it already operates within the aegis of a university organisation. and therefore may have little of the teething problems which may bc around the corner for Carlisle come August (e.g. pensions etc.). A meeting was held with core staff at Lancaster in June, though we have little in the way of details of what was actually

discussed (no meeting was held with the diggers. strangely enough). However. from what we have gleaned fro111 various sourccs, the unit will opcratc as part of the same company as Carlisle, as different branches. I can't help but wondcr whether the hvo mits \\ . i l l also cnrn on tendering agair~st cach other as before. though common sense would lead onc to think not. as i t would be of littlc bencfit to the company as a wbolc. A further qucstion would be tlie disparity in the currcnt \\.age levels betwcn tlie two cottipanies - are they to bc standardised across the company? If so. this could well be good news for diggers in Lancastcr if wages arc set to risc to thc samc levels as the council scales of Carlislc. I t is worth pointing oui at lhis point just what our sensation-grabbing headline actually alludcs to. Thc company. once established. will incorporate Carlisle. Bradford. Lancasterl and Lancaster's Newcastle oficc - four points of an (admittedly skewed) rectangle. By setting up this company. Bradford havc effectively crcated a vev powerful force within archaeology in the north, as at any point they will be ablc to mobilise quickly across a wide area in order to secure work. Whether tlic implications for digging staff from this 'fast action' approach means that digging stay will also be moved around the whole of thc north and beyond, as contracts dictate, remains to be seen. How hard this may prove for those members of who do not wish to bc so easily ~nobilised for whatever reason - e.g. family and friends - is a moot point, and one which I feel surc will be a bone of contention for many. Diggers' lifestyles are transient at best, but at least occasionally we get to rest u p some\\.here! il perhaps sceins to be unfair to k~iock the elTorts of Bradford. Lancaster and Carlisle to unite together to strengthen thenlselves against the potential problems which competitive tendering seelns to produce so much of these d?ys. By uniting they will guarantee that they will not go to the waI! (not that there was cver any suggestion oj this, but it happens). that work \\..ill alway: be available for them through theil

nibined efforts, and that, potentially, thc Finances: Start bala~~ce (revised) Total contributions Printing costs (projected) Postage costs (projected)

merger will offer better conditions for all staff from digger through to director. Any xoblems described hcrein may well vanish In the coming months. so we wish thcm the xst of luck. But the question remains ....j ust what are they going to call themselves'?

he' fantasy ~nit$&igue . - round three Part threc of an indefinite series ... and a lopical dok~ble-header in our cut-out-and- keep league of archaeological - units! Just remember that change is just around the Zorner so all information contained herein may shortly be out of datc. Kecp on writing 10 us regarding units you haw worked for; :ach issue we'll chuck 'em out 'til someone comes up with something bctter to fill the space. In six months ... oh you know the rest. Let's get i t on!

, - - - - - - - -& - - - - - - - - - - - -

. . - [ Accommodatio~~'! i Frec equipment? 0 i

Any available training? @ I I

I

I Carlisle Archaeologj Unit I

I , Contracts? (1 month+) I O !

I Wagcs abovc );200'? ; Sick pay ?

; Level of respect for staff 0 ; Nice archaeology'?

0 0% I

i Lancaster Uni~rersity Archaeoloa Unit ; I Waees - abovc &200? 0 !

Key: @ GreaVycs @ Passablelyes

@ Badlno El Two tier - depending on experience 63 Free for 'away' sites only.

Credit

8 No. of months wait. Costs a bit!

Q Self-employed only

IFA JIS: I have to praise you ... In the good old days, searching for jobs

meant spending an afternoon each week in thc local libran;. working through back nunibcrs of newspapers. The process was time-consuming. tedious. and sonl- destroying. However good or bad thc IFA is, JlS has been the jewel in a sonletimes tarnished crown: an efficient. reliaMe and professional service that no ad-hoc voluntar). cfIbfl could compete with. C2 l i ~ o u l d like io iigistci ;l;,iiik~ io Lynne Bevan for thc service she offers. As parcnts of' a universit?; student lookirn for his first post. the J1S has been inva. ,ale. speedy and (very important to him) cheap El When you're unemployed. £20 sec :

like a lot of money. but it's a got,..: investment. Due to JIS; I now have a onc year contract in London.

Plrnsr .sent/ c z r y Jh , hotc mm/ to /hc

adtl~.t..cs nbow.. :Wo'rk'irig.Abroad This Summer?

Sojourning in the south of Frar - or escavating in Eg!,pt? Working abrohd can be such n fabulous espcrience. and \VC all need a holiday. So write in and tell us the hot destinations with the best archaeolog,. the best bars and the best pay - \ ~ l ~ c r c you'vc been. or where you're going. Tlic weather's crap. the job's crap, so WC may as wcll bugger otT solnewhere else. If your nest issue starts mysteriously appearing from the continent. you'll k n o ~ why. See you by the pool ...

End balance

-pp- .--

p

1 'The Digger' is a non-profit making newsletter existing on donalions. A11 donations welcome. payable to 'The Digger'. Any

contributions of funny stories, cartoons. art, crosswords etc. (black and white only. please~~velconle. Back-issues available. -p- - - - -- - - -. -- -.

Debit L55,OO

3 0 . 0 0 L20.00

The Digger Issue No. 6, September 1999 PO Box 391, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3GS

Doing-It-Yourself - the lowdown on self employment

Evcv now and then. you'll hear sonieonc banging on about how nicc i t would be to bc self-en~ployed, about all that money you sa\x on taxcs and all thosc expenses which can bc kvrittcn off by those nice chaps in Ihc Tax Office. I t certainly scems tempting. and on a personal level l'vc ohen bcen enticcd by thc thought of that little bit of cstra cash wery \\-c&. Quite a few units no\\1 mandatorily cnlploy thcir staff on a self- emplo!ed basis. so we asked 'is this a good thing'?' (1.rsue 1). or as r~sual do we lose out y' again. A numbcr of pcople esprcssed v,,.ing views: here is a piece scnt in by a onc-time self-employce (for want of a better term): 'Owr m!. post-uni digging career I have come across the use of self-eniploycd ficld staff on three occasions. In two of those cases the staff were 'employed' on that basis, with no real choice. In one other, it was simpler to carry on being self-employed once registercd. So how does i t work'?. Basically. taking on staff on a self-employed basis n.orks mainly to the employers ad\.antage. If you are an employee. you may have sonie rights (eventually) like sick pay, holiday pay, etc. However. as self employed staff you are effectively a sub-contractor mnning your own business. The main contractor has no obligations to you in tcrrns or -ick pay etc.. you need to pa?. for then1 !;wrself. Also. the employers don't have to pay sonieone to work out your tax. NI. and P45 through thc period you work with them, you do that for your own business. Essen~ially. taking on a self-employed sub- contractor mems a unit can cut overheads. This can be reflected in lower tenders to get liiore work, andfor higher profits for thc~n. But what does i t mean for diggers'? If you Ivork as a sub-contractor and are self- emploj-cd, you need to register as self- employed with the Inland Revenue; this \vill then be added to your file on las and NI contributions. You \\.ill also gct lots of lelters saying they would like to help you but the computer q~slem is still shagged, so please be patient. Eventually. you will get a tax reference number (whoopee!). and at the clid of the financial ycar, you will bc sent a self-assessment form. This is where the fun begins. By not paying someone to do this. the employer has left you to sort out your

own tax and NI. and it can be a pain in the arsc. Howcvcr. thcre arc some benefits: !ou only pay tax on your profits. not your income. Any expenses that are work-related (site equipnient. clothcs. travel. laundry items for d i q work. stationery for admin. some of your gas/electric/phone bills if you use your home as an ofice: and probably other things I don't know about) can be deducted from your earnings, so you only pay tax on what is leh aftcr that. But you pay tax on last years profits. which by the time you get thc bill will ha\,e long been spent. lexing you looking a1 a bill for x hundred quid. due yesterday. along with the shirt off your back and a pound of flesh. Not much h n . Also, as a self-employed person. you pay different N1. If, like me, you are sometimes ~elf-eniplo~~ed and sometimes an employee (depending on which unit has work). you may earn so little as a self-employed person that they let you off NI. Generally though. the self-employed NI is paid at a flat rate of about £6.30 a week, less than employee- status rates. But then again it doesn't count towards contributions-bascd Job-Seekers Allowance. vcn relevant in the world of shorl-term contracts and involuntary dote holidays betwcen contracts. So. as a digger arc you better off? Well. you will almost certainly pay less tax and NI, but you w i l l also have more of your time spent on extra forms when you sign on. extra papen~ork doing accounts and tax rcturns. as well as the same sort of general shite diggers on the circuit usually put up with (late pay. crap digs / archaeolog?. / weather. {insert appropriate whinges here! 1). So for me. 1 don't reckon it bencfits anyone but the eniployer. 1'11 end up a bit better off after I've paid my tax. but the extra hasslc means that effectively you earn that extra cash. And for the amounts involved. I wouldu't do this by choice.' We wrote to a number of units who are known to employ workers as sclf-employed staff. and perhaps unsurprisingly got littlc in the way of feedback. One employer did witc back. and sounded equally as cautious about the whole situation. They suggested that if you want any guidance you can get a leaflet from your local contributions agency. The main things they noted were that if you do wish to be self-employed you need to: 1. Be secn to be unsupervised: 2. Have your

own took 3. Movc from job to job (and employed frcqucntly). -So archacologists and units nced to bc careful in how thcy arrange thcir work - otherwise they might fall foul of the powers-that-be'. I reckon that, generally. it sounds likc more trouble than its worth, and not so rosy as people make out after all. Might just stick to working for The Man ....

It was twenty years ago ... , l . his is a genuine extrcrct jrmr cr digger k

diimv enfty for /he 20th oJ'./une (979: "Agh. The pain in my head. with string tied ro~und i t which didn't shrink. Feature 22 a glaring mirror of dust and gritted teeth. I barrowed. The barron a final straw. Twmist. I turn on the spoil heap and ask myself why. Tea break in the hut, no sun. no relief from the heat though. The orange squash a warn1 d r i n k in the gullet. Tllc sun again blindingly bright my make-up's running. I lie and try to get a tan. No benefits but socially unexceptional. The drone. Thc scrape of picks and shovels. Am I a convict of my own convictions? What have I done to deserve this? Smre old .same old.. .

Review A Manual of Archaeological Field Drawing - J.M.Hawker A copy of this manual flopped onto The Digger's doormat. and has proved sincc then to be an invaluable aid to our daily slog. so we thought we'd review it. Written as the first half of a pair of publications (one on ficld recording to follow soon), the rrtantial is a response to the increasing numbers of archacologists and volunteers moving into commercial archaeology. wlio find that they are expected to know instantly how to be qualified draughtsmen. \\-ithout any suitable training from their employers (except perhaps to be shown briefly a sitc manual. with only a vcry sketchy section on drawing conventions). On a personal le\cl. it is cquall!~ useful for those moments at 8am where, brain fogged with last night's ale, you cannot for the life of you reme~nbcr how to lay out a site grid. The manual is task-orientated. offering step- by-stcp instructions on how to complete all aspects of archaeological field drawing. mainly on excavation sites. The illustrations are spot-on. and the simple language and often humourous quips allows any work to

be completed in a fluid way, without any hiccups. Thc guide also goes right down to the dctail of csactly what equipment you need for each task, before you've walked a mile from thc site-hut, only to realise you've forgotten your hand-tape. A couple of chapters also deal with building and sunfey recording. although. rightly. these are only dealt with to the estcnt that they would be encountered by field staff. prior to nnlre specialised staff being called in. It is very usefully indesed by chapter and sub- heading. to allow readers to quickly find the task that they have to complete and to carry i t o ~ t according to the best possible specification. Thc trouble-shooting section toward the end is absolntcl?; essential reading, providing easy escapes to all those sticky sihrations we all get oursclves in from time to time. like removing a string-line before levelling it (111~ personal failing). As specified by the author. the manual is not intended to be read cover to covcr, but rather is to be used as n quick reference guide (though I did this in a moment of boredom, and found out many handy hints and shortcuts which I did not pick up in n ~ y long haul through archaeology). No equivalent publications exist which so clearly e.qlain site terminology (distinguishing bet\veen different units' methods where they cxist). how to record the archaeology, and why that recording has con~pleted in cerlain ways. Whether you are just starling out and need to know your way around a planning frame. or arc a harassed supervisor needing to quickly teach an inexperienced crew how to get the job done. tlus n~anual is an essential and cheap (a1 around a fiver) solution to all your problems. It even comes with both a pocket- sized and a wall-mountable laminate of

. -. - -- -.. drawing conventions. ~ " y - - it now! (avnilnhle j-o/rt tlie nufhor 01: i l Gq).lficIr, ,Yqunrt, Edi~ihurgh EFII 3P,4)

A.C.T. -'know the history? In thc early eighties. an organisation was sel

callcd Archneologists Conr~r~unicatt msfortrr, which flourished briefly in : Finances: Start balance (re\ised) Total contributions Printing costs (projected) Postage costs (projected) End balance

militant contra-IFA fashion before fizzling ,tit. A correspondcnt has reminded 11s of its :sistcncc. and WC wcrc wondering whcthcr inyonc would like to submit an articlc on it. xrhaps to illustrate how to/how not to approach issues whcn dcaling with thc Jowers that bc. Ancient histoy i t may be, 3ut certainly i t ivould be interesting and ~nlbrmative all the same.

The Fantasy Unit League - round four

I11 keeping with the topic of self- :mployment, here arc the league tables for a ~ouple of units who eniploy staB on this basis. hence thc sick/holiday pay status and Ihe big smiley faces nest to pay. Kcep on writing to us regarding units you have worked for, and we'!l do our Icve! best t~ bang thcn~ in when possible. As anyonc ivho has been paying attention will know. thc six months period has now long passed. but we still have a back-log, so an estcnsion may be in order. Then it's time for thosc rotten eggs.. .

I , Wages - above E200? 1 00 1 Sick payp? 1 1 Holiday ay'? Accommodation? @

I , Free eaui~ment? 1 0 1 ; Any available training'? 0 ' I

I Contracts 1 month+? @ 1 1 L Level of respect for staff Q -1

I

Northern Archaeolo ical Associates

I Sick pay '? Holiday pa!:? 0 Accommodation" ' 0

I Free equipmcnt? @ I Any availablc training? 0 ' I

Credit £53.00 E 10.00

E 1 3 .OO

Key: 3 GreaUyes 3 Passablc/yes 3 Badno

Two tier - depending on esperience 9 Free for -away' sites only. "Q . , No. of months wait. E Costs a bit! 8 Self-employed only \lore next issue ... keep "enr rolling in.

@Letter bombs 3 Emerald Isle a land of gold? 7 The following are the minimum pay ratcs rccommcndcd by the Irish Association 3f Professional Archaeologists (IRL per itleek) :

Senior Archaeologist - L695.25 Site Director - £587.10 Site Supervisor - £489.25 -,

Sitc Assistant - £386.25 Archaeological Worker - L283.25 The following are the ndnimum recommended subsistence levels (lRL per bi~eek) :

Mileage - minimum 33p per mile I f over 8 hours on site or away from base - E6 per day and £9 meal allowance Overnight allowance (rural location) - E30 per night Overnight allowance (urban location) - E45 per night Comparc with the IFA recommended levels -why are their rates so low? Why aren't WC

all working in Ireland? Tliev will tlou/~tles.s arg~ie thnt there is n higher cost oJ living in Irelmtl, and [hot so~treho~c! Irish potrnds are cliflerent, ' I thitik even with tknt taken into nccoun~ -,.r is obvious we're being cliented. Do tlie /E3 ~~ecortrr11erzd..vuh.~i.vt~-111~~.1e1~? I don 'r think W. .-l c o p ofthis letter htis been sent ot the IF-I nrrtl we look Ji71wnr.d to /heir nnwer . a I'lense send an-v Jan hare rrrail to the atidress t r b o \ ~ .

'The Digger' is a non-profit making newsletter existing on donations. All donations welcome, payable to 'The Digger'. An!- contributions of funny stories, cartoons. arl, crosswords etc. (black and whitc only, please) wclcome. Back-issues available.

, The Digger PO Box 391, Abingdon, Issue NO. Oxon 7, October OX14 1999 3GS

Don'f Moan, Organise! I

As the debate ragcs about whether membership of the IFA or of a trade union is worthwhile, diggers eveywherc 'we still having to endure thc sorts of terms and conditions of employment most people would find abhorrent and others would simply deny esist in modern Britain. It would be wrong of mc to attempt to profess the virtue of trade union membership over that of a professional association: i t is like comparing an apple with -- M crange. - the two.. types. . of organisation have vastly different purposes and objectives, and each should be a owledged as having a legitimate role in yoG field of work. A trade union is a collective organisation intended specifically for the improvement of work conditions. Professional associations have an entirely dfferent role, and cannot be expected to perform the specialist task of negotiation and representation. The role of the union is to pursue and improve the bread and butter issues of your working life. The IPMS Archaeology Branch is attempting to do just that. Three months ago at Royal Holloway College. twenty-onc diggers from Framework Archaeologj (a joint venture involving Wesses and Oxford based archaeologists) committed themselves to actively doing the same when they collectively decided to take a proactive sr .awards making their voice heard. ~t-'~ramework Archaeology, a steering corrmittee h s been established to progress the issues members have raised both publicly at a general meeting of staff. and privately with individual menlbers of the committee. The issues raised can then be taken to management as part of a common agenda, which will carry the moral weight of the mass of the organisation's staff. Whilst i t may be a relief to cry into your beer that working conditions are poor or that your career is going nowhere, you can now do something constructive about i t . The time for indifference or apathy or even fear has long since passed. Diggers are now faced with a simple choice - to be proactive in fighting for what they know to be only just and reasonable, or to submit to sub- standard conditions indefinitely.

We know what the issues are: poor pay, lack of carecr stnlctures. job insecurity. continuity of s enke and nwch more. The time has comc to act! Thc IPMS. .for its part. is co~nniittcd to helping archaeologists build an effective union for their profession. An cstablislied industrial organisation has the expertise and resources to support a process of organising employees into a common purpose. and can offer the tools to hclp niakc practical and tangible things happcn. If nc arc succcssfi~l every archaeologist should bc unionised - and from that will flow !hc powcr that this sort of strength of numbers brings to the bargaining table. But how effective the collective is depends entirely on thc individuals who decide to join i t . I t is not sufficient to wait nenrously in the background ~ h i l e others take the first steps: if that happens. we will fail. A trade union can go a long way in promoting thc interests of workers - i t has been donc before. and can bc done again i f workers are serious about achieving something. '

In 1913. the American tradc unionist Joe Hill was esccuted for his pursuit of reasonable tcrms and conditions of emplo-vment. His final words to thosc around him'? "Don't mourn. organiscm - we're ready to make things happen - join us! Chris Gamhian, IPMS organiser Tel: (01 18) 931 2300 E-mail: gambianc@ipms.org.uk Another shatr~eless yet well-cjesen~l plug /iir the lP.t.CY, p;~bcb.$, the on!\, :!nion we

renliv hove access ro. I om ir~~pressetl tl~at Frntnework hove tt~nrmngetl to orgmise tho~~selves, nnd /qv clown tertrls bv which they wish to work. Howewr, ns I u~~derstnnd t. the conrpnny nws set up fur the Henthrow 'oh, a long- term piece oJ work en~plu.ving n 'orye number of' people. Ilow '.sitr~ple' o :.lioice i t is f ir those who are only n IinndJul 'n n unit, or- with o very jinite orrrount of vork, is sotnetliing which is conjecrurnl - I 7er.sonollv would,find i t clifl~cult to stnnd lip 7nd he counted. <r.vour circumstnnces w e fiferent and you think zvol/ con do the stitlle YS Framework, join and rr~nke a dvference - ' t can happen. Ed ~ews'-Profiling The Profession The above-mentioned survey by Kenneth 4itchison is now published, and free to all

IFA mcmbers. Non-members should witc to the IFA for their copy. or to us and wc'll h). and get you one. Any comnlents on the sunrey welcomc. positive or negative! Ed. Archaeologists wanted - no experience necessary

The relntionship he/~cwti prc?/i'ssionnl nntl mmtcur ~rclineologis/.v 110s c>lwq~.:s been n strained one. InJ?)rtt~ation 11n.v recentlv cottle fn our- nttrnfiori which will 111littrnrri~: portr vet ttlore oil 011 tht.,/irt.: Both Leiccstcrshirc and Lincolnshire County Councils arc no\v nmning a schcme which r~niiermkes to i&~ol\k local \.oluntCers from difTcrcnt parishcs into the archaeological planning proccss. The 'archaeological nehvork' scheme. under the banner of conin~unih. archaeolog?. aims to establish and co-ordinate 'Ficldnork Groups' built from the 'ranks of enthusiasts' 10 undertake archaeological work in their regions. Among its esponcnts has been thc former director of thc CBA. Richard Morris. who dcscribes i t as 'utopian' (Rri~ish ~ r c l ~ ~ e o l o g v . July l 999). Each parish's representative bodv is invitcd to appoint a warden in consultation with the council. The warden's principal job is to seek out known and unknown sites and check their condition. so that the SMR call be updated ("archaeologists in the county are unable to make regular \isits to all thc sites on the SMR". from the Lincs. leaflet). They are also expected to act to develop understanding of the past in their particular parish. to promote sympathetic intcrcst in archaeology. and to improve com~nunication between the general public and the SMR office. This will be particularly effect ivc since parishes who appoint a warden will receive a copy of the SMR for their parish. listing all known archaeological sites and indspots, as well as a 'selected range' of )uildings and industrial features. So, so far ;o good. In many senses; the archaeological ieritage is not a preserve of the professional rnd surely it makes sense to build upon ocal knowledge of a given area. Certainly he voluntccrs will have far better contacts with local landowners than the County 2ouncil. and with local people who are after 111 an important source of information. rhere is also an intelligence behind raising he profile of archaeology at parish level. If 'arish Councillors can be encouraged to

lcarn about thcir local archacolog\-. perhapr the!. will becornc niorc S!-mpetl~ctic towardr i t \\hen considering thc ncst batch ol planning applications! Rather \vorn.ingl! though. thcsc arc volirntarv roles \\it11 a disturbing rcrnit. Thc rcspecti\.c Count!- Archi~cologist \v111 pro\.idc training ; I I I ~ ad\.icc on ho\\ tc idcntify sitcs and collect informatio~~. Ho\vc\cr, rhc \\m-dens do not I'IR\'c tc acri\dy scck 0111 sitcs but can act si~npl! as rccordcrs of infor~nalion as i t is brought to them bj, others. though thc schcnic strcsscs the importancc of the former. So what arc \vc sa!.ing herc7 Son~eonc \v110 has undergone a tuo hour intcnsi\.c training course from tlic County Arcllacologist \\.ill aci as a recorder or' i~dornl;~iion i?orn pcoplc \vho have not evcn rccci\,ed this littlc attcntion'? I t is likc thc blind lcading thc blind. I t is cspected that the Nctwork in Leicester \ v i l l put "Parish reprcsentati\.es a ~ ~ d local archaeologists in touch \vitIi cach othcr". This I assume is a \\,a! for the cou~icil to save itself money b getting the conmercial archacologists to provide further advice and training for the n.ardcns. Thc result: Ten Easy Steps to Becoming a Ficld Archaeologist (no espcriencc necessan-). The main initiati\.es of \\,hat nardcns should do, as laid out by thc pron~otional material. are: record local collections. memories and parish lore; encourage people to scarch thcir gardens for finds: undertake ficld-\valking suneys: and undertake 'watching briefs' on scrvice trenches and othcr ground interventions. "Wardcns are idcally placed to watch sniall building sitcs. \vith due authorisation" (Leic, Information Sheet) I t sccms relati\,cl. harmless. allouing kcen amateur arciiatologists ro 'check the S i W for the council. espcciallj. in light of the dirc financial constraints so many of tlic council a rchaeolo~ senices arc operating undcr. However, the most alarming factor is thc removal of archaeologists from parts of the actual archaeological work. to whit thc watching brief. What thc schcme is effectively saying. and thc lncssagc \vhich is

ng givcn to dc\clopcrs. is that n \varching Finances: Start balance (rwised) Total contributions Printing costs (pro,jccted) Postage costs (projected)

bricf car^ bc ur~dcrtakc~~ b!' an! one \\ l10 ha: bccu gi\.cn ;I few quick icssons i l l tlic local archacolog. of n rcgion and a ' h o ~ to dig' manual ( i assumc thar cslra nrcl~acological crcdit \ \ - i l l bc g i \m to ll~osc \\.i~rdcns \\k arc regular \'ic\\crs of Time T'ci~~n!). With this schcr~lc as a prcccdcnt. thcrc is nothing to stop dwclopcrs tv ing to saw nlonc!' b! gctli~lg Mr. Bloggs fro^^^ up tl~c road to dc thcir work for frce. rather than hiring a profcssional archaeologist. Pcrhaps thc qucstio~l is not '\vliat' thcy \\.ill bc doing but 'why' they \ \ i l l doing tllcsc rolcs. Is this thc bcginning of thc slippcn. slope. 11-hcn finally County Arcliaeologists concedc that cut backs \ \ . i l l no1 allo\\. thcm to c a r - out thcir jobs to the best of lhcir abiiity. and if so \vhcrc does ~ l \ i s slippcn slope cnd (apart from at the bottom)'? Yes. vxdens \\.ill be helping to fill the kno\vlcdgc gap. which will bc of grcat use to thc cnhancemcnt of the archaeological record. But l are i~icspcricnccd enthusiasts being askcd to cart out \\.atching bricfs'? If I his schen~c beconics natiomide, i t will cffecti\,cl!. nark thc dcath-knell for most small-scale archaeological work. cutting work for local units as \\ell as for so many consultants tn-ing to make a li\:ing. Who is regulating and monitoring thc standards of tlic training Lhat thc \vardcns reccive and the standards 3f their archaeological recording? If the County Archaeologist has not got timc to w r y out a fc\v sitc \.isits whcrc will the lime comc from for the training and necessarily the continued monitoring of the 9fcctiveness of this kind of scheme? This may be an estrcme reaction to u.hat nright k an innocuous turn of evcnts but the i~riplications of thesc parish networks do not appear 10 have been -considcreci bcyond thc realms of rose-tinted bcspcctaclcd amatcur irchaeology groups. and County Archaeologists \v110 havc cnough on thcir date \\orking out hou. to con~incc Count!, Councils that their bvork fulfills the 3bjccti\,cs of 'Best Value'. Tl~c qucstion r~ccds to bc sskcd: do \\:c \\.ant irchacolog?; to bc a profcssional disciplinc. i\ ith profcssional st;lndnrds and practiccs. or Credit L l .YOO E25.00

shall \ \c just stcp back and Icl sol l~co~~c c l ~ mdcrtakc thc work'? I'm off to t n bci~rg ; I I I

airlir~c pilot for a bit: its sor~~ctl~ing !'\.c al\va!s bccn i nlcrcsrcd in . and thc! haw this schcnlc no\\ \\.hicl1 lcts an!onc do i t . C'hccrs.

The Fantasy Unit League - Round Five (Terrier Special)

11 > r ( l / ) l v r t / /hl.V o / l / t : l ~ \ ~ ( ~ / ~ / ~ l l / ; l l l , ~ L \ , / l ~ ! l l l / t / W

\ Y [ V g o o ( / c , c ~ r ? ( / i ( / c ? / ( , , / o / ~ //W r0//~11

Wages: @ (But kccn on cnlcrgcncy tax!) Sick Pit?: @ Ycah right. sick of thcjob! Holida? P a y @ Not a bcan! Accommodaticm: @ X .4rc \\.c fz!xilinr \vi th: a ) thc fro~cn gas cl~a~nbcr cara\,ans" b) the junkie-laden. psycho-fricndl! DSS hostcl? (BUT \ve should be gmtefnl. A 1st \ve didn't Ii;~\,c to pa? money i n ordcr toJ' ieopardisc our li\.es!) Equipment: @ Ycs if !.ON count the world's stiffest. lrlost pern~eablc \vatcrproofs. blucli srchacological equipment poor or sinipl!. 1\01 present. A tour-de-force i n ~ganisational Icthargy! Training: @ Cara\.anas in the depths of ivinter? Arctic sun.i\.al training only 1.m ifraid! We wcrc taught ho\\. to mattock and nothing clsc. Contract: @ Letter of appointnienl onl-. Respect: 3 Yes. but onl! because the!. realised i t \\.as the diggcrs \\.l10 kcpt thc ;how on the road. Good Archaeology: Good skills msted on barren landscnpcs.

Key 3 Grea t/!;es ,

3 Passiblelycs 8 ~ a d / n o 4 Two tier - depending on cspcricncc P Free for 'a\n~!" sitcs onlj,. ii No. of months \\.ail.

E Costs a bit! D Sclf-cmploycd only

End balance 1 'The Digger' is a non-profit making nc\vslctter csisting on donations. All donations \\dconic. pa!.able to 'Thc Digger'. Any

contributions of funny stories. cartoons. art. cross\vords etc. (black and U hite onlj-. plcase) \velcome.

Christmas Double Issue (No 8) December 1999

PO Box 391 Abingdon

Oxon OX14 3GS

I

No Future: Professional Training - A Digger's Reply Tnis article was written as a response to A Future for Archaeologists (Bishop, Collis & Ifitton, The Archaeologist 35), rcgardihg training issues in archaeology: "In the last issue of The Archaeoiogisk, the IFA presented what i t regards as its vision for the future, an agenda which will provide a career struclure and training "that serves Lhe needs of

. -the__profession, its clients, the discipline of archaeology - and the public we serve" (Bishop, Collis and k-ion, 1999). 'The IFA has realised through the results of a number of surveys thal there is not currently enough provision for training within the sphere of archaeological work. It identifies the principal problems which contribute to this a s being the lack of a formalised career structure (i.e. employees working nationwide at one scale, yet under a range of different titles in different conditions undertaking different roles for different wages!); no formal practical training ; inadequate documentation of skills; no value placed on trailling (presumably by employers); and no resources available to reverse these

'~lems. TK institute proposes to address these probiems in the fol!olvir:g ways. By highlighting skills and 'abilities which it believes workers should be able to undertake a s part of their scale within the profession, it hopes to promote the demand for, and provision of, post-graduate vocational courses through universities, organisations and the IFA itself. These courses may be modular, and may be financed by government grants from training bodies, though this is at present only a possibility. The courses will include a s a lundamental part ol their structure the provision ol placements and/or secondments, though they insist that these "are used

iirly by employers, and do not lisadvantage existing employees". 4 further way in which i t hopcs to ;timuldte the desire amongsl the ~ o r k e r s for lraining is the mplementation of Continuous 3rofessional Development (CPD), "a nechanism for planning and recording 11.1 archaeologist's training". This will u~volve the archaeologist in question ?reparing Personal Action Plans, -t.c.o:-din;; "what -they wish to. learn, ~ h y , and their programme for ~mplementing the plan", through the use of log-books which record their day-to-day advancement within their :hose11 field. The result of these proposals is that an individual will have a clearly defined level of skills which can be used to further their career. The results of the training andlor CPD will also figure heavily in thc individuals ability to join the IFA. Prospective members will De expected 10 demonstrate adequate training at whatever level they choose to enler the organisation; current menlbers will be tested at random and expccted to prove that they are still eligible to be at the scale they are practicing at. Individuals Inay also be able to join the IFA through an accumulation of points gained through training alone, and experience may become less of a factor for membership. The fact that the IFA is indeed addressing the problem of training within archaeology is encouraging in itself. The issues of inadequate vocational opportunities for members of staff are well documented. A n y training at present depends on the goodwill of an employer to provide i t andlor finance it, and [.he slight chance of being employed by just such a benefactor. As is normally the case, this does not happen. The current upsurge in interest regarding training by employers for their staff may be a

rcfleclion of the current state of lhc profession as regards experience at the levels of practilioner. Certainly from personal experience, Lhe ratio of experienced to inexperienced staff on excavation sites has shifted dramatically over Lhe lasl few years. One possible reason for this is thal the profession is now experiencing the knock-on effects of the abolition of grants and the implementation of the student-, loan scheme. When this digger '[ell university, this issi~e. was

certainly a mitigaling factor for why a number of my compatriots turned [heir backs on the low-paid and insecure world of field archacology, and got proper jobs. The issue remained a problem even for thosc who chose to dig, and gradually more and more of my pecrs have fallen by the wayside, felled by the apathy of a profession which did not recognise lhe worth of their skills, nor financially rewarded their efforts. Even those old hands who first helped me on my faltering steps into the professional stalus which I now hold, through the personal dedication and love of the job which lead 10 them passing on skills which Lhey had learnt, have now disappeared from view. As a digger expressed in a letter to The Digger (Issue 2): "If you're passed 30, you're basicaily dead. Yoi; C A ; ; ' : sttk!e, you can't hold a job down, you're a waster". This is the reality ol field archaeology today. This is not to suggcst that i t is the hu l l of those now entering the profession that they are inexperienced. To say this would be a ridiculous statement to make; I was 110 more experienced when 1 entered [he job market than they are today. Yct the IFA now considers that archaeological degrees are not worth enough to produce pr(dessiona1 field archaeologists, despite the fact that for !Foh%k;d o n 3

page 2 )

www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uWNews~ Views.html 'I'his site is hosted by the exccllcnt Ihctrack Archacologv, a Scottish illustratio~i/CAl> consultancy, w h o have done i t fcr nowt. I3ig thanks! Any other decent sites that need a plug, Ict u s know. We're not proud.

(c*o~ztiliueJ from piigtn I ) a s long a s I can remember, i t was esseritially the only qualificalion you needed to start nut on the rocky road of a digger. My experience of degrees were that thcy provided the basic necessary skills: how 10 take levels, how to dig, what we were looking for, dnd so o n . No, 1 couldn't go o u t a ~ i d straight away become thc world's best urban excavator; this w a s only possible through the expr ic r ice which 1 theii gained through working in field archaeology (and still a long way off fro111 being the world's best...). l ' he facl that new entrants arc I ~ O W

expecled to d o s o much more is a reflection ~ i o t o n their lack of skills a n d abilities, but the absence of experienced staff to teach a n d coax the best from them. What I find most disconcerting about the idea of the post-graduate vocational courses is that it appears thal t.hev will be a n enforcing factor a s t o why people become employed in archaeology. 'l'he article argues thal undergraduate yualificalions d o not address the areas required to produce good field staff. So w h y not mdke

them d o just that? Instead, those w h o choose to gel into field archdeologv will now find that they will have to undertake these further courses to

. . .

prov@.thty can dig, before they can get a job. The issue of the placements atid secondments provided by these courses o p e n s a whole dilferent can of worms: I havc lost count of the number of times I have heard people complaining about having been shafted for a year, being paid C50 a week to work a s cheap labour, because they undertook a placemen1 year. MosL of these never bothered lo gel into field archaeology o n completion of their degree, s o skills are lost a n d time is wasted. l 'he courses will inevitably only be partially funded, i f lunded a1

311, and whcrc exactly will they take place? Arc they 10 naliotlwide, o r will cvcryonc have to g o to (e.g.) Ih-mingham for a vcar, undergoing relocalion costs and otlicr geographical problems. Of course, no1 cvcryonc will bc able Lo k k c these cou rscs, because of the iievcr-ending financial worries, a n d the time factors which will bc involved. So thc option will be to not oothcr, or t o go i l l to archaeology 3nyway a n d sec what happens. I bciievc thal this will create a Lwo-tier mt ry systcm t o a rchacology: thosc ~ h o have studied and those w h o have l o t . l ' h e net rcsult of this will bc ~ m p l o y c r s o ~ ~ c c a g a i ~ i being able t o ~ .mplov non-qualified diggers at r~ha tcver wage or c ~ l i d i t i o n th(:y :hoosc, whilsl mainlaining the belicf :hat thcy arc encouraging training bv :aking o l i trained diggers side-by-sidc. I'his already happens. A number of ~ ln i t s have a two-ticr levcl o f r.rnployniaiL accordi~ig t o experience, ~ i t h those with less cxpcriencc being m p l o y e d a t a far lower scale than thc :econimended II'A standard. How rlicc .hat the issue of traini~ig cat1 now 'ortnalisc this divide! :'he possible option mootcd by the II7A a s a n alter~iativclpartrier to the mcational training courses is .mntinuous I'rofessional I'>cvc4opmc.nL, a n d this would certainly

opcn 10 thosc riot pursuing ~ocat ional courses. I-lowcvcr, wha t )ption is it rcally? The article states :hat maintaining Lliese logs will bc a "personal responsibility", which tends io suggest thal - :nininial ernplover effort will be required to maintain this form o f training. I t is rcfrcshing thal thc 1I:A thinks thal most diggers call have a "programme" for changing their careers, and that in some way we are in control of what o u r destiny Cdn hold. The career path of a digger is not chosen, but is o n c of necessity. I an1 generally appreciative i f I know that I have a job bcyond three weeks, that I can pay my rent a n d put food o n the table. At the e n d of a hard days slog, the last thing l want to d o is update my I'ersonal Action Plan, a n d think about where 1 want my career to go, and to suggest that I can d o this when

dealing with these day to day ilisecurilies is perhaps asking a bit much. A corrcspondcnt w h o wrote in dftcr hearing these ideas outlined at the Il:A confcrcricc in April also made the following valid pninl: how cxacllv dre WC 10 get the books t o improve :)c~rsclvcs wilh, when we're in the middle of nowhere with no transport and no library? O r with no money to buv books? Who will provide the resources for o u r personal [.here is no real answer to that.

l a m also moderately amazed that this forni of monitoring is now being ~iiootcd ~ t s a cor~di t ion for m c n ~ ~ r s h i p 1 - ~ h c A . 'l'hc organisation is :onstd~itly at pains to try and Jncourage cmployccs <:L pra~tii ioticr eve1 t o join, yet surely the knock-on result o f lhc random rnoniloring v ".l

W that no one a ~ t u a l l y b o t h e ~ ; 3ccausc ol the reasons just mentioned. Nliat information docs a rAIZ log provide that a Curriculum Vitae docs lot? iurthertnore, can you honestly .ell me how V ~ L I will monitor the I'APs .)f Members I o rder that they ,nainlain their grade? According to four annrral report for 199819, you :ould only monitor o n e in six units ~ h o arc considered RAOs, and no -cports or corisultalin~l came nut of .his process. I'hc issue o f training is o n e which is nassively important to us dll, but to +uggcst thal "orie day, archaeologists nay view lhc Annual Conference a s a .urning point for archaeologir-l\ .raining and crnployment" is o v v i ' :'ggitig thc pudding to say. Lhe. least. . . . .

UVhal comes across from this whole cxcrcisc is that the IFA by their o w n admission havc borrowed d load of idcas piecemeal from one organisation, a n d havc grafted them onto the tottering cd ifice thdt is Professional Archaeologv. T h e organisation in queslion is o u r "sister body", the I<oyal Town Planning Institute. 01-w has to ask - how many of them are 011

temporary contracts a n d low wages? In closing, the article stdtes that "the development of a structured approach to learning, related to IFA standards a n d with the potential to link to pay a n d conditions, will lead to a carecr structure" (ibid., mv emphasis). This

- - - - . -. - . p (continued . 4)

i p ~ o u t h a m ton Cit Council Unit I

Wa les - above C200?

I i-lolidav av? : Accommodation? I @L ;

Free c ui nienl? I Anv available trainin.? I Contracts 1 month I ?

Key: 0 -0 - @

F' W

a (C

f Q

1 Level of respect for shff I Good archaeologv?

Grea tlyes -pas~-~~-;y-cs- . - -- -- -

6adIno T w o tier - depending on experience Free for 'away' silcs only. No. of months wail. Costs a bit! Self-employed only

O ' I

0 ; __ - - - -__ - -

In the first half a day a new trench is rapidly opened, a n d then more, until 11 all beco~iics over-strctchcd a n d they have to actuallv look at wha t they've qot. 'l'his was very obvious a t York; 1 lost count oi the ~ictmber of trclichcs

I w a s intercstcd to note the comments of your correspondent in the article on councils employing amateurs for minor archaeological work ( h u e 7). I think this is symptomatic of a n attitude to archacologv which frequently secs the a c 1 fieldwork sidelined in favour of V

the political a n d financial issues of thc council o r any other orga~iisalioli w h o has to deal with i t . Most illustrative was the recent edition

which kcpt popping u p all over the place, with lony I<obllison flitting u p to them briefly only for them never to be seen again. All archacolog~cal work thcsc days has to follow a prcscl pattern of cvents within the

l

parameters of development control -

project brief stipulating thc maximum drca to be uncovered, projcc<design stating how this is to be drme. It dll stems to go out the window whcn a camera is ncarbv, a n d in York of all 13STdcFs, w1icr~- dcvclopmci;! is :X?-

tightly controlled that y o u can't build a sand-castle without a n archacn\ogical assessment. 'I'hc search for spcciiic periods in each area was stupefying. York has some of the most complex urban archaeology in the country, and vet with the aid of the Time Team this was disregarded wholeheartedly. O n n o cxcavalio~i have I ever encountercd multiple medieval floor layers being machind away without recording in ordcr to gct to the Viking lavers ("it's O K , we'll sec. them in section", said CarellLa). An unpardonable act, vet this looked a s i f i t had full sanction of the cily archaeologist, John Oxlcy, w h o had obviouslv d u g out his best suit a n d shades for the telly. He was just one of a number of 'eminents' who flitted x r o s s o u r scrtvn, giving us !heir wonderful insights into this or tiidt asp(:cL, while keeping their best profile. This is someth i~ ig which I have ~ i o t e d frequently, mainly with /'/7c Time> 7kn1 but a s much with M c - c ~ f This Al~cc~.slor.s or any othcr archaeological

of 7 3 - 7 ~ 'l;l-am l.ivc; a programme filmed entirely on location in the historic city of York. I f you missed it, it was f i l~ned over three days, a n d consisted of three major are'is o f excavation. 'T'hc tea111 wanted three different phases to be exposed, a n d so the sites were dcemed a s I(oman, Viking a n d Medieval. What followed amazed me. As any viewer will know, the programme relies heavily o n maintaining a level of excitement for each site, so i f nothing is encountered

programme you care to mention. Cet an drchacologist in front of the tclly carncras a n d Iiclshe goes all Indiana Joncs on us, and anv sclnbldnce of professional s tandards g o o u t Lhc window in favour of ego-massagc a n d goody hunting. 'I'hc television crcw run the excavation a n d the drchacologist become5 thcir p11 ppet, anxious to please by getting things

d o n e quickly regardless o f consequence to the ~ncltcrial evidence. Its not just lhost. w h o have thcir five minutes of fame. I have friend\ w h o have worked on l'ilnco /cwm wtio have tcstificd that the tantrums tlirown bv the regular digging stafl are incredible, freqcwntly whingint; about the s tandards of thcir (frankly luxurv) free accommodation while t t ~ c ~ r peers 111

the real world strugglc without, o r moaning bccausc their frcc (a-la-carte) food is maybe a bit ovcr-cooked. 'l'alk about 'lost in showbi/,'. . . I have t o wonder what the agenda (,i those w h o get involved is. A frcc evaluation of a n area which I ~iglibh I-lcritdgc has d w m c d ~intouchable , s o 2s t o -have a bit of ~nusc lc . to gel mc)re archaeology uncovered and niorc brclss in pockek? I'rcservation in situ means scrapping ovcr wha t 1 1 e ~ ' d s to exposed; how useful to get the tclevision crvcvs in t o provide frcc advcr ts for the bencfits of extensive rcscarch excavations in o n e 01- two arcas. So the '/?me r".,dtn country-widc tour of pilldging conLinucs.IkL it won't hc long bcforc w e see I'hil t larding bunging a few t rc~ ichcs across Stonehcngc, wi th only thrc-c davs to work ou t (brcclthy showbiz voice) "just what went o n in those distant tirws". It's fashionable to knock the ' l l n c . r'~w171. I think it is also very juslifidble. &';!?g dt.vil'.s dJvocdlt; 1 will h v c . !o

snv Ihdl 110 prqyrdmtm ~navbc.

Mor[i/ric'r Whc-~ /~ r ' . s rd cjio .she W ] hij G

donc cts much to promolc. arch~eologv

d11d [o bring i! ~cro.ss lo .such A /<jrgc.

net ( i f wc'rc not o n there already) at:

misses a rather large point. Pay and conditions are fundamental to the state we find ourselves in today; shouldn't Inore effort be made to address these problems as well, or is the IFA without teeth when it comes to laying down the law with units? Even the survey Profiling the Prolession, by its au thof S own admission, missed archaeologists at the bottom end of the pay scale (Thc Archaeologisl, 34). The future for archaeologists remains the same: no future to speak of."

GB Letters Bombs CI' Issue 7 was the best one yet. I

particularly enjoyed the article on the 'archaeological network scheme' - a fine example of the popular 'anyone can d o it' view of our profession. While I can understand amateurs wanting to 'have a go', that county councils are using them to replace professionals in order to save money is beyond belief. Surely THIS must be an issue for the IFA? Another amazing scandal unearthed was the appalling conditions at Tees Archaeology. Putting diggers in a DSS hostel? How can THEY sleep at night, never mind their poor staff? What about asking them for an explanation? We have sent thcm copies of the newslettec and as yet have not heard anything. The argument usua/[v follows the 'it's the best we could do, for such a short time with so little funds, and allywa-y, we could NOT provide accommodation! You should be grateful!' line. Yes, mattresses on

- t7oors in- flophou&. . .if you're lucky. Most grateful, ta, & E4 As an older digger (over 4U), I am now reaching a stage of having done my fair share of mattocking and shovelIing, year round, in all weathers [including -20° in Dresden, Germany - the director came u p with the novel idea that we could work outdoors in these temperalures.. .by creating a small flame-thrower to blast the ground surface (after excess snow had been shovelled off, of course), thus

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facilitating planning. Unfortunately, i t worked rather well for sections too. That was the hardest winter I have ever endured]. At this stage in life I decided to wise up a little. Four years ago the Fates led me to doing (finally) an archaeology degree (no previous qualifications - left school early). Having just about recovered from that, 1 am in the process of going for a driving licence (never wanted t o before). Actually, my 100% mark for the theory test meant more to mc than the degree - as sad a s that is to admit. At my age I & to move up a rung or two. Nowadays, the driving licence is essential, and so too seems the membership of the IFA. Look how many jobs prefer i t . This is the only reason I would apply. To me i t seems to be a game one must play - there's no pretending it 's not there. The finer points of membership will have to come later. Too true. German ingenui{y - let's hope no other directors cotton on to this flame-thrower idea' or it could well be a very grim winter indeed! A Unit Director writes ... t22 I have seen a number of your issues and have some comments to make. I have been in archaeology nearly thirty years and have seen a good few changes in my time I can tell you. I am the Director of a unit myself (Archaeological Research Surveying & Excavation), and have been since the late seventies. So I know what you and your contributors are on about. There seems to me to be rather a lot of rxmiyiainf, aboi~t the s ta~idard cif $ay and conditions amongst you digger chaps, but I really don't understand. You people don't seem to know when you're well off; I saw one lad with his own car the other day, and my diggers never seem short of cigarettes, always puffing away, and you know how expensive they are, need I say more? 1 think the underlying proble~n today in archaeology is not pay, which seems to me to be quite enough to live on, let alone cars and cigarettes all the time; it's a lack of respect, and I know

a lot of my colleagues will be with me on this one. It's a sign of the corruption of the moral fibre and the dysfunctioning of society in general that people don't seem to know their place. For example, I was down on a site of mine the other day, when some young girl, couldn't have been more than thirty, had the impudence to address me on a matter of archaeology, as i f I with thirty years of experience needed to be told anything and actually appreciated my very deep and contemplative thoughts being disrupted. Then I heard someone behind my back make some crude comment about the siye of m y M!y. ! didn't see who i t was; otherwise 1 would of course have sacked them 7n the spot. I would have just sacked ,~e lot of them if we didn't need them to dig the bloody site, b ~ ~ t that's the problem these days, a necessary evil I SUppOSC. Anyway, that's all for now. Can't waste my time with this rubbish, have very important things to do ...

Final Comment / w e that this finds you somewhere warm and away from the pen70us frosts' nursing a cuppa! This has bee17 a rather larger /hall normal issue; normal service resumes in the new veac in its new format. We would all like to thank those who have made contributior~.r to our scurn70us rag throughout the last year, and Fe that you will continue to do so. //%as -far e~c~>edecr' the sliccess W-e hoped it would have, hendirg the ears of [hose that matter, and with your help will carry on growing. Thank you, thank vou, wherever you are.. .

Finances

Start balance (this issue) Total contributions +L20 Total costs (projected) End balance

Issue No 9 January 2000 PO Box 39 1

Abingdon Oxon OX14 3GS

www.archaeo.freesenre.co.ulc/New-S-Views.htm1 --

Self Em~lovment. Self Em~owerment.. . /he director o l a slnall archac~o/c@a. practice ,m a rt-spo~~sc. to an arlick 01;

the lack of meril ih h-.in,n sdl: ~ l m p l q v ~ ~ publi,shcJ in The nigger 6): 'Your correspondetit (Issc:e 6 ) i~ correct in his assessment of the relative benefits of self-employment of site staff, in that A T 'THE MOMENT they certainly fall o n the employer, though h e appears not to havc recognised that [he self-employed should also charge for employers NI

tributions, sickness insurance, pensions etc., a n d that self- employment offers far more scope for negotiating higher rales. Let's look ahead a t wha t MIGHT BE, rather than moaning about the presenl. Currently, Archaeology UK Ltd is struggling to adopl lhe vestments of professionalism, principally by emulating the construction i n d u s t p - w e all feel jolly imporlant in o u r yellow coats don't w e - but is hobbled in doing s o by adherence to employment structures developed pre- PPG16. Yet the nature a n d amount of employment in UK archaeology 1999 is wholly different to w h a t i l w a s even only 10 years ago. There is a huge a , 7unl of 'archaeology' being done, mnst of i l in tlie form of assessme~its/c.valua tions!waLching briefs of short duration, whilst [here is a national shortage of skilled sitc staff (why you haven't all exploited this simple economic fact, I don't know). However the bulk of the work is still being undertdken by the old Units (despite !heir ;IC:;. naincs a n d corporate logos) w h o pull their hair out trying to juggle the conflicling demands of [his erratic work profile with the maintenance of large pools of slanding staff. The administrative costs of doing s o a n d the necessitv of planning budgets a n d rates in advance

contribute to the generally low pay

a U 4 a

everyone elsc. Dul look closely a t the II'A vcarbook o r C'r~rrc~~~l A r ~ ' h d ~ d o ~ ; v 'l)irk:ctory Archacvlogy', Lhcrc arc sliiall I ' rofcs>,ior~~~l I'racticcs I.;yrir.~gilig u p ' ~ i l over the UK exploiting the increasing demand for archaeological services that the larger units canno1 - o r can't be bothered lo - cope with. These smaller practices all learn quickly that wage ratcs for smaller projects are larsely irrelevant; for a n evaluation lasting - 5 days, the difference between paying a skilled site worker L5 per hour a n d Ll i ) per hour has little real impact on the final price a s far a s the client is concerned - they expect to pay a few thousand pounds for [heir archilectural a n d planning services, s o a similar bill [or drchaeological

(The fdlowing drliclt. was written h y I

cvaluation doesn't raise even an eyebrow, never mind a query. Furthermore, in order to get good people a t short notice for short jobs, we - the Professionals - have to pay well. Good people are exlremely important; the F1 consequences of d n

incorreclly interpreted cvalualinn o r watching brief are potentially very -xpensive, so thal only the most sxpericnced diggcrs should be used on Lhcse projects. Now, a s an occasional -~nployer, faced with a choice &lween two good diggers, 1 will c ~ s c lhc o n e who already has SE status to avoid the hassle of working o u t the tax a n d NI For 5 days in the middle of Lhe tax vear. i foresee, within the next 5-10 ycars, h i the slrcicture c l what w e laughably call ' the profession' will zhange dralnatically. Evcrv market .own will have ils archaeological practice, run by one or [WO seaso~ied m hacologists each with li)-20 years 3xperience a n d a modes1 publication w o r d . They will d o desk-top m e s s ~ n e n t s a n d consultancy work, 3ossibly acting a s Archaeological

rates for site workers, and indeed for Frojecl Managers to local construction projects; thcv will sub-conlracl small tcams of ecluallv cxpcricnccd diggcrs 10 do the silc work Tor cvalualions, walching briefs a11d small excavations, .inccryoratil~g lhc.ir r c i : ~ r d ~ ink) Llic resullant reports. 'l 'he Learns of diggcrs will negotiate prices o r rates for each job separately, depending on work load, Lvpe of site, distance from base, their reputation a n d efficiency etc. The inexpericnccd dnd timid will start Lhcir carccrs with the large unils, gaining experience on set-'iece excavations before being allowed to d o evaluations a n d watching briefs, Lhcn moving to private praclicc a s rR0T:I-SSIONA1.S or self-employed CONTRACTC>RS, only after they had accrued enough expericncc a n d a reputation for reliabilitv. At that poinl w e will have succeeded in emulaling the conslruction industrv, but not Self-employed s ta tus should nol a lann site a n d (.>[her short-term workers, it heralds the start of the next major change in the wav UK archaeology is organised. Change is good, embrace i t a n d move on.'

Fantasy Unit League 1999 Awards

After an incredible first year of lhe league, il's now crunch time for [hose units that were enlered by tlie hapless individuals w h o have had to work for them. I f you missed o u t o n gelling your rcsults in, don'l worry. Th? league will continue this year, .as [here arc plcnly more sorry looki~ig cc..ndidates ~ n o c k i n g around w h o haven1[ been included. GET SCRIBHl..INC! Wc had to havc a bit of a rethink on the prizes, a s a sliorl discussion with our k i~ id ly postal depot revealed Lhal the sending of offensive malerial through [he post (viz rotten eggs) is actually illegal a n d a prosecutable :)[fence; much a s w e would LOVr.! to

do it, I'm not doing time for dodgy oeufs. So as a coinpromise we arc going to knock u p some immensely tasteful certificates for the winning and losing units to proudly display in their entrance-halls/offices/torture chambers. They'll most likely get binned, but keep your eyes peeled and let us b l o w if [hey appear. The awarding of points has proved a bit of a headache, a s when w e set this daft caper u p w e didn't think i t through (as per usual). However, after musing for ten long minutes whilst o n the loo, I think the following should just about work:

Wages, Contracb Sick Pay, Holiday IJay, A ccommodation, a n d Respec f seemed like the most important aspects, so each O gets 4 points, each 0 2 points and 0 nulpoints, of course. 1 point deducted for two- tier wage systems (m); 1 point deducted for expensive accommodation (E), 1 point added for free away dccornmodation (c?); but none deducted for waits on sick and holiday pay (9) as all units w h o did this got panned in this category anyway! Free Equipmen4 Training and Good Archaeology get maximum marks of 2 points for each O, 1 point for each 0, and again, nowt fer yer 0.

The grand total, therefore, should add u p to 30 points (plus any additional points as previously detailed). Maths was never my strong point, but here a re the results (fanfareddrum- mlldthunder and lightning etc.):

U NAA 19 11

So the clear winner is Bedford, dn oasis of niceness in dn otherwise bdrren desert of organisationdl complacency. As for Tees, well what cdn I say? Certificates winging their way to them both. If you disagree with the results, then re-enter dny unit already mentioned for the next bash, and we'il see if the the picture changes for 2000. We dwait with baited breath ...

An Apology (sorry) We would like to apologise for the middle two pages of the ldst issue being bdck-to-front, hence all the stickers. This was due to an error during the photocopying; the shop concerned has been bombed. For those who didn't actually notice, ignore this bit. It never happened, honest.. .

& Letters Bombs Dirt versus Gown ...

I've never understood how 'academic' archaeologists can profess to mdke their cdreers o n sites, that they cannot offer an opinion on how they were excavdted or recorded. That 3ne facet alone should have becn mough to have had 'dirt' archaeologists trained and organised to minimum standdrds. Sorry, I graduated in History - so I'm not a 'true' archaeologist. The transition to academically 'qualified' only field staff has led to a quite shocking drop in field project standards. Examples include - 'we Aodt clean sections any more', 'why Ao w e have to clean the site first?', 7aving to prompt supervisors to draw jections - and then they had to be guided, no questions (the what, why, where, when, how?) of the actuai Aeposits. That was on my lds t 'circuit' jite, which I only got onto a s a 'ostgraduate archaeological student. I was the only person to have redd and issimilated the site brief - during the ea breaks. The other non-graduate was the oidy person qualified to drive he 1.5 tonne dumper! Interestingly,

out of the twelve others on site, 1 was the only digger producing any finds ... Watching the Wardens ... '? I t seems like the Leicester scheme (sct. The Dimer, Lssue 7) is an excellent idea in theory, a formal way of getting local dlnateurs involved, except- for the bit when they start doing the professionals' jobs for them, instead of merely being helpers to the professioi~als. Them gathering info on sites, visiting them to check u p on them and suggesting new ones all seem OK, but watching briefs no way! I've been digging for 2 years, have worked on a number of sites, and 1 still wouldn't feel 1-00 confident .ng a watching brief on my own without more experienced back-up to hand. And i t doesn't sound like the back-up will be there for the Wardens. Also, how well will they be able to stdnd their ground if they don't have the -xperience, when a developer is not being a s co-operative as they might in facilitating the watching brief. And that would have knock on effects of :he type of "well, they only sent an 3mateur so there can't be anything ~ o r t h w h i l e here". Dodgy way to start. 3 I hope w e won't be seeing any nore of the 'Archaeological Warden' schemes u p here [Scotland]. Our Zouncil Archaeologist thought it was a good idea to let the local he "3ge group carry out their own wat~n'ing xief on their new centre. Both the p u p and the Council Archaeologist 'ailed to appreciate the significance of :he 0.75m of 'top soilf - in an area where it is normally 75mm! Even worse, they seem to have removed arge parts of an early medieval iron melting and working - site ...( think Zoppergate) which I ended u p digging IS a one day watching brief mvself!

Finances

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'The Digger' is a non-profit making newsletter exislug entirely on donations. All donations welcome, cheques should be made out to The Diaer' . Any contributions of material positively encouraged. Back-issues available, please send SAE.

'The Digger'on the web, admirably maintained by Backtrack Archaeology, with extra art and discussion areas. Check it.

1 was delighted to read Chri: Can~bian's aptly titled piece ( L h z ' A.Iua7, Orgmjst,, in Issue 7) but wa: concerned by the cornmmts whicl- followed i t . As an IPMS rcprescntativc i l l srnall unit, rccruitmcr~i has becl. one of I I I ~ major headaches dnd I an- still not entirely sure why. I'br thosc. who do no1 have idc:ological reason> against joining a 'Trade Union - why Lhc reluctance? S o many times l havt heard colleagues cry 'If only thcre wa> a r organisation that reprcscr?ted us'. '1,:re is, but you have to join it tc make a diffcrencc and the more whc join, thc bigger the difference will be. Some of the main reasons why arcl~~icologists are reluctant Lo join arc:

1. I .ack of U r g c a a - many pcoplc only gcl round to joining a Union when Lhcy lccl threatened by redundancy, changes to working conditions, disciplinary action, etc. Joining before you reach crisis point means you can influence cvcnls to the point whew Lhc crisis is averled, noi just for yourself but I your colleagues a s well.

2. Indifference - After years of watching the IFA never quite getting round ko doing anylhing, an-haeologists often sewn to fcel pc- aless to influence their own working lives. They don't believe joining a Trade Union will rnakc a difference. Believe me, i t does - not just to the big things like k i n g able to negotiate better pay and condilions, but also as a source of information, advice and support.

3. Lovalty - Joining a Trade Union isn't a n indication of disloyalty to your employers and it shouldn't be seen a s such. Many enlightened employers these days welcome, or even positively encourage, Trade Union membership amongst their employees. Membership gives you the ability to influence dnd enhance your working lifc and the

Apathy in the UK regard a s particularly subversive.

4. I.ack o f . continuity ol employment - Although individual membership of IPMS has many haicfits, official recognition by your cmployer cnables you to start influencing your working conditions and for this, you need your colleagues to join up as well. Thc situation is complicated when, as in archaeology, people arc moving between contracts and organisations all the time. However, if you have individual membership and you work for an organisation which has officially recognised II'MS, you are included, no maticr how short your contract. So, the more n iemk~rs , the mare likely i t is you arc going to end up represented by arl officially recognised Union W herever you work.

5. 1.ack of Money - not much I can say about Lhis one! For some people, the subscription will be just one demand too many on an already overstretched budget. FIawever, if you can afford it - join. I f your circurnslances change (i.e. you're laid off) you can change your subscripkion right away and unemployed membership is free for the first year.

6. Apathy - this seems to be the most common obstacle to joining up, and the most difficult to deal with. All I can say is - if you're not preparded to even try to change things then you deserve the ~ond i t i ons you get. The whole point is that nobody has to d o it by themselves. At the end of the day it doesn't matter why you join - whether its the credit zard and cheaper insurance deals, the need to protect yourself from unscrupulous employers, fear of -edundancy, belief in Trade Unionism l r simply a concern for the profession you have chosen and the way i t is waded. As a member, you can get as nvolved a s you like or sit back a n d let

; I desire to do so is not one that I would someone else d o all the work. Whatever your reasons and whatever you want to get out of it, a s a member you will be part of an organisation thai looks after you, supports and advises you and represents you, a t local level in your day-to-day working life and at national level, influencing government policy that affects you. Mow many more reasons d o vou need?

IFA Pro-active Shocker! In what can only be described a s a moment of extreme motivation by the Institute, moves are afoot to set u p a Special Interest Group for diggers. Matthew Reynolds, a digger currently serving on the IFA Council, is CO- ordinating the exercise. He needs the names of a minimum 15 members (including Affiliates) who wish to become members of the group, and 5 members (excluding Affiliates) who wish to act a s thc organising cornmittce. 'This will be a n excellent opportunity to get issucs across to the IFA, s o GET AC'TIVE! Contact Matthew at the IFA for more details. The annual conference is also likely to be interesting, as Wednesday's session consists of full day discussing short contracts, poor terms and conditions and poor pay for diggers. RAOs are being encouraged to pay for their diggers to go, s o badger your boss now! I f anyone fancies reporting o n the conference for us, w e may be able to swing a small donation to the fees :oo. You don't need to be a member to p, SO NO EXCUSES! Brighton 4-6 April; details from the IFA.

T d e s From The Other Side Ne have heard of Lhe plight of the jigger, now hear tales froni the other side, o r should I say the other half. -or reasons of kindness the digger in juestion shall remain nameless, but his story is true. When I met him a .ew years ago I had my work cut out o repair the damage of 15 years in

Archaeology. Whcrc do I start? Physical: Bad back and knackered knees, so who ib Lhe lucky one who

to look after him whcn hc is brnken? Add to that a dodgy stomach that had expanded to fill half my flat (all that lovely I.orry driver type food), let's IIOL forgct ~ h c smoker's cough, the h e r belly (hidden the fat) and grinding tecth..JusL where do I start .... Fie must have had hidden depths, I hear you say. I1ot.s thi5 person r e m i ~ ~ d you of someone yet? Mcntal: Stressed and jc~~npy, wlth the attention span of a three-year-old, deep in thought about obscure Middle Rronzc Age feaLurcs, but an inability to deal wlth anything more complex than open~ng a tin of beans, - REAL WORLII rHORIA. Hc explained i t to rnc as being a h111 time archaeologist \ part time human. Stdl not remind you n f someonc? 1.lnancial: Pass m e my laughing corset as I have just split my sides. As someone who had their own thc flat, a permanent job and a car, imagine my dclight at flnding somconc who thought negat~vc eqc~ity was a good thing. ItitermitLerit pay\no pay makes life interesting don't you think? I'specially when you must find money for that ~nortgagc, bills, shopping, council Lax, pctrol, ctc. etc. etc ..... Oh he did manage to buy the odd bottle of vodka from time to time. Feel free to apologise to your partncr anytimc in the ncxt few days. I have now come to terms with life with a freelance archaeologist, with a fcw major modifications. He-looks a lot better now (slim and sexy. .... honestly) and his mental state is nearly that of a nomial human being. As to thc old bug bear - money - he is not bad now and manages to pay half of everything (which is nice). When he started to change, his fellow archaeologists trcated him with suspicion (1 of course got the blame for this a~pal l ing state of affairs) as it was a threat to the belief in the immortal digger!! BLI t secretly maybe they wanted the same; as they are in

various stales of decay themselves. Is i t so bad to want good Food, a nice house, a crap cat and security for the future? Not to mention the lurv of a good wuman ...... after all a partner is for life, not just between digs.

.a Letters Bombs &,' Another Unit Director Writes ... = For sometime now I have been reading your publication. I enjoy the debate it has started - it has certainly made some of us think about a few uncomfortable truths that we have preferred to sweep under the carpet in the past. 1 have begun to realise just how out of touch we in the upper echelons of archaeological management have become. My own large income, private pension, comfortable house and clean, well-scrubbed children are in stark contrast to the lives of many of my current and former employees - I have never had to sign on or do secretarial temping - and until recently I never realised that my own comfort could never have been obtained unless at their expense. As the director of one of the more hawkish practitioners of competitive tendering I should not be having these thoughts - it is madness and professional suicide. It never bothered me before that I could be making my employees homeless by laying them off, or that I kept them on a scale of pay comparable to unskilled labour, or that they had to spend long hours travelling to and from my sites. I t was only when one of my ex- employees c hanged his name to innit its ~ r c h a e o l o ~ ~ PLC re as& Bastards" after I laid him off without notice a week before Christmas that I xgan to have doubts. The press had a 'ield day, colleagues began sniggering xh ind my back, my wife refused to ;peak to me and Winnits Archaeology ?LC lost clients. Sleepless nights 3ecame the norm. : now realise that my love for Mrs. Thatcher and her economies has had Aisastrous consequences for ~rchaeology. Experienced and talented L

'The Digger'is a non-profit making newsletter existing entirely on donations. All

staff have left the profession in droves and we have failed in our attempt to replace hard knowledge with cheap labour. In our haste to slit each others throats to win contracts, we have seriously undervalued ourselves to our multi-million pound turnover zlients and carried out excavations that are often farcical. Somebody somewhere has to buck the trend, and I believe we at Winnits Archaeology can lead the way. For a start, we will no longer be a PLC - I am turning the company into a worker's co-operative. Profits will be shared equally among staff and there will be no more casual hiring and firing. We will no longer sell ourselves down the river when bidding for sites, or encroach on others territory. '.ir database of knowledge will be shafed amongst our former competitors. Laugh if you like, but please remember my selfless gesture when you pass me, holding my tin of Super outside the shopping centre.

Fantasy Unit League I1 - Round 1

; Sick pay ? I @<L> ; : Holidav nav? 1 : I Accolnmoda tion? l @ : ; Free equipment? 0 i ! Anv available trainine? 1 0 :

Contracts 1 month-t? Q I f Level of respect for staff O _I I Good archaeolo~y? L - - - - -J 1

Key: 0 GreaVyes @ Passabletyes @ Badho

Two tier - depending on experience Free for 'away' sites only.

3 No. of months wait. E Costs a bit! @ Self employed only.

Finances

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onations welcome, cheques should be dl -

made out to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. Back-issues available, please send SAE. 'The Digger' ----p on the web, -p-- admirably - maintained --p by --p- Backtrack Archaeology, with extra a r - d discussion areas. Check it. -

Issue No 11 March 2000 PO Box 391

Abingdon Oxon OX14 3GS

m.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk/ News-Views. html

Pro fili. .. --,-

Last year, Kenr~eth Aitchison wrote tc us d i n his hrthcoming publication Profilirrg the Frofessioar. Ifi his letter, he said there wa> informatio~~ which didn't mdke it ink the 'official' report which he was kmfi to disseminate, On the 7th Movemfm; with the publication now free@ a vailable, we wrote to -him with the following questions: 1 - .'he survey claims to be a n accurate representation of the archaeological workforce. Ye1 the original premise of the survey was to contact any organisation employing archaeological staff and to get a responsc from the organisation or_llv, rather than Lhe workforce itself. The survey therefore is e~;tirely skewcd tc a n employers perspective of the siiuation, rather than getting to the employees il sl&s

to profile. 'The survey t o ~ ~ l d perhaps have encouraged the d i ~ t r i b ~ ition of questionnaires to a!l staff interested in replying so as to get a Iu!.ier picture. Why was this not done? 2. The questionnaire asks for the number of paid stall employed by each or-misation, yet does rmt stipulate tk,- staff should 'be includeci. it is therefore feasible that those staff who are on temporary (:ontracts and employed perhaps I'or c r d y a s h r t time will not have been cunslderx! .:>S

'paid staff' (as opposed to, say, a project officer on a 6 rnontln coniract) during summation. Simi!arIy, any- discussion of benefits may only have related to those considered more 'permanent' by the respondent rather than perhaps those wore 'temporaryr, (diggers often don't receive siclaess or holiday pay). How much of i: factor would this be in distorting the results? 3. The geographical distribution of the workfcrce presented sonre surprises; according to the results, there arc no excavators or site assistants working in Scotland or Wales, yet there are a number of contracting units in both

countries who employ staff (e.g. SUA?' in Scotland; CPA'T in Wales). Similarly, there are no excavation staff listed in the North-East, the North- West and Mersey, the West Midlands and London (all also home to a number of units - MOLAS, PCA, UMAU, NAA etc.). Is this an indication of non-response by units to the sai-~ey in these areas, or has this category of staff been excluded by those supplying Lhe information? If so, can the survey really accurately represent a picture of British archaeology without these statistics? 4. The survey states that two thirds of archaeo1ogis:s are on permanent contracts, and that the average contracl. lwgth is 13 ~nollths. Further si:a tiskics s:.ate !hat 72% of staff wxlting ::)I- at-chaeo!ogkal contractors have a'c thelr place of work for more t h k t i l a year. In view of the (uncertain) nurnber of archaeologists working a t the iowcst levels of the profession, .c)fter~ on a very temporary basis, do you not consider that this lig~i'e map be slightly inaccurate, and is indicative that these people may have been overiooked in the survey? (NB. stdndard contracts offered to zca-$3 tors/sil:e assistants average 1 month)..

-r 5. ihe averclge salary for full-time 3rchaeologists is P,'17,079 according to :he survey. By your own admission: "here may be a sample bias against bhe poore" paid (temporary) staff. Not 311 oiganisalions responding gave details o r these employees" :A itc hison, P.rofiiing the Pmfession) . 5ow cou!d this have been avoided? Do you believe these figures on a ~erscnal level? ;. The survey asks whether there is nvolvement of volunteers within an ~rganiscilinn, statistics for which are riuly provided. However, there is no nei~ticm of the roles which the mluntcers actually perform within an

specifically asked on the questionnaire. Were employers generally cagey about replying to this section, and to what extent are volunteers employed in the active - - contracting areas of archaeology? 7. It could be argued that there is a statistical gulf in the result-s, and that those at the very rawest edges of the profession have not been represented. Do you consider that the survey has been a success, in view of this factor, and that the 'profile' is a full picture? How could this problem have been overcome? Should a further, more in depth, survey be carried out, now that the limitations of this exercise have been revealed? As yet/ our questions haven't been answeed. Wonder why?

Digging Jobs ONLINE! A new free service is being provided to all diggers (Rc archaeological staff generally) which will help those seeking wo~k, and those seeking workers, find each other. The ~ri t i sh- Archaeological Jobs Resource is an internet service. ' designed to provide a searchable list of available archaeological staff for excavations/other positions, as well as a bulletin board detailing up to the minute news of forthcoming vacancies within the archaeological community. The service, run by Backtrack Archaeology, is free for all entrants, whether units or archaeologists. The searchable CV database requires archaeologists to submit a shortened svnopsis of their CVs which employers can search for required characteristics. The information required is as foIlows: Name; Address; Phone numbers [minzinm7 of one reqznkd; E-mail , address [optiona4; Skill [digger, osteologist, researcher, surveyor etc ... any combination of terms c7llowab,le]; Years experience; Other information [only acceptable in dipg7taI form - send disks]

Any information regarding vacallcies which can be passed on to the service provider will allow others to know where to gel more work, and will be posted on the bulletin board. Units are encouraged to make use of this service by p s t i n g their own adverts to the BAJR to get further coverage than they might otherwise get from media alone. Access to the internet is not required to take part in this scheme; post the required details to us, marked RAJR, or to 5/2 Hamilton Terrace, Edinburgh, EH15 1NR. The cost of a stamp could make a difference to your career.. . www.archaeo.freeserve.co.u~

West Yorkshire Pay Farce A digger has written to us to highlight a problem which appears to be occurring as a matter of routine at West Yorkshire Archaeology Service regarding their pay system. It appears that random sums of money are being deposited in former employees' bank accounts without prior nohfication or any form of invoice, after having left WYAS. The consequence is that a few weeks down the line when the hapless digger realises the error, the money is spent and the County Council are then on their backs to retrieve the money, often numbering large sums (a case where an individual is paying back £7.50 has k e n quoted). In a climate where finances are tight, often down to a weekly basis, diggers do not have the capital to suddenly repay these amounts and are forced to desperate means.. . .such as Visa cards ('shudder*). . ..in order to get their houses back in order, causing distress m d loss of time for the individual concerned. The problem appears to stem from the unit using the County Council acco~mting procedures, which fail to understand short-term archaeological contracts and the problems which they pi-oduce (and often also fails to provide receipts for 'repaid' moneys). As an aside, the County Archaeologist was reputedly the hest paid county archaeologist in the countly in the mid to late 1990s.. . The digger in question would like to hear from other folmer employees of WYAS who have experienced similar problems, so as'to form a group to badger the unit,

non-profit making -

newsletter

the FA, unions, or anyone else who will listen. Anyone interested should write to 'Class Action' at our address and we will forward any mail.

L& Letters Bombs 4 F I was about toss my copy of The

Archaeologist (36) into the Tesco carrier bag (special file!) that hangs on my kitchen door, when at another quick flick through it, I noticed your article and decided Lo rescue it. A refreshing change amidst this small world of blinkered, in- house back-slappers! h myopic style the F A is currently preoccupied with CPD and PAP -. but in all seriousness, what is the point of spending time promoting this Samuel Smiles approach when our little world is rife with ageism? Some 18 months ago I did a telephone 'follow up' action (I suppose the F A would express it as a PAP exercise?) on a failed job application for a 'Community Archaeologist' (no piizes for guessing the name of this RAO). The director came on the line: "I'm sony you didn't get the job, but if it's any consolation you were on the shortlist of a half dozen, narrowed down from upwards of 50 applicants!". So where did I go wrong? Was it the relevant degree, the extensive teaching experience, the computer literacy, or just the decade in British field archaeology? I was assured that I had "sailed through admirably" on all the requested job criteria, but ... "we are a young team here and we felt that a s you are in your Ws, well, you are just too o l d "And how old are you?" I asked. "Ah, well now, you see that doesn't count because I'm the boss" he laughed, evidently pleased with his own humour. Not the first encounter of the kind that year. But when one is mindful of one's position as an out-of-work archaeologist and understands only too well the small world of the discipline, it is better not to make a scene. At the IFA annual 'do' lasl year in Glasgow, having returned to the Halls of Residence after a run, I found myself sweatily sharing a cramped lift with a friendly middled-aged - archaeologist (MAA) who jovially suggested that someone of my years and fitness should

existing entirely -

donations. All

use the stairs! That night in the disco bal (eek!), tlu-pugh a lavish sea of dry ice, happenedlto pass comment to the samc MU about my absolute abhorrence o; 70's PAP (music). "Hey, now just holc on a moment young man!" said the clearly hurt MAA, "this happens to be my era! It's before your t&e so yoc ddn't appreciate it". At that p i n t we struck U-i a friendly conversation ... l leased to meet you. And you are?".. and you can guess-the rest ... The IFA might see CPDs and PAPS as a "key to ou; future", but could we firs1 have a key to unlock the door of IAF (Inherent Age Prejudice?). RI A suggestion for the older digger (letters, issue 8). Next time somebody suggests working in temperatures of minus 20 degrees, try turning .;

flame-thrower on them.

Fantasy Unit League II - Round 2

r--------------------- I University of Durham

1 I

I ~rchaeolo&cal Services I

I Wages - above EZOO? I 00 I I , Sick Dav ?

I Contracts 1 month+? I Q I : Level of resvect for staff I C3 ! ' Good archaeology? L L L--------- ---- ------

Key: C3 Greattyes C3 Passablelyes 0 Badlno

Two tier - depending on experience d' Free for 'away' sites oniy. 8 No. of months wait. £ Costs a bit! @ Self employed only.

Finances

Total contributions Total costs (projected) End balance 654

lonations welcome, cheques should be made out to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. Back-issues available, please send SAE.

'The Digger'on the web, admirably maintained by Backtrack Archaeolom, with extra art and discussion areas. Check it.

Irish Dig As many people are aware, there is at

- - -

present a digging boom underway in Ireland, on the back of road schemes and development in general. This has seen a large number of British diggers, frustrated with working conditions here, making a break for Holyhead in the search for more money and a better life. In issue 6, we publicised the quite disproportionate difference in wages which ltish diggers get paid in c. _-.parison to our lowly scraps - a site assistant can get L386.25 as well as subsistence and other benefits. However, reports are coming back that the situation is not as rosy as we may have portrayed. Despite the high pay rates, the exchange rate means that pay at the archaeological worker level is pretty much the same as in Britain. Furthermore, the benefits situation is very much dependent on who you work for (no surprise there). Workers for Valelie Keeley Ltd have reported that not only were travel expenses nonexistent, but that in order to get to rural sites, workers had to hire their own mini-buses as none were supplied. Staff were invited bv application form to undertake watching briefs, which meant a higher ri of pay, and time-and-a-half for o3mtime. Yet, once again no transport was provided for this, and the early starUlatc finish meant the shared transport was out, that taxi costs would cancel out any benefits and so invariably onlv car owners could undertake the work. As with archaeologists in Britain joining the IPMS, many archaeologists in lreland have been joining SIYTU (one of Ireland's largest unions) to try and get their voices heard. Communications across the different counties have been helped by a recently formed group called WAAG (Workers in Archaeology Action Group) which amongst its accomplishments produces a regular newsletter. A survey conducted by WAAG of the archaeological work-place in Ireland produced results which are sadly not that unfamiliar: bad pay, no health and safety, sick pay, contracts etc.

:ing Boom Damaginl The pace of development in Ireland is such' that delavs in the construction industry cause2 by the archaeological process are being blamed directly on the archaeologists. The National Roads Authority (NRA) for one are trying to push through legislation concerning archaeology which could not only have a diverse effect on archaeologists but could also irreversiblv damage the archacologicdl record. I h e NRA have stated that they will no longer pay archaeologists for breaks, lunches, wet time (hours lost end up being extended at the archacologists' cost) or holidays, amongst others. Workers state that a recent job was under such pressure from the County Council and road-builders, who were desperate to find fault with the archaeologists, that the unit they were working for (VJK 1-td again) caved in, allowing break-times to be cut back. Diggers were counted twice a day (echoes of Stalag Luft?), watched from a distance (big black land-rovers on the horizon being a sure sign of trouble) and photos of archaeologists apparently not working were taken with ldng lenses. Our source states "this invevitably boiled down to the usual ignorance and misconceptions about archaeological work; i.e i f we are not down a hole chucking soil, then we are not working". Rumours state that the NRA are also pushing proposals (still at the discussion stage at present) which will severely cut down the amount of treatment an archaeological site on road schemes receive, with only 'standing archaeology' to be dealt with, and no 'subterranean' work to be undertaken at all, not even as watching briefs. These are probably onlv extreme proposals in order to provide haggling space for the authority, but even the middle-ground will inevitably spell bad news for the archaeology. SIPTU are actively fighting against the NRA proposals, lobbying the Heritage Secretary and chairing emergency meetings, in order to respond to the threat. Though the arguments are likely to rage for months, this is a c~ucial time for archaeology. Unless the conipanies stick together and refuse to sign

Issue lrlo 12 May 2000 PO Box 391

Abingdon Oxon OX14 3GS

wwu7.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk

: Rights? contracts which con~promise the welfare of the diggers and ihe sites then these conditions will become the norm; as the SIFTU newsletter stdtes: "we have got to make demands now while the canvas is still blank, before precedents are set and the system becomes so solid we are unable to shake it". Feedback suggests that diggers generally feel under-v&ed and d i ~ & ~ e & x l bv their employers, and . - that they- do no( see the companies sticking "p for their rights, unles; there was financial advantage to themselves. Tenders have already been submitted under conditions where archaeologists will be not allowed breaks; any further pressure by developers niay see other rights evaporating ds well, as financial constraints always end up being passed on to the lowest tiers. The NRA are already pushing for diggers to work the same hours as machine-drivers - daylight

PO Box 7076, Ru/lc)r7d Place, Dublin I ------------------------. P M 5 (ArcChdeo/ogy Branch) 76 ,Scacroft Road, York, Y024 IDD http:/www.ipn?s. org. uk

A Conference for who? So another [IFA] conference rolls around and, i f you are anything like in my predicament, disappears off without so iZii~!i as or! i;; =;..v -'irX5;,32. The 'Ch conferences are just a waste of time, no use to any digger For starters, the IFA has been running these conferences for years yet only now is i t even thinking about sorting out its house as regards diggers. At no point in the last X amount of years has there been any attempt to get diggers involved; in their minds you were never 'propcr' until you'd reached the level of project officer, or had done a Phd and nipped in the quick way. I know for a fact that a number of 'high up archaeologists' (County Archaeologists and a few others) aren't even bloody members and take no interest in the Issues, yet get a cash bung to go every yedr during whlch time they catch up on their shopping.

Now all of a sudden the IFA seem to care - possibly something to do with the slight irritations caused by your production (ma-vbe ...&d. Only I don't actually reckon they do care, because to be quite honest all the efforts they make are tissue-thin. Take this idea of getting diggers to the 'stratification in archaeology' discussion; a significant idea. Get dggers face to face with the big bosses, so as to get their ideas across and mavbe make sorne changes. Or so you'd think. Only instead of actually doing that, they just mention i t on the quiet m everyone who is going knows about i t and thinks 'oh how praiseworthy are they', and i t bypasses the rest of us like every other year. Take their advert for the session in The Archaeologist. They offered paid help for diggers to go to the conference and stated that units should pay for their staff to go. What use was it advertising i t only in there? I'm a member of the IFA, but no one else was (some. 8 people on one site I worked on and 6 on another), and so no one else would have evcn been aware of the offer - most diggers are too poor to join. Stinks, right? Amazingly enough the (1FA-approved) unit we were all working for (were, as we are now dole-bound once more) also neglected to mention this generous offer because they were in the middle of a crisis as regards a badly tendered site which ended up with us all butchering the archaeology, surprise surprise (how EH'S David Smiles can support competitive tendering when i t has ruined more sites than i t has saved is beyond me - which he did in the F A yearbook, surprise again. Wake up David - the Heathrow job was not typical of the iisual w a y thil.~g< gci cionci) ( / E

praises Hcalhmw Ternlinal -7 a big join1 job twtwt.cn Oxford and Wcssex using 'sophislicated IT syslems; lo coin his arlic-1e.m. Most of the workers only got a notion of this happening because i t was mentioned in the +r, by which time it was tor , bloody late to do anything anyway as we were all locked into this site t i l death, no sick or holidays (sony we couldn'l gel il on! artv earJicr. m). How hard would i t have been to send oul some posters or leaflets or something, or publicise more

reached everyone! What exactly does this Matthew Reynolds rlo for the people he is supposed to be representing, or come to that Peter Hinton? Bugger all as far as I can see. I hope against hope that people do start joining the IFA in their masses and making the token working committee they've set up work against them, so they rue the day they ever took on the job. But most people think the IFA stinks, and quite frankly so do I, and 1 doubt I'll join again. How's about actually seeing these peoplc on a few sites, making visits and stirring up interest. Or are the officcs too warm? I still haven't heard anything about how Lhe conference went or how many attended. ..how about sorne facts, or are these only for the select few too? Top ranting article of the year. DN~G Sn?i/es, you ha VC been rechrislened. IFA . contribule a piece on the c~oderence an6 WC will prinl il. Ed

7- - & Letters Bombs &

- Hurrah! It's a huge relief to see that the BAJR is finally online. If the F A had ever pulled their fingers out, they could have achieved the same thing - they have the contacts and the resources - and hey, with all the cash they squeeze out of their members, Lhey can sure as hell afford i t (I don't belive their protests that they are on a shoestring budget) (God. Bdsh the IFA monlh! Eel). However, I am curious that they did not see f i t to compete with this clearly superior service or even join forces with i t . I h e y must have known that the majority of their members are not actually supporters, but are merely taking advantage of the jobs service which was never adequate mwva. ; . - ?ha:, i i i ~ i i : I I U W , wab tile oniv bonus of memkrsh ip . 'They never managed to offer any digger any type of security - yet another promise they failed to get off the ground. Their job service was the only one of its kind, and i t was used to hide the lack of expertise and general mismanagement. Hopefully, now that they have lost the monopoly on the service, we shall see the beginning of the demise of capitalistbastards.com. Short of forking out a lot of cash just to be sent the job-sheet, I have never understood why we have to provc our abilities in the field in order to acquire this information.

I t stinks, and with any luck i t will soon rot a w a y Of course the BAJR does have its faults. Without a Iaptop, modem and mobile phone, how is the digger on the circuit going to access the website? And I would hate to see the end of the fights over the Guardian at teabreak on a Wednesday morning in fear of being laid off, followed by the accumulation of shredded ncwspaper all over the floorlseatslwindows of the site hut/van/portaloo. Fair critic is^^?.^: vacancies are nahrra/!v hard lo see wilhoul PC access.. .speaking as one who doesn'l have access to the nel, I know exacUy what you mead Solutims are: lo ba+er your unit to do regular prinlorrls (bound not lo work h to use /ibra';v/internet cafe service ,_,~y cos/ -vou BUT cheaper lhan IFA subs!) or sneak into PC World and pretend to be buying a computer (I do this when I wanl to see how the web pages are ping$. Wllere /here's a will.. . .Ed

Fantasy Unit League I1 - Round 3

; Wages - above f2W? 1 0 I Sick nav ? 0 I = I

Holidav pav? 0 - t I Accornmoda tion? I

: Good archaeoloev? m

I!

Key: 0. c r ~ . . l .,../'a" 1.-.or -.+a - - - -

@ Passable/! es

9 Badlno Two tier - depending on experience

9 Free for 'awa! ' sites only. -I-; No. of months lvait. E Costs a bit! @ Self emplo!cd only.

Finances

Total co~~tributions +L25 Total costs (projected) End balance

widely. . . The Gudrrlian might have 'The Digger' is a non-profit making newsletter existing enth-elj on donations. AU donations Digger'. Any contributions of material positivel~ encouraged. Back-issues available, pleaw send

I Free equipment? I Anv available trailling? f Contracts 1 month41 ; Level of respect for staff

\velcorne, cheques should be made out to The SAE. 'The Digger'on the web, with extra art

v-. . @ i @ I

0 -1 G

and discussion areas: and the British Archaeological Job8 Resource, a free Jobs service for evellrone, with job adverts posted regularlj and online CV service, admirabl? maintained bj- Backtrack Archaeology. Check i t .

Know your Digger: A Directors Guide

When choosing your site slav a... sorry staff you want to know what sort of digger you have, here are some handy hints to spot the tell tale signs oi just the sort of digger you are after. The Dirt Dimr: The most common and shy of the d i ~ e r species, commonly dressed in Oxfam chique with combat trouser pockets stuffed full of things that may be useful at some time in the -future. Fingerrids are alniost always a g o d indication as to where they last dug and check the size of their howel (remember size matters). Usually communicate in a series of grunts and nc ' so don't ask them any difficult questions l&-o you have a P60/bank account. The Survevor: This sub species on the other hand is on the other end of the spectrum of flamboyance. Proudly strutting around the site with a small black notebook, nodding and going hmmmm. If you can, check the notebook (though they are carefully guarded), if it has strange hieroglyphics and numbers scrawled all over it then you may have discovered a real catch .... an actual surveyor. You have to keep an eye on them though as they usually use the theodolite to keep an eye on the talent in the nearby village. The Planner: Another flamboyant sub species with an unnatural liking for 6H pencils (place one of them on the table and see if they make a grab for it). Their belt is often hung with the tools of their trade and they tend to walk like gunslingers with their hands never far from a fear--me seven metre Stanley Tape. Th, ,~otoma~hec: Bleary and pasty faced from too long in dark rooms they are easily recognised by three tell tale signs. 1 chaffing on the back of the neck from multiple camera straps 2 An inaedible appetite for expensive black and white film 3 never being there when you want them with the excuse 'that, the light isn't right'. The Finds Assistant: Almost invariably the female of the species as this is deemed a suitable job for a young lady (hmmm ....M. They have an incredible ability to create complex coding systems that only they understand. If they instantly know what MWT1004/CBM/F198 then you have definitely found one. Beware, they usually have a pet love of a certain pottery type and will often care for it to the exclusion of all others (this may affect your statistical analysis of the finds. Got it ... well off you go and have fun...but remember a Digger should always be returned to their natural habitat (unemployed) as it is cruel

to keep them in captivity (...shouldn't that be l

PO Box 391 Abingdon

Oxon OX 14 3GS e-mail: cyber-digger@talk2 l .mm

web: wuw.archaeo. freeserve.co.uk Write to Rhona Brankin at the Scottish

employment'?) for longer than 6 weeks.

Lost County Archaeologists

We are all aware of the Planning Guidelines o England, however here in Scotland we have ; different set of rules: PAN42. Paragraph 3' states that no work may be carried out beforc proper archaeological investigation has beer implemented This is all well and good but does it cove] regions that have no county archaeologist? Ar example would be West Lothian which wher asked if it wanted to share the Edinburgh Cio Archaeologist (who already deals with Easl Lothian), informed them that no archaeolog, existed in that area. Now correct me if I ar wrong, but this area has Cairnpapple Burial Mound, Linlithgow Palace, several castles, statelj homes, standing stones ...as well as a host 01 industrial archaeology sites. Without the guidance of a planning archaeologist, just horn are planning proposals vetted? I personally know of one site, a 17th centurg farm, that was gutted and partially demolished for a courtyard development without any archaeological investigation O n being informed of this the RCAIIMS sent along a representative but they were told to leave the site as the planning dept had already passed the proposal. How many other sites suffer the same fate across the county as new estates spring up? You want to alter even slightly, a building in say East Lothian then strict guidelines are enforced. If you want to demolish a historic building that is not protected by Historic Scotland in West Lothian then there is not a lot can be done as the proposal never passes through the hands of an archaeologist. When will a blanket coverage of the PAN42 guidelines be enforced and the appointment of a county archaeologist be made mandatory in each region? When cost-cutting exercises are implemented by councils you can guess where the first cuts are made. It is time that the councils see archaeology as a resource for the area, instead of a waste of money. HS inspectors are overworked as it is, as are regional curators who must deal with many areas at once. Simple solution .... one county one archaeologist. In my work in Scotland as an archaeologist, I have noticed that people love the thought of history under their feet, even using it as a selling point for their development., until it comes time to pay for its retrieval or preservation. There needs to be a big push now for properly curated SMRs to be made a statutory responsibility of local authorities.

Parliament! Start a campaign!!

FTAs in rights case FIFIXEN members who worked at the Museum of London are waiting anxiously for an employment tribunal decision concerning unlawful deductions from salary. The 15 - archaeologists and specialists on fixed term appointments - were excluded from last . .

year's pay deal because they left the museum between the April l . settlement date. and September 23 when the deal was approved. up- to 60 more archaeologists on fixed term contracts were also excluded from the pay deal in the same way. IPMS negotiator Alan Leighton says the FTAs should receive the increase because the museum clearly indicated that all staff would be entitled to it. Excluding them amounts to an unlawful deduction under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, IPMS maintains. The museum claimed it was too difficult to contact all the FTAs involved to resolve the issue. (0 IPMS Bulletin May 2000).

SEX and lots o f it! This is a subject that we are all familiar with (I hope) but has not yet been approached by this fine publication (er ...g o on ... m. I strongly believe that every field archaeologist (apart from Gordon Childe and Mortimer Wheeler who wouldn't have women dig with them) has noticed how incestuous our profession is, and has at some point fallen victim to lusty advances of a colleague, or at least dreams of it and covets it from afar. The women are not in short skirts and suffer from perpetual bad hair days, and, instead of makeup, are smeared with whatever noxious substance is in the general area. The lads aren't decked out in their-finest either - not a sharp Italian suit anywhere (I wouldn't go out on rite in anything else ...m. The general attire of weybody is either very old and should have been left in the 1980s, or is bought from the nearest army surplus store or charity shop. Crash hats and flash jackets are not sexy. The number of times I've been mistaken for a brickie is silly. We have to be practical in our choice of slothing, and to worry about appearance or :leanliness would be unprofessional, so why on s r th do we want to have a nice hot roll on the spoil heap with our fellow workers? Not to mention the pride of winning the boss' - dkt ions - myself and several friends have done this (different sites/bosses!) - you know who you are!

The jargon that we use doesn't help matters How many times have the women gone to tht supervisor and said (before thinking): "woulc you like to come and have a look at my hole?" it- a completely innocent manner? Back in m) inexperienced days, a friend of mine couldn't help but snigger when a more senior member 01 the team was going through the context s h e e ~ vnth her and said "you do know about physical relationships, don't you!". It doesn't make sense when site staff are all accommodated together, and end up being around each other 24 hours a day, yet still can'( get enough of the 'coveted one'. It would be lcgical that there would be more arguments than flirting, but in fact there is an equal amount of both. This is the result of that great institution: 'healthy competition' (although these words are by no means synonymous). This is how it goes: day one of a new job. Arrive at site: I'm the second woman in a sea of men. Most speech is monosyllabic. The first woman is well established in the unit and is far more attractive than me. I'm sent away to dig a large hole across a ditch while she is sat gracehlly planning a feature. I'm happy - female dominated sites are a nightmare (!!!..m. I'm swinging my mattock with gusto, sweating like a pig and feeling great Then some of the men gradually start to drift over and begin to communicate with me. The first woman is not happy. For the next two months we barely spoke. The crazy thing was that neither of us had any serious interest in anybody on site and we were both already attached. What's going on? Everybody seems to be reduced to surviving on their wits and animal instincts alone. In the heat, clothing becomes more scarce and bodies more tanned. The shades go on, and then its survival of the fittest. You strive to prove yourself when you're new, and to the new people who join the team. Whether we like to admit it or not, we occasionally lose our professionalism, and it all comes down to projecting our image. Or it could all be down to the funny chemicals in the tanning lotion. I would also like to point out that most archaeologists, if they're not already having a relationship with a colleague, are likely to be having one with another archaeologist somewhere else. We bump into each other time and time again, gossip is rife. One supervisor once commented to me: "you know, the next generation of archaeologists are going to come from a very restricted gene pool".

Letters Bombs Strike! El Instead of sitting around in the pubs of this

life', why not go on strike' A oneday, nation wide strike; perhaps with pickets, demos petitions, placards, all that stuff. To let pmpk know that the archaeology of the IFA, and 01

television, is not the reality of most of tht archaeologists of this country; to tell people thal if they really gave a shit about archaeology, ther they should have a proper profession to deal with it. %se of us who pay union subscription should start asking for something for our money, we need to leaflet every unit in the country, decide a day, and talk to the press. WE

need action; stop just complaining, or making excuses to each other, and at least bean to do something. Things aren't going to get better on their own, why should they? Strike!

WYAS Pay Farce.. . some replies E! I may be out of date, but somewhere in my dim and distant past I am sure that I remember being told that if an employer makes a mistake in salary payment it can only be recovered by the consent of the employee That is the employer has no legal right of recovery if the mistake is theirs. Agreed, you probably will not work for them again/for long, and the law may have changed under Thatcher etc. Get unionised is my advice and get them fighting on your behalf. There are unions for professionals out there; find an appropriate one and get your moneys worth. RYour reader Iabwre] endeavours to assure us that an employer cannot take over payments out of salaries. True, but I had this problem whilst working for a very large London unit, (it belongs to a museum). They simply made it so that my job was no longer tenable. They were very much aware of this too. After leaving it took me over 6 weeks to get all my due pay out of them. I have been assured that I will never work for them again.. Ho Humm. Northamptonshire rant .... B 1 am writing in utter disgust about the total lack of respect shown to myself and fellow diggers at Northampton Archaeological unit. There is a total lack of communication between higher members of staff within the unit itself, causing much upset, outrage and at times total despair. Case in point: 26th of May - current diggers contracts ending a week on Monday; being promised to be renewed for 2 weeks for ongoing postacavation work to be completed, all relwant staff to be contacted. Arriving back at the unit I am told again by a senior project assistant that I have 2 more weeks work. Head of unit over-hears conversation, ash me to enter his ofice where I am told they have no more work for me! Why doesn't senior staff tell staff, directly, THE FACTS. It IS their job to do this isn't it?

unhealthy competition between specialising staff members, causing much upset and bad feeling. I understood we were a unit, a team, working together achieving common aims. Case in point: being totally ignored when tying to greet senior, and heads of unit with a cheery 'good morning'. Surely this is bloody common courtesy and manners??? It really gets my goat. Who do they think digs these very large holes in the ground? We are the largest, and most important cog in the archaeological machine, the people who actually do the work! I demand respect, not a lot, just the basic respect and acknowledgement for which myself and fellow diggers deserve!

Fantasy Unit League I1 - Roaand 4

I l l Specialists I

j Wages - above f 200? 1 @a i : Sick ~ a v ? 1 0 id , - c - , I

I

: Holiday ~ a v ? 1 s : : Accommodation! 1 Of i

Contracts 1 month+? I -- -B-;

: Free equipment! I : Any available training?

: Level of respect for staff 1 8 1 : Good archaeolow? ( 0 ;

8 : 0 i

Total contributions Total costs (projected) End balance -294

-, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I - - - - - - - - - - :

Greadyes Passable/yes Bad/no Two tier - depending on experience Free for 'away' sites only. No. of mo~lths wait Costs a bit!

@9 Self employed only.

,fix a ndT u&t ~ateI$'d+nt ti &t own ba* and let other p p 1 e know just htw- bad .they ard Or were hey wondfvl condirians coulddt do enough for you? Send m in your er& far the F- Unit League NOW! You got to be in it to.. .win mplt *ALSO' someone-has written -in to point mt thatCthe IFA minimum wage requirements are' f213'fot di&ger$ minimum- please adjust-any dn;nriies ii~cotdi ngty...n~ Q for anythf ng less!!!!

Finances

country discussing unit politics or just 'the hard I Case in point: VERY LOW moral created by I 'The Digger' is a non-pzofit making newsletter existing entirely on donations. All donations welc Iigger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. Back-issues available, please send Sf md discussion areas; and the Brltkh Arohaeological Jobs Resource, a free jobs service for everyone, with jo; adverts posted regularly and d i n e CV service, admirably maintained bv Backtraok Archaeolw. Check it.

:ome, cheques should be made out to The LE. 'The Dimer' on the web, with extra art

Utopia Archaeologica The problems which face archaeologists on a daily-basis are all well known, and well listed in this publication. Poor pay, short-term jobs, crap career structure ... in a sense you get the feeling that n o t h i i will ever change because it just never does, despite all the lofty words of the IFA. Diggers become Supervisors become Project Officers, and the whole system reproduces itself through time. People who once worked side by side with each other end up bitching away later in life as tb y h none of that ever mattered, and dkerately trying to steal each others work by constantly halving tenders in order to get one over on the unit down the road. Sad. My personal perception is that the problem is and will always be the worth we put on our profession as a whole. The contractors to whom we present our ludicrously low bids to wouldn't really care if they were higher ... all they want is the cheapest and quickest possible work done so that they can get on with making a packet, and retiring and moving to Spain as quickly as possible. Get two units scrapping over one bit of work and there is only one winner ... the contractor. One solution is the cartel: if two (or more) units who mainly work in one area actually shared out the jobs, and agreed sensible costings between them before putting them to the contractor, then they would work as m,, as before but would make more by doing so, rather than cutting each others throats to get the work off of each other. If you as a unit are worried about another unit encroaching on your territory, cut your costs then and only then, across the board of units in the area, until the encroaching unit cannot compete and goes elsewhere. Thii only works where sane and mature adults are in charge of the units involved, and as we are all well aware, invariably only over-paid ego- maniacal slightly psychotic idiots with inferiority and/or superiority complexes end up in charge. The only people who suffer are those at the raw end who are the economic victims of bad management, hence all our bad pay and appalling conditions. Simplistic this may be, but get rid of the khting and start chucking around a bit more cash and the situation could only improve. The

Hmongst units as a whole, and I think the IFA could actually sort this out if it wanted, as it does have the systems in place with which to deal with the problem. Think about this: all work originates from the county archaeologists and the development control department of the county council, who recommend what work should be done prior to a development taking place; on the basis of this, tenders are submitted in order to land a particular contract for a particular unit, which are duly approved or rejected by the contractors. If the county archaeologists specified that & IFA-accredited units could undertake the work, this would have an effect; cowboy units would suddenly become very thin on the ground. Units submitting tenders would have to maintain the sets of standards laid out by the IFA for Registered Archaeological Organisations (RAOs), or else not get the work At present the scheme is only operating as a by-law of the institute, and is not directly linked to any disciplinary regulatio11~', any problems at present fall directly on the shoulders of the Responsible Postholders, which are usually the directors of the units. This means a unit has to do something REALLY bad in order to get caution d... not really an ideal solution. However, the IFA has a whole raft of recommendations in place which units are encouraged to abide by if they want to be seen to be good RAOs, and one of these recommendations is pay. If pay-rates were made mandatury, and failure to comply was made to be a disciplinary offence punishable by expulsion, RAOs would have to comply. All units trying to seek work would have to increase their tenders to accommodate the increase in pay, or else they would not be allowed to work at all, because by failing to take account of the change they would be expelled and not allowed to tender for work by the county archaeologists. Build into the IFA accreditation process other factors such as provision of accommodation, mandatory sick and holiday pay, pension contributions, and units would have no option but to implement these changes if they wished to work This would see further increases in the costs which would have to be accommodated

1

PO Box 391 Abingdon

Oxon OX14 3GS e-mail: cybeydigger@talk2 1 .corn

web: www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk

in the tender, but these changes would be nation-wide rather than on an individual basis. This would have absolutely no effect on the contractors, for whom archaeology is but the smallest of potatoes compared to the total cost of a development, and who would have to deal with the archaeology as usual because othewise they wouldn't be able to proceed with making bootfub of cash. Net result: better conditions in archaeology, and the same amount of work for everyone. NOW someone write in and tell me why that wouldn't - work ...

Poets corner Tlte fobwing immensely cheesy poem was sent in by a ~mdm, written in 1975 by Peter Mahon - check out tlae cheese!

Trenches stretch as far as the eye can see, Above, porters slowly advance on scree. All around endless sand, unbearable heat: Men working tirelessly, Trying to compete.

Six archaeologists, plans in hand, discuss, While excavation continues without fuss. They have come to fulfil1 an ambition, dream: Thousands of pounds being spent on the scheme.

To one side a tent houses treasures of silver, Careful hands clean sand from a gold salver. Excitement mounts as they uncover new Finds, Protected for centuries by the winds.

Somewhere out there is an ancient burial- ground, The local natives think evil will be found. They view the expedition with anger and malice, These strangers mutilating their Royal Palace.

One day these finds will go on show to the world, In the desert the marks where new man called. As young and old gape at wonderous sights, Natives return to primitive days and nights.

Flipping cracking giggle eh ? %nkfuRy our

correspondent has written us a brilliant updated version for the 90s, see what you think:

Trenches stretch as far as the eye can see, Around, trainees emerge with their tea. All about, endless mud, unbearable cold, (Wolmen working listlessly, hunting for gold

Two archaeologists, plans in hand, argue, Will the dig continue or the developer sue? They have come to build a pub with a theme Hundreds of pounds being spent on thc scheme. .

A portacabin houses treasures of iron anc

pot, It's left to the volunteers to clean the lot. Excitement mounts as the end of the dq draws near, Has petty cash enough for every digger tc have a beer ?

Somewhere out there is another Seahenge, Bound to send someone else round t h e bend. O r perhaps a repeat of Manchester airport, Where "dope smoking" archaeologists got caught

One day these finds will have gathered rust, And we archaeologists will have turned to dust. As young and old gape at the new housing estate, We do our CVs and leave it to fate.

IFA Conference - the IFA reply.. . .

The fouowing article was written as a response to; bit of a rant someone had in issue 12 about the IFA, specijicalbj relating to the conference: "The IFA isn't caring "all of a suddenn. The idea of getting Diggers to the "Stratification in Archaeology Forumn [at the IFA conference] was absolutely genuine. Units were asked by the IFA to send Diggers, and to let their staff know about the conference, and the possibility of financial wherewithal. A hardship fund was created, and not a sing!e digger applied. Funny, isn't it, that bad news always travels fast while good news is ignored? True, in hindsight, the fund could have been wider/better advertised, but at least your anonymous author got the information - and did nothing about it but complain. We get the message - good try, must do better. As one of several speakers in the Stratification Forum, I spent valuable time preparing a talk that Matthew Reynolds and I thought would be of real use to diggers an explanation of the local government system of job ranking used by most archaeological organisations. Few diggers were there to hear it, but I was asked to the Cambridge Forum to repeat it - and answered a bombardment of questions as an elected officer

of the IFA At both meetings the prospect of Speck! Group for Diggers, like those fc Marine Archaeology and Local Groups, wa encouraged, but so far no takers. How about I

Diggers? This is one way to get your viewpoint over to "the big bosses". Matthew worke extremely hard to get the session off th ground, and I am sorry that his efforts on you behalves was so unpleasantly "rewardedn. H should be congratulated for getting IPMS tc attend; union membership can protect Digger in a way that the IFA cannot. As for Pete Hinton (The IFA direaor...Ed), his output i phenomenal in quantity and qualitg Constructive criticism would be far morc :ffective. 3-1 an equally serious note, if an IFP Registered Organisation "butchered thc uchaeologyn because of a mismanaged tender we would like to hear details from thc uchaeologists who did the butchering. Harc ~ d e n c e please, not hearsay - in a signed letta )f complaint to the Chair - and there will bc he possibility of doing something about it 4nd any other evidence of competitive endering damaging archaeology, or pool iealth & Safety, to the IFA please. Withou~ trchaeologists giving us the ammunition our lands are completely tied - time for heads lbove the parapet! h d the IFA is also looking at better use of the reb for job seekers. Anything that helps Xggers to gain employment is to be tncouraged. Cvelyn Baker, Hon Vice Chair Standards, FA Srstly, I'd just like to say that I am really not that wprised that the 'St~atijkation in Archaeology :mm' failed, because of the m y it was advertised. tick a w e advert in 'The Archaedogirt' dfen'ng Lnancial assistance, a d exactly hau many digm n'U see it, seeing as so few are membets? Not that urny. Aye, the complainant did nothing but omplain ... if you'd spread you7 message a bit more, erhap you would have got a better mss section of ie digging populace, some of u h may have ctuaUy have been interested. Asking the units to romote the confuence was aEo a bit daft...canlt see im many units Wanting to send a fafr proportion of I& workforce away for a fm days, while projectr P on hold. 1 am really gm+l that you both @t so ucch effort in; it tvouId have a m U y haw been ice if it hadn't been a wasted opportunity, like so any previous. Furthermore, I would have happily aw gone werboard adudsing the confer ence...fulG age spread if necessav. Why don't you use us to get le message amass next time? S to the 'heads above parapets', I know exdctly the redicament described as I've seen my fair s h e of -ompetitive butchering', but I wouldn't do the Ung. 1 am trying to keep in employment, and smff ke that sticks to your name. HOW about anonymity

2

for complninants? And isn't it acrualEy m job to monitor such bad RAOs? i. I

rmrnmfl This I% a special letters sectrbn due to the 0vefwheIming response to 3tx and lots of if written for issue N b y a corresponden~.. No sex please, we're digging .... V I am writing in response to the [ad&] because I am irritated at its silliness and dismayed by the writers attitudes which, if left unchallenged, could seriously harm the position of women in archaeologg. No one can deny that sexual artradon in the workplace exists, but most people keep it in its place and keep a professional attitude to their job at the forefront of their minds. The writer of the article, however, seems downright ~bsessed with having a "nice hot roU" on the spoil heap, when she should be getting excited about the archaeology and maintaining her professionalism and, perhaps, her dignity. ['m appalled that there are women on the ircuit who have, on different sites, tried to win h e bosses affections. Do they want to go back :o the days when a woman was assumed to have ~ o t on in a job only because she had slept with h e boss? The writer's pride in having done this S misti~ing. My pride comes from being dcnowledged as a capable worker by my boss, lot as a good lay. am angry at the suggestion that women invite exual attention to when they innocently ask a ,upervisor to 'come and have a look at my lolen. This is l i e saying that women ask to be exually abused if they wear shorts. If "Carry 3nn style jargon is deliberately used on site, it s a only OK if it is casual banter between onsenting diggers. Depending on the ituation, "can I come in your hole" can be ither a juvenile joke or real sexual harassment 've heard lads saying it to each other.- lowever, the writer tells us that a senior nember of a team used a similar phrase to a riend, who snbered. I hope her friends can hstinguish the sleazy innuendoes of a creepy boss from harmless banter amongst mates. The omer is sexual harassment and in this case niggering is totally inappropriate. h e article get sillier. Quote: "I'm the second Ioman in a sea of me n... the first woman is well stablished in the unit and is far more ttractive than men. Excuse me? She rated the ttractiveness of fellow female workers in elation to herself? Archaeological sites are not ~eauty contests! It's bad enough that some men ompile lists rating women on sites in terms off m a l potential (this happened whilst I was at niversity), without women doing it to each lther. The writer claims that she and the other romen on site did not speak because the men ad shown her some attention and the other

woman was not happy. Her assumption that it was competition for male attention that resulted in the two women's non communication is very sad and dduded. She should realise that the other woman saw herself as an equal and capable member of the unit and saw the men as nothing more than a work colleagues. She wanted nothing to do with the writers silly flirtations. ?he writer feels that kmale dominated sites are a rughtmare. Having deduced something of her psyche from her article, this is presumably because she feels there are less men to flirt with and more competition Male dominated sites can sometimes (not always) be a nightmare. Female dominated sides can often be more civilised and supportive. I suggest that this woman takes a long, cold shower and grows up a little. I hope she will begin to see that sleeping with bosses will do h* -areer no good in the long run, that other wt-en are potential friends rather than competition for male attention and that, in future, on sites, she should keep her mind on archaeology. All the other silliness should be saved for a more appropriate time, for her own sake and for the sake of women being taken seriously on a archaeological sites. V Maybe I'm getting old. I'm sorry the anonymous female archaeologist thinks female dominated field teams are worse than male dominated ones. In what way? Less men offering to empty her wheelbarrow in the hope of a shag? The worst teams consist of unavailable project managers, inexeperienced supervisors and unprofessional diggers who think that archaeological fieldwork is a great big 18-30 holiday laid on specially for them; ie a n opportunity to increase their t a n / m d e tone/bedpost notches (em..see last letter! a. P* ' ssionalism isn't just about getting the m k i x right or remembering to fill in sample sheets. It also includes things like behaving appropriately to your co-workers. Respect for yourself &odd precl~de workplace flirting, but if it doesn't, then think about the fact that you are likely to know all these people for the next 30 years if you stay in archaeology. People have the right to go to work and not be harassed or wen made uncomfortable by a sexualised enviroment. I'm not saying archaeologists shouldn't ever have relationships with other archaeologists, just that if they do, it should be as discreet as if they both worked in an office, factory or school. As a woman, I am embarrassed by some of the behaviour Ibe seen on sites. Not because Ibe gone into tool sheds and found people in various stages of foreplay, although I have; but because you are letting those of us who choose to keep our sex lives out of the workplace down Female diggers should think long and

hard about the way they use their gender and sexuality at work OK this is sexist, but we are a minority, and if we define oursleves in this way, how can we complain when the men do it' You won't have your looks for ever, girls! What are you going to do then, or will you have married the director of a unit by then? You can be the site totty or you can be a professional. One thing is certain, men won't let you be both. We all know of women who've been promoted because of who they have slept with. The gossip tends to get embellished until you are the whore of Babylon and you don't know one end of a context sheet from the other, even if you happen to be good at your job. So what am I saying here? Flirt with that grimy- fingernailed, tattooed digger in the pub, take 'em home and give 'em a good seeing to if you must, but leave it out between the hours of 8am and 4.30. Its not big, its not clever and its a lot more stomach churning to have to watch snogging in a minibus at close quarters first thing in the morning than it is to do the snogging. Not to mention that restricted gene pool thing - do you want a kid born with celtic tattoos, a lip- stud and a dog on a hairy string instead of afterbirth? bleugh! More from THAT Unit Director V Sex and lots of i t What planet is the author of this article from, or more to the point working o n In my experience archaeology and the S word do not go together and as Principal Archaeologist within a unit (Archaeological Research, Survey and Excavation k d ) I take every step I can to nip any blossoming romance in the bud. It was only last week that I had to lay off one young female for being too attractive to the opposite sex. I for one will not have my workers distracted from the features by the curves of some hussy who even brought her own condoms on to site. It's hard enough getting a full 10 hour day from the lazy good for nothing diggers who have enough fag breaks as it is, without the compulsory post bonk one. Another factor that must be kept in mind is the fact that there are not enough of the lesser sex working on site to go round. All it takes is for one of these creatures to start applying sun tan lotion to parts that I care not to mention than for WWIII to start as the testosterone drunk males start vying for attention No! In my point of view any woman on site should be forced to wear masks of the Queen Mother and if possible all tea should contain a liberal dose of bromine. Gentleman digger, GSOH, WLTM... V Sex and archaeology always happens to someone else. In my experience the few women on a site will all only have eyes for someone

3

other than me. I've lost count of the times when the phrase "I think your very special but ...". The worst case is when, after weeks of Iaying the groundwork and you're on the verge of taking a major step forward, some bloody fresh- faced graduate joins the dig (usually as a break before getting a real job), spouting aU the latest theories, and being a general witty bastard. He then proceeds to work his way through all the lovely ladies on site including the apple of your eye. Sometimes more than one at a time. If you happen to share the same digs as this c*** he usually gets the bed that has the most knackered springs with a head board pushed right up against the wall separating your room from his. Thump, thump, thump, squeak, squeak, squeak all night long. So come on ladies take another look at that shy, weather-beaten, bow legged old git. He may not be much to look at, and may also have no money, but he could be hung like a donkey. The restricted gene pool writ es... )) As the son of two volunteers who met while digging up the same Saxon grave I want to say we should discourage breeding in the profession. I could have had a proper job if I hadn't been off to such a bad start Anyway I've just returned from a uni dig in France which was starting as an exercise to resemble Big Brother. 6 boys, 6 girls stuck in a tent for 3 weeks with nothing to do but drink I can safely say that sexual tensions were incredibly high and as for sexual innuendo ... In which other profession can I get away with supervising 'a trench full of bitches? This was a definite plus to having woman on site so long as they don't flutter their eyelids and ask you to take the bloody barrow. A piece of advice someone should have told my dad.

Fantasy Unit League I1 - Round 4

! Trent and Peak (TPAUI* ! Wages - above f 2 13? 1 - J

I Sick ~ a v ? I Q : Holiday pay? 1 g [

; Accommodation? : Free eaui~ment) @

Any available training? Contram l month+?

! Level of resuect for staff 8 !

Key: 0 Great/yes 0 Passabldyes 8 Badho

Two tier - depending on experience & Free for 'away' sites only. 0 No. of months wait.

E Costs a bit! @ Self employed d y y 'frut6er notest aside from having a name reminisce~lt of a dodgy eightia band (oh, you kn w...never mind) ... this lot seem awful According to our source, they recruit fresh grnduates, and erploit them This g i w a high pmmnel turnover and much disilltcsionment, but there's always more crocuel f*. Sounds familiar?

Field Archaeology Specialists a comtion ... A representative of the Univmity of York, a bit rattled by lan ism league, wrote the foilowing "Having just read the latest issue, I wanted to note a point in relation to your Fantasy League and Field Archaeology Specialists. Although FAS are situated at Kings Manor, within this Dept., they are NOT part of the University of York They simply operate from that base, for which they pay rent. Thus, unfortunately, those of us within the Dept who hme tried our best elsewhere to supp~rt decent wages and conditions of service for excavators, and would certainly wish to push FAS in similar directions, in fact have no formal influence on how they operate (and, in my case, no actual knowledge of the situation there, until I read your piece). O n the plus side, having seen the League result and passed on its content to FAS, perhaps they might take the implications to heart - we shall see." Obviowly pays to highlight units' bad practice ... keep it up kids! We'U get 'em yet....&

4 Letters Bombs @ Northampton Rant Mark 2 Further to issue 13's 'Northamptonshire Rant' I have this to add. Please note that whilst this unfortunately applies to most members of the organisation, there are a couple of excellent people there who are to be excluded from this they & others will know who they are.. and so will the accused ... CASE IN POINT: My recent stretch of employment (as well those of other people) with the mmed ur?it v:= terminated abi~ptly and I found out in a 'by the way' manner - by phone with no notice. The senior project officer bravely delegated the task of giving me and others this news to one of the site supervisors who, strictly, had no responsibility for personnel-related matters. &E IN POINT: there is a strong 'us and them' attitude that comes down from senior staff members. Many think they are far to good to communicate with mere 'diggers' - this ranges from + senior members of staff not

systematic failure to inform staff of staffldjob situations. CASE IN POINT: as if the above attitude wasn't bad enough I experienced an attitude of sexist behaviour not encountered before (after digging for 3 years in 4 different countries) from some male members of staff. This took two forms:

firstly and most obviously: the good old macho culture based around the familiar set of dubious premises which goes something like: digging big holes fast is an end in itself - men like digging big holes fast - therefore what are all these women doing on site, don't they know this is a man's game? Now I know that this kind of thing can be found (sadly) to a greater or lesser extent on many sites - what was most disappointing at Northampton was the extent to which this attitude was promoted and fostered by senior and experienced staff.

secondly, more suLtly and worse: at the start of a long, largescale project, it became clear that the male director and male supervisors were fractionally more at ease communicating with male diggers than their female colleagues. Nothing blatant, just a tendency for the men on site to be kept in the picture a little more reliably than the women Over the course of several months this led to real division, with the men being given first refusal of interesting tasks, exclusive use of and training on unfamiliar high-tech equipment (what a career development opportunity some of us didn't get there ... ), exclusive assignment to any work involving machinery, first chance to take any extra responsibility that was going ... you get the picture. All of what both I and last issue's Northants ranter have highlighted is unnecessarg and avoidable. It may all be attributed to a disgracefully unprofessional attitude to management and employee relations. Questions: To diggers: Would we put up with this in any other job? Would we be expected to? To t'mse in a p~sidon to make h e r e l m t decisions: How can you expect the outside world to take field archaeology seriously as a profession when you appear not to yourselves? Do you care? JIS versus BAJR - who cares? In reply to your foul-mouthed and inarticulate correspondent (issue 12 ...a, I think you should bear in mind that the BAJR was off line for about a month recently when David Connolly [who rum the site] went abroad. Could this be why the IFA pays someone to collate and send the jolxheet, to ensure that it is sent

out regularly? I am not the bashing BAJR, which is a useful service, although it doesn't r ' advertise a fraction of the jobs advertised in the JIS. I've been subscribing to the JIS for some time, and I found my present job through it. I'm not a member of the IFA, as apart from the JIS it does not seem to have much to offer field work staff, but you don't have to become a member to receive the job-sheet, contrary to what your correspondent said. Also, I fail to see why he describes the JIS as 'never adequate', just because it isn't available on the Internet - a facility which as he admits himself mostly itinerant diggers don't have regular access to. I used the BAJR on the rare occasions when I am at home and I think that there is room for both, and possibly more, job services, and that there isn't a conspiracy or some kind of competition going on between JIS and BAJR If your correspondent had any sense, he'd get his colleagues to ppoi resources and pay for a group subscription to JIS in someone's n a m e . d Most fieldwork jobs last as long as a two month subscription . Let's face it, if digging wasn't an option, some of your correspondents would be unemployable but if I see any adverts for 'whining bastard wanted' I will be sure to pass them- Or they could get down to their fiendly neighbourhoal internet provider and do it for free. BAlR is slightly different from JIS in that it costs you nothing and is always available, witlwut subscription. It also mmes CVs online, which means any unit seeking staff can find you if they want to. It is an evolution of the job service, but JIS stiU is necesarj for those evithmt access to PCs to be able to find jobs, and no one would say otherwise. Its just a s h we have to pay for that information, which I think is the point the cmespondent wm trying to make. As to the bows issue, a somewhat fatuous point as it is everyone's right to have a holiday, I have this, to say. Whik David was away on holiday (his honeymoon, incidentalb ... ), the service was st i l l accessible. Lynne Bevan also takes htohdrrys, and when she does, JIS does not come out, sometimes fm a week to two weeks. Also bem in mind that David does the jobs sewice foJ nothing, at a great ded of time and pmonal expense, while Lynne gets paid for it (albeit on a nominal salary r a 3 . &

Finances 1 St" balance (this issue) 1 49: 1 Total contributions +£l 18 Total wsts (projected) End balance -S56

welcome, cheques should be made out to The SAE. 'The Dlggcr' on the web, with extra art

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and discussion areas; and the British Archaeologid Jobs bource, a@e jobs service for everyone, with job adverts posted regularly and online CV service, admirably maintained by h-ck Archaeology. Check it.

existing entirely on donations. All donations Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. Back-issues available, please send

MoLAS to strike? Archaeologists and specialists at one of the U k s largest units have balloted to take industrial action over pay. A management deal that amounted to a pay cut was &o thrown out by a 70% vote. In a packed meeting at the Museum of London one digger called the deal a 'slap in the face' considering that workers there had endured pay freezes and had lost annual leave in order to 'save the Museum' in the past. Currently the archaeological arm of the museum is booming, with many large excavations in the City of London 'I ballot was organised by the IPMS union, and diggers voted by 57% for industrial action Management had offered a flat payment of 1% from April to November 2000 followed by a 3% rise from November 2000 to November 2001. Over the 17 month period the pay deal equates to a 1.9% rise - a pay cut in real terms since inflation is currendy 3.3%. A strike may also be looming at the Museum itself, where the vote for industrial action was over 90%: Any action is likely to be coordinated with IPMS members at the Science Museum, where workers voted for industrial action by a similar margin

Archaeology and Dams I wonder how many archaeologists watched the BBC "Correspondentn program, broadcast 30th September, concerning the Turkish government's damming of the Tigris and El -ate rivers? ?he regional development scheme, the South-Fast Anatolia Roject (GAP), includes 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric stations, and is being backed by a number of international corporations, including those from the UK. Balfour Beatty (famous for the Pergau dam scandal in Malaysia) lead the Swiss- based consortium undertaking the work, and are likely to be backed by the British government to the tune of f 200 million under an export credit guarantee. A leaked government report states that up to 78,000 Kurdish people will be made homeless and landless by the scheme; the damming will inundate the most fertile irrigated land in the area where landlessnesg and poverty are already widespread, drowning most available pasture which the Kurds rely on to stay alive, and forcing them into greater destitution. Much of the land to be drowned is owned by absentee landlords who will receive large sums in compensation. The people who work the land

have only grazing rights granted by oral tradition: unless they can produce a 'deed' on paper they will get nothing. Waterhrne diseases such as malaria will also increase in the area, but no remedies are planned. 125 villages will be affected; 19 villages in the catchment area have been cleared at gun-point, the houses destroyed. There has been a lack of concern for those displaced under previous such ventures, with no consultation or monitoring of the social impaa; Turkey has not provided a resetdement budget for any of the displaced Kurds or set up a forum where they can state their views, which violates World Bank and OECD guidelines on financing such projects. The British government backing of the scheme is conditional on a satisfactory resettlement package being implemented, and is currently having a rocky time in the House of Commons. The Ilisu dam project in that region has probably the highest profile. Since 1984, the area has been racked by a savage armed conflict between the PKK, the Kurdish separatist organisation, and the Turkish security forces. Locally elected officials of the preKurdish parties state that the climate of fear and intimidation provoked by the ongoing war makes it is impossible to voice concerns over the dams, as any opposition would be swiftly crushed by the military rule of the government.. Many see Ilisu as being part of a wider strategy of destroying the Kurds as an ethnic group; the area is 95% Kurdish. The dam will flood Hasankeyf, the oldest continually inhabited town in Turkey and an ancient citadel of great cultural importance to the Kurds, which has been compared archaeologically to Ephesus (it was awarded archaeological protection by the Turkish government in 1978!). *By destroying Hasankeyf, they hope to eliminate our historyn, said one Kurd, quoted in The Guardian. The movement of Kurds into planned urban areas in Ankara and Istanbul will allow them to be controlled easier, and the dam will cut off the escape routes of the Kurdish guerrillas into the mountains. However, thii was not the subject of the program; the nisu dam is still on the drawing board. The scheme chosen to highlight the injustices being erp pet rated upon the people both sides of the Turke-ySyria/Iraq border was the Birecik dam, part of the same scheme but already nearing completion. In the path of the

PO Box 391 Abingdon

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web: www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk

flood area is the Roman garrison town of Zeugma. The ruins of the town have lain undisturbed for centuries, and the dry climate has preserved scenes of stunning complexity in the 60 mosaics recovered. The site is currently being excavated by Oxford Archaeological Unit (amongst other archaeologicai contracmrs) and it appears that British contract archaeologists are "relishing' the opportunity to dig such a uniquely preserved ancient town - selflessly rescuing the remains from the flooding. The OAU website describes the town as being 'the Turkish Pompeii'. Hurrah for development! I accept that the GAP programme offers opportunities for British companies to expand into international markets, but am quite frankly shocked that any company should want to be involved in such a project purely to remove an archaeological contaminant from a construction site (or should that be saving these hemendow threatened remains?). Unless I was the unwitting victim of some clever W editing - it seems that the archaeologists were pretty much on their own in welcoming the Bireclk dam to that area The local population have been turfed out of their homes with hardly adequate compensation for their flooded pistachio orchards. In the village of Belkis, the villagers were pulling apart their houses so as to take the timber and bricks to sell, rather than see them disappear intact: "I've seen the mosaics, they're beautiful", said one, quoted in The Guardian, Ubut I rather liked my house as welL Who cares about that?". O n the other side of the border, Syrians and Iraqis are losing their water as a result of the restriction of the flow of the Tigris by the dam; no consultation has occurred with them, which' is a violation of a treaty signed in 1946. Their supply could be diverted at any time and without consultation, leading to waterwars in the Middle East This raises serious human rights issues and yet the IFA, our professional standards body whose code of conduct insists we operate in a responsible manner, seems to be either unaware of the involvement of one of the largest units in the country or is not concerned. How well does this sort of behaviour sit with the notion of the RA0 and Responsible Pdo lde r s? Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, guys. In the UK, we accept that our livelihoods are based on the polluter. But in the case of South-east Turkq, the polluter pays nothing. Contract archaeologists have always existed in a poorly defined middle ground between the

interests of the dewdoper and those of the environment, yet surely there should be a point at which greater emphasis was placed on people rather than profit, and surely this should be it? Do we raise ourselves above political situations and 'save the archaeology?' Or do we accept that people are more important? If the remains at Zeugma are as important as the programme suggested then should we not be invoking the heritage argument to prevent or divert development' What about internationally commissioned surveys of archaeoiogical potential such as are already being produced by OIL-funded individuals? This sort of involvement would not only allow greater opportunity for properly instituted research excavation of the sites but also have the added fringe benefit of allowing some of the local population to keep a roof over their heads and land to farm, both worthwhile causes in the eyes of any reasonable professional archaeologist or human being. I can see why many British diggers would jump at the chance of a free, all expenses paid holiday in the sun, with some tasty archaeology for a change, given the conditions we have to work in here at home. But please try and have a conscience! People are los& their homes and getting little or no compensation and you are facilitating this by blithely engaging in rescue excavation. I would like to see the bill for the air fares, wages, subsiste&e payments for those 'selfless' archaeologists compared with the compensation received by locals in that area. Or alternativelv, if the BBC have misled me, . . then maybe a representative from one of those British archaeological companies involved in the excavation of Zeugma, or the IFA, could qualify their position and allay my fears about archaeologists smoothing the way for the profit- driven bulldozers. So what is it that archaeologists actually conserve? Is it a quantifiable set of material remains, or the ethical responsibilities of the profession to local communities? Apologies m all h e cwrcrpondma who wmrc in fm condensing dui7 4 inro one a&. E$

4 Lettern Bombs More Sex... P yeah, we know S& and archaeology (issue 13) is a common combination, and not just at the bottom of trenches when the PO is at the other end of the field - one of the authors of a recent, large, heavy and WO* English Heritage sponsored tome on Stonehenge left archaeology to ... write some Black Lace books. Straight up. I know which I'd rather have on

Get Active.. . The letter in issue l 2 says it all really. The

majority of people joined the IFA for the jobs resource. The problem is that any association/club/society is only as good as its membm. You only get out what you put in. The IFA will only improve if all its members play a more active role in running it. Start writing letters, tell people what's wrong with the job, what you want out of it etc. Don't sit back and moan, get active! ... Or Just Sit On Yer Arses €3 I refer to the letter in The Digger 13, calling for a oneday, nationwide strike to publicise the reality of archaeology for the majority of diggers (and others) within the profession. All I can say is "good luck to you!". My experience of trying to get archaeologists to do something, especially in circumstances where they are not directly affected, is dismal. I have never heard of a more selfish, self obsessed bunch of people, ever! Sure, we all have stories to tell of appalling employment conditions, lack of respect, redundancy without notice, poor pay, illegal deductions from wages, etc., but how many people are prepared to join a union and do something about it? Not many, I can tell you. I work for an organisation that has an officially recognised trade union, and we have been successful in negotiating a number of improvements to working conditions - for our p e m e n t staff. The next obvious step would be to begin negotiation on behalf of our staff on short term contracts to bring their terms and conditions up to speed with ours. Except that when we held a recruitment session for our short-term staff we only ended up with one additional member. The rest thought it was a great idea, yes, of course something should be done, etc, etc but none of them ever quite got round to i t I have heard many excuses from people who do not have any ideological reasons against Trade Unionism, for not joining. For most people, unless they q n see a direct, personal benefit, they will not join. Even when that means leaving their colleagues open to unfair redundancy, harassment and deterioration in terms and conditions. Joining IPMS -the only Union with a branch specifically for archaeologists - is unlikely to cost you more than £7 a month, depending on your annual income. If you earn less than

£1 1575 in a year, it will cost you £4.77 a month. If your annual income is less than £3690 then it will cost you just 64 pence a month If you are laid off, then the first year of unemployed membership is free. I know that there are not many rich archaeologists out there and rich diggers are even rarer, but this is not a lot of money to benefit yourselves and your colleagues h the larag Exin. If you had a choice between an extra pint after work once a week and enabling a colleague to contest an unfair dismissal, (that's what it comes down to in financial terms), what would you do? My experience suggests that most of you would go for the pint. Live for yourselves, for the present and stuff your colleagues and the long term. You have a choice. Prove me wrong!

my cv! 'Thc Wggsr' is a nap- ofi it maMng newsletter Digget'. Any contributions of material positively and discussion areas; and the Brftbh Archaeologid

2X.s Ltter W written bejbre tlavs of the impending MoLAS strike, but I think it makes .- some signif;cant points. 7 k M O W diggers me

prepdring to stand up jbr br righu - what wiR YOU do? U'

Fantasy U& League I1 - Round 5

- existing entirely on donations. All donations welcome, cheques should be made out to The

encouraged. Back-issues available, please send SAE. 'The mf' on the web, with extra ert Job8 a jiee jobs service for everyone, with job adverts posted regularly and

Wages - above t? 1 @ l Sick pay? 0

Holidav ~av? 0

online CV service. admirably maintained bv Backtrack Arohaeo1oeg. Check it.

: Accommodation? 1 @ l r ; Free equipment? @ i ! Anv available trainim? 1 @ !

- . I G o d archaeology? l @ ; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * - m - - - -

Key: @

0 Passablefyes 8 Badno El Two tier - depending on experience & Free for 'away' sites only. 0 No. of months wait. E Costs a bit! Q Self employed only.

Finances ""'""""""1 Total contributions

Total costs (projected) End balance

Braesic again!

Proposed 'IF'A Chartered Archaeologists' Scheme

'I have recently been trying to come up with an idea for some sort of system that would address the issue of archaeological standards and employment standards together, rather than seeing them as seperate problems, as the IFA currently seems to. I was pleased to read the Utopia Archaeologica contribution as it seemed to be along similar lines to what I was thinking. Having showed my draft to various colleagues, the response seemed to be 'Very P:--, but the IFA would never do it'. The I. ,on for the pessimism ranged from the general perception that the IFA hasn't got the balls to the idea that, run as it is by the Great and the Good of Unit Directors, they wouldn't ever implement a scheme that might end up damaging them (by making them work for a start). It seems to me that the IFA are facing a massive challenge at the moment, the pressure from all sections of the profession is on for them to do something. Wi l they rise to i ~ ' The Scheme The IFA has two stated aims: to improve professional standards in archaeology and to improve conditions of employment for archaeologists. Although the link between these aims is generally accepted, they have traditionally been approached in different ways. The scheme outlined below attempts to address both issues toged-ter. M-~bership of the IFA would exist as at p_.-cnt, but applications for full membership would involve becoming a chartered ar6haeologist. The procedure would be comparable to that of becoming chartered engineers, architects or SUNeyOrS and to the outside world, chartered archaeologists could be compared equally with the above All Trust and Unit Directors would be chartered archaeologists, as would County Archaeologists. Excavation directors of all publicly funded excavations (EH, Cadw, Historic Scotland, etc.) would also need chartered status. Chartered status would be available to all archaeologists, regardless of discipline or specialisms. Experience and qualifications would be considerations, but ability would be the most important factor. Achieving chartered status would be a significant individual commitment The IFA could give financial assistance below an earning threshold to help

lower paid archaeologists. Provision of training towards chartered status would be a joint responsibility of IFA and employers. Organisations wishing to become Registered Archaeological Organisations would need MO% of their staff to be chartered. Any publicly funded work (grantaided, Cadw contingency, etc.) would have to be carried out by a chartered archaeologist (if an individual) or a R40 (if an organisation). Curators within the planning system would be able to.stipulate the same for developer funded work Remod of chartered status (and consequent financial loss) would be the ultimate sanction for malprabice. Chartered status would be equally available to permanent employees and archaeologists on short term contracts. Within other sectors, there is a financial reward for chartered status; this could overcome the problem of disproportionately low pay for archaeologists within a local authority context (i.e. equality of pay with chartered architects/surveyors). The financial reward would also be an incentive for 'diggers' to become chartered (and to join IFA). Any digger wanting to direct excavations (or assessments/evaluations) .would need to be chartered anyway. A 'Charter' scheme for archaeology would drive up standards, encourage more individual members to join and would enhance the R40 scheme. It would indicate a standard recognisable to the outside world and would allow for direct comparison with other skilled, graduate entry professions. It would improve pay and conditions for archaeologists at all levels and would be accessible to all practising archaeologists. It would shengthen the position of the IFA as the representative body of archaeology. Implementation The first stage of implementation would have to be consultation: if archaeologists are going to impose this sort of regulation on themselves (as architects, etc, etc, have done in the past) it needs to be with consent. No doubt a working party would have to be set up! [n the first instance, professions operating 'Charter' systems would need to be consulted. The more closely the scheme could be modelled on those in existence already, the more directly comparable they will be in the end. The second phase would be to consult with all branches of the p~ofession to highlight any

1

Issue No 16 February 2001 PO B& 391 Abingdon

Oxon OX14 3GS e-mail: cyber-digger@talk2 l .corn

web: www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk

practical and theoretical problems and to address concerns at an early stage. The wider the consultation the better. Having examined and incorporated initial comments, the working party could then circulate a draft scheme. From start to finish, the scheme could be implemented within two years. KG.

Fantasy Unit League II 2000 Awards

After yet another incredible year of the league, it's now crunch time for those units that were entered by the hapless individuals who have had to work for them. If you missed out on getting your results in, don't worry. The league will continue this year, as there are plenty more sorry looking candidates knocking around who haven't been included. GET SCRIBBLING! The prizes as usual are some immensely tasteful certificates for the winning and losing units to proudly display in their entrance halls/offices/torture chambers. They'll most likely get binned, but keep your eyes peeled and let us know if they appear. If anyone out there can think of some alternative prizes (nothing TOO offensive) get in touch The awarding of points is still the same as last year, because it seems to just about work and I can't be arsed revising anything: Wages, Contract, Sick Pay, Holday Pay, Accommodation, and Respect seemed l i e the most important aspects, so each gets 4 points, each 0 2 points and 8 nu1 bints, of course. 1 point deducted for metier wage systems (H); 1 point deducted for expensive accommodation (f), 1 point added for free away accommodation (R); but none deducted for waits on sick and holiday pay (8) as all units who did this got panned in this category anyway! Free Equipment, Training and Good Anzfmeobgy get maximum marks of 2 points for each O, 1 point for each 0, and again, nowt fer yer 0. f i e grand total, therefore, should add up to 30 points (plus any additional points as previously detailed). Maths was never my strong point, but nere are the results (fanfa~es/dmm~o~s/thundeT

1 Northamptonshire 15 !l Archaeoiogy University of York Field 5 I Archaeo1Ogy Specialists Trent and Peak 4

So the clear winner is Cambridge Archaeological Unit , not quite up to Bedford's 26 points last year but still a good result Also good to note that Carlisle Archaeological Unit have improved on their 12 points of last year, leaping up to a massive 21 points. As for University of York and Trent & Peak, well what can I say? They have scored EVEN LOWER than Tees Archaeology last year, who scored 6. Certificates winging their way to both winners and losers. If you disagree with the results, then reenter any unit already mentioned for the next bash; and we'll see if the picture changes for 2001. We await with tense bowels ... or something.

Food for Thought The Digger has no doubt provided a useful forum for those who feel un-represented within archaeology to air their views about the state of the profession regarding conditions for field archaeologists. The overriding conclusion is that field archaeology is in aisis with a disillusioned work force who feel undenmlued for the work which they undertake. As was recently highlighted there was a session at the IFA annual conference which set about starting to address the issues which most field archaeologists regard as important namely -pay and conditions, the lack of training available to temporary staff, the nature of employment and the future role of the IFA and importantly the unions. I d M e e with the editor in issue 14 that the forum was a failure. The session was very informative and for me provided what I feel are the seeds for the future of archaeology (though it will take a lot time a ~ d effort). Overwhelmingly the session produced positive discussion which must be a start. I am a digger and gave a paper at the forum (and to set Evelyn Baker straight I did apply to the hardship fund and received ample remuneration). As I was writing I found it incredibly easy to find things to complain about because, lets face it, there is a lot wrong. What I found more difficult to do was actually say anything constructive or voice my opinions in such a way as to be taken seriously rather than being dismissed as merely another digger with a chip on his shoulder and an axe to mind. The session was attended IFA council

other members of the profession) and as such I felt it was an important moment to actually get the point across that conditions are unacceptable and that t h i must start to change Whether I was successful or not only time will tell. Until I went to the IFA conference I was ardently anti IFA for the reasons that I'm sure will sound familiar, they never seem to do anything, they don't represent digg.a, I'm poorly paid and can't afford it etc. etc. None of my views have particularly changed having been to the conference but I am now determined to join the IFA and do something. You can sit in a tea hut and moan about it until your blue in the face and all that will happen is conversation will get repetitive. I am already a member of the IPMS and I am in the process of joining the IFA because it is the combination of these two institutes that will be a powerful tool for change within archaeology. These two organisations fulfil radicdly different roles and without both nothing will happen. They have only one thing in common and that is the need for members. Without membership both the individual and the institutions have no voice. There have been a lot of things going on in Britain and France recently which demonstrate admirably what can be done through united action. The effect that a bunch of people gening together and being vocal has had on British society is incredible and to a great extent almost unbelievable. The message in this is that to have a voice diggers have to stop expecting things to be handed to them on a plate. Sign up, get involved and create the voice for change. It is not enough to just pay your subscription and then sit back and wait for things to change You have to get involved. Join the IFA special interest groups and committees, run for council. If you don't like the way health and safety is approached on site join the IPMS and become a health and safety representative. Encourage others to join the union and increase union recognition If you think the archaeology is being compromised report it to the IFA council, you don't have to be a member to complain. Join the IPMS and the IFA and join others shouting for change or you will still be having the same old moans years from now. The only feedback 1 haw had regarding the conference (apart fim this letter) wns the IFA's own dssertion that 'few diggers t u m d up'. 1 have just been sent the fobwing letter which all of you should take up:

members, unit managers and diggers (as well I 'The Digger' is a non-profit ma- newsletter &sting entirely on donations. All donations ~ i g e r ' . - & ~ contributions of material positively encouraged. Back-issues available, please sen and discussion areas; and the British A r c h a e ~ l o g i ~ ~ l Jobs Reoource (also at www.bqjr.co adverts posted regularly and online CV service, admirably maintained by Backtrack Arohaeok

'The IFA has put some money aside to help lower paid archaeologists attend the conference. We would be grateful if you could bring this news to their attention by publicising it in your newsletter. Could interested archaeologists please write to: MS Racbtl Boning, Company Administrator IF& University of Reading, 2 Earley Gate PO Box 239, Reading RG6 6AU Please encourage your readers to take advantage of this offer, which will probably be on a first- comefirst~erved basis unless particular hardship is the case. Yours sincerely Evelyn Baker, Hon Vice Chair Standards What you waiting for, frw money, go go go ...The conference is on the lOfil2" April and will be held in Ne~ucastle-UportTm, B

Letterc~ Bombs @' Wages rant ... iXI I've just read the most depressing -_, archaeological advert I've ever seen in my life. Perhaps it's a Millennium Bug mistake and they've used 1901 pay rates not 2001 rates? Who says we don't need unions? I sent this to Pete Hinton at the IFA (and a copy to Canterbury for good luck): Dear Pete ARCHAEOLOGISTS PAY AT CANTERBURY I read with alarm an advert in the Guardian for "trainee archaeol ogists... preferably with some excavation experience - £7737 pan. It is not entirely clear from the advert who the employing archaeological organisation is, though the 'cat' in the email address clearly refers to Canterbury Archaeological Trust. Can I ask you to investigate this flagrant breach of IFA pay standards as quickly as possible. I understand that CAT are not an IFA-registered organisation (and I trust that they never will bc _, after issuing an advert with this level of pay). Can I assume also you will want to contact the project managers Mark Houliston and Alison Hicks and inform them that they are no longer IFA members? Yours, depressed about British archaeology Nick Holder, Chair, Museum of London IPMS union branch

Finances

Total contributions Total costs (projected) End balance

In credit for first time ever! Thanks!

:ome, cheques should be made out to The LE. 'The Diggsr' on the web, with extra art a free jobs service for everyone, with job Check it.

Museum strike shows way forward

O n 16th February, fifty workers at the Museum of London walked out on strike. The official halfday action was in protest at the below inflation pay deal imposed by management last year. An IPMS union official reported that the strike was 95% solid. As the strikers walked out they were applauded by archaeologists from MoIAS and specialists from MoLSS (the finds arm of the Museum). .This was despite -a threat by management that an^ such demonstration of support would rc . in legal action The lunchtime protest o&ide the Museum swelled to 100 as diggers trooped in from nearby sites. Senior managers looked on in dismay from upper storey windows as leaflets explaining the action were handed out to members of the public. Nearby, posters pinned to columns announced 'We give you gold, you pay us peanuts!' - contrasting the low pay of archaeologists to the Roman gold coin hoard found recently in London, worth over £70,000. The diggefi and specialists of MoIAS/MoLSS are also angry at the real-terms pay cut they received last year. One digger commented, 'Our work generates hundreds of thousands of pounds surplus for the Museum.' Another added, 'Next time we should bring barrows full of soil to dump outside the Museum entrance.' The strike -the start of a campaign by IPMS against low pay in the heritage sector. Workers at British Library have already voted for a serL of oneday strikes due to start soon. Strikes at other museums are also likely to follow later this year.

Why Diggers Need A Union: IPMS Membership And You

Archaeologists generally - and diggers in particular - have legitimate grievances about poor pay and conditions. Pay rates of E200 a week, no contractual sick pay, no pension, short term contracts ... the list goes on. Conditions are reminiscent of the early days of the industrial revolution: low pay, no job securitv and little or no training and develovment Staff are scared to complain in case their contracts aren't renewed. In the contracting sector, fierce competition between units is based largely on price. The drive to keep costs down means that any unit that pays 'above the market' is likely to go out of business.

Somehow, we have to break this circle. History suggests that it is not going to happen as a result of generous employers (although many support the need to improve things, they are not going to do it independently of each other). Change will only come about if employees combine together and make demands that are coordinated across the sector. The only way of doing this effectively is through a trade union. IPMS has over 300 members employed in around 20 archaeological trusts and units. The largest groups are in MoIAS, York, @ford, Wessex and AOC. We also have 160 archaeologists in our English Heritage branch and 20 and 50 in EH'S Welsh and Scottish equidents. Over the past 3 years or so, we have been developing our profile in archaeology and expanding our presence in the independent sector. We have been working with organisations like the IFA and the employers' body SCAUM to improve training and development and to bring better definition to archaeological jobs and careers. This is all important long-term work, but it will not improve things overnight. We need to start making in-roads with the leading employing units. Unless we are formally recognised by a specific employer, there is a limit to the practical assistance we can provide in any problems at work (we cannot represent you in negotiations on terms and conditions, for example). But we are able to represent members in individual disciplinary and grievance procedures, up to and including legal action, if necessary. And we also provide detailed advice on employment issues, be they legal or very practical (health and safety, for example). Having said this, a recent change in the law now gives a right to staff employed in an organisation with 20 or more staff to be represented by a union. IPMS is actively using this change to seek recognition in a number of leading units. (We are already recognised by some, including MoLAS, with whom we are just about to agree a new pay structure). If we are to make a real impact, we need archaeologists - and particularly staff in the contracting sector - to join us. The easiest way to get recognition is to demonstrate that you have over 50% of the employees in membership. IPMS has over just under 80,000 members and you can find more details of who we are and

PO Box 391 Abingdon

Oxon OX 14 3 GS e-mail: cyber_digger@talk2 1 .corn

web: www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk

the services we provide on our web site (www.ipms.org.uk). An electronic application form is available on the site. Alternatively, phone or e-mail me with any questions. Steve Jary jarys@ipms.org.uk IPMS HQ 020 7902 6649

A lot more FAS over nowt... Steve Roskams of University of York writes: "Following your piece in Edition 13 of The Digger, in which you featured Field Al-chaedogy Specidists in your Fmtasy League, and my response in Edition 14 clarifying the institutional position of FAS within the Department of Archaeology at York, I am contacting you again. This is not because I am "rattledw by your publication, any more now than the first time I emailed you, but to put an impomnt matter straight. Having had further discussions with the -

directors of FAS, it is clear that your assessment was completely inaccurate. To be specific, with respect to the questions asked (your original, published responses in brackets): - W w s a k fuxi and PIFA l e d a& ZFA nuhimum? Yes ("7h.v tier, dependiog on e~perknce3 -Sick Pay? Yes ("OKD) - Holiday pay? Yes, afkr pmvisiooaI one- month contmct (W03 - Accommodation? F m accommdabbn proded when mrking on transfer ("C&& plen W) - Free equ&mentl Yes, appropriate PPE and excavathdmniing eqwpmen t W 0 3 -Any train& available? Yes (7wt &hp) - 1 month+ contnctsl Y~J; a h r provisional one-month contract (No3 - Level of sttH ~spect? OK ~otgood/OK!) I have no particular brief to defend FAS from your observations (I am sure they can do that themselves if they are so minded). However I think it is clear that any objective appraisal of the above differences demonstrates that your s d l e d "assessment" is, in part, misleading, and elsewhere simply wrong. I would therefore ask that you now publish the accurate data. I think this is an important step, not just in the cause of simple fairness to the people concerned; nor because you may open yourself up to legal action by disseminating such inaccuracies; nor even because you put those such as myself, who read what you ~ublish and believe it, in a completely invidious position when trying to argue for remedies. NO, the

STONEHENGE THREATENED The unique landscape around Stonehenge, one of the world's most famous ancient monuments, is threatened by a major road scheme to turn the A303 into a dual carriageway all the way from London to the West Country.

Stonehenge is a world heritage site, which Britain is internationally committed to protect, bui the H:-hwags Agency plans to drive a r-our-lane highway right throu~h this sensitive area, des~roying irreplaceable archaeological evidence.

'To alleviate its impact on the srones, the authorities want tohide the road in a 1:unnel close to the henge. Unfortunately the chosen option is very destruc.~ive. Involving the diggins of two 11uge trenches to cut and then cover the t w ~ t~.~nnels. which would pern~anently damage the integrity of the site.

The peace of this mysterious and sacred landscape would be shattered by nois37 dud carriageways, sccurely fenced of, with long cutthgs leading down to the tunnel entranc:es, illunlinaced day a d night

W WHAT NEEDS TO BE

DONE??

Protect the wholc World Heritage Site Minimise the impact of the roads Relocate the visitors centle Follow the Management Plan the Master Plan

WHAT YOU CAN DO ?

Ask UNFSCO to place Stonehenge on the List of World Herir:age in Dange~

Write and encourage othcrs to write to the government, to English Heritage and to the National Trust, asking them to:

Observe che World Heritage Convention and the Managenlent Plan by recognising the val~~c: of the whole Stonehenge Landscape and conserving it for future gneralions. Oppose (he release of National Trust in.alienable land tor dual carriageways and C L I ~ and cover t~~nnels.

Puc as~de the Stonehenge 'Master Plan' road scheme xnd asses the long bored tunnel option and seek funding to irnplenlent the right solutiou

CAMPAIGNING COSTS MONEY. PLEASE HELP

The S~onehellge Alliance consi.sw of: The Council for the Protection of RuraI England; Friends o l the Earth; RESCIJE The British Ar- chaeological Trust; Save our Sacred Sites; and Trampon 2000

For more infornla~on, visit he web site at WWW.SAVEST0NEHENGE.0RG.UK

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

Quite a few have written to us about various problems they have hacl with either accon~odation, inv- ellirg expences and site equipment. Some people have been put up in sheds!! while others wlk about get- ting to sites where it is rheir duty to provide the transport!! Even the classic 1 hand shovel between 12 diggers!! A lot of this is down to Units trying to cut budgets down to the n~i~~irnum at the expence of the digger ... but there must be a certain amount of responsibility placed with YOU. When you apply for a job and it says there is accon~odation pro- vided - Find out whar sort is on of. fer Also , get in writing just what you are supposed to provide your- selflike steel toed boots, waterproofs, trowels etc ( i l you feel it may hc a bit to good to be true). If you work in Ireland clvxk to see \vhether you arc paid in Punts or Pounds.

If there are any serious breachcs of H a (and some of the letters are truely scary) then don't jusr leave it ~ ~ n r i l someone gets hurt, write to the management with your conccms or talk to the site director. If it still con. tinues (likc uushored baulks or dan- gerous ~nasonry) rhen get onto the IFA - thats what they aw there foK

Most of all though make sure you have all the facts so there is no way thac you can find yourself on the site from hell.

&!'l Letters Bombs

Tell them what you want! * I was just reading the!ert$s section of this (and prcvious) m&t% mmgazine, and it x c m like everyLwdyenjoys havingagwd 'dig'areach otherand usually regarding thc gulf between the rop and b t tom of each unit. Often this is the case and admittedly even in my ~elatively short career within contract archacology l have seen gross incompetancc by management. In any other vocation it would result in severe disciplinary / legal action. However there arc sornc very good m n a g r s out therc: and only too righrly thcy should be applauded. My personal p d g e /chip on shoulder / soap Lnx topic regards slander (and I mean it in its legal definition), bullying, sexism and cven dishonesty, anlongst the lower reaches within units. This is often compounded by weaknesses of nlauagnlenL in dealing with such issues. So hey, why don't we niaks it casy for rhrt management. l..eL1s all k rcliahle, honest, hardworking. If there arr any problerrs lace up to them and try 10 sort thcm out. In the Ion: rcrm u n ~ t s which have prolessional staff can only go forwards. Keep up the good material PSIfanybdy clisageeswithvhat Isay they had better watch out ....... I'll make up stories about them.

Drcnm ... you know ... it mrgh j i i r work ... Ed

Tell it like it is * As a Project Officer Idr \Vcsses Archaeology, I feel ohligcd to rcply to a letter printed in iaue #l8 abut the lack of'iu house' trainingin archaeology which was riddled with errors and inconsisicncies. After having spenL much of my adult MC beingbrutalised invarious hostelriesby the assorred viewpints of other digers (.and probably responded in kind) I had thought that 1 wus incapable of bcing surprised by che views ofnlore or less anyone in he archaeological community. I was wrong.

F~rstly, I cannot understand why the fact that jobs a t \Vesses and Oxford are advcnked nationally should bf a surprise to anyone. Surely any sensible unit is going to want toemploy thekst std& and to do so must s ~ ~ r c l ~

consider thc possibility that tllese staff miglrt work elsewhere. This docs not mean that there arc not staffwithin the unit who arc not suitable [or promotion, merely that when pbscome up. the opportunity is there for both internal and external applicants to be judged o n a level playing field.

The second assuniption, that this cstcrnal advertising is a reflection on the qualityof the staffthat work ineithcr unit, is simply wrong. Over half of the Project Oficers at Wssex (including me) started morking for rhc unit as Site Assiscancs and have workcd their way up rhe ranks (sounds uncomfortably like a career ladder to me), as did all of the current site superviso~s. There is a policy of identiking site assistants who are thought to have the potential to progress to suprrvisor, Project Officer andbcyund, andgiving them Iongel contiacts

Ah, 1 hear you cq: what about mining, skills development etc. Recenc 'in house' training has covered surveying (including total stations), First Aid, standing building recording, reporr. wriling and desk cop assessments arid has bee11 targeted largely as permncnt site m ,,sis:an:s .. a d sup-rvisors. T1:is

seems to mirror thc rcquests of your correspondcnt

There are several problems facing archacology ~oday , and he lack of suicahly csperienced :md craincd staffisonc OS thcm

I wish your correspondcnt luck with thcir letrcr writing campaign. (luitc whar rhe IFAEngiish HeritagcICBA erc can do is beyond me. (Thats true!! Ed) I do notdeny r:hat these skill^ need to br ~.a~lgh~., or a t thc very least Icarncd, and this llasbce~iaproblen~for as longas I haw k c n working in archaeology. Clearly the employers nccd t~ make much more of a n effort, cven if it is for their benefit ri i the~ than yours . So, get OUL there, write letters of complaint, badgcr your employers, ask for training, but for heavenssake get your hcrs right first NC

Fair points ... I)o orher Units irrvesr in llreir rrolf?? lid

Tell it as you see it! "Just a quick note on my experiences this summer with a fum out of Milmn Keynes called ASC.'I'he immediate supewisor and the Project Officers were rantasric to work for. They b t h were keen to do good archae - ology, record in good dcrail, and created an cnjoyablc work atmosphere. I-Iowever, the "corporate" aspect of ASC ran roughsl~ocl over [he excavators. It wasn't so much the difficulties in the housing anangenients as opposed to he rude attitude concxrning thosc arrangcrnents. The "management". alter stating that we would be kep~ in cot- tages, relegated us to acan~pground. While this wasn't an agreed upon situation, whar made it worse was thc lact that the "man- agement" wouldn't pay for extra spaces for out ten6 and se~iously demanded tha "double-up" in Lents.'Thi$ s i t u a t i o n w ~ . ~ acceptable and eventually led to tluee or iour O ~ U S to decide to not rcncw our con- tracts. So, if you work for ASC, my recom- mendation is that you enjoy the orchaeol- ogy with the supervisors and projcct nwu- agels, but he wary of any mawagement pn~mises. It would be [wd to hear mlu! o h side of the story. Ed

Tell me whar to do!

"1 hope ail ih wrll with the Dige L... wor- ried ro sec it nlighr cloac an all!! What I amwr~ting about is a desisiun I feel I musL make scan. Should I1~comc a PIFA whir.11 might help my clrances ol getting work .... OR should I join the IPMS and un- ionise roprhettrrpay and conditions (rhat old gripe eaiu!!). I have h e n working in the fieldrorudl over 1% years and feel tlmt my 'carccr' is ,ping nowhere ... Who do I throw nly lot in with! TF

..-/ W11 no;u weU now.... My adgiu for whal u s wonh b to do both ... The ~ : u u m e not rnurudly cxc!usive and mu could m j q r h t brrlrfirs t l q I I ~ I ? ~oufftr (bile.< Lip f i i t in~u~) . As [o the Digp ... hopefiiuy some liitui soul or souk will come along a d rescue it ... uhat ohout you?!

'Tire Digger' is a non-prolit making newsletter existing curirely on douationo. All douations welcome, cheques should be made out to T h e Digger'. Any con t~ ibu~~ons of ruale~ial posrt~wly encouraged. Rack-issues nvaihble, plesve send SAE. 'The Digger'oo. the web, with ext1.a art and clir-cussion areas; and the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.hnjr.cu.uk), a /TCP jobs seiviw for cvc1yone, with job adverts posted ~ ~ g u l a r l y .ly~ud onlinc CV service, admirably maintained bv B ~ c k t r n c k Archaeolocv. Check it.

English Heritage vote to strike

First it was postal workers, then it was train and tube drivers, now it seems even workers at English Heritage (EH) are joining the picket lines. Prospect union members at EH have voted by a massive 77% for industrial action after rejecting a 3.5% pay deal. A campaign of one day stnkes is planned to start on 11 March, backed up with overtime bans and working-to-rule.

.-,le pay offer was the last straw,' said Prospect's national heritage officer Steve Jary, whose union had recommended a 'Yes' vote for strike action. 'It's one of the lowest offers in the heritage sector this year.' Recent years have seen a decline in English Heritage workers' pay compared with other Civil Service salaries, with pressure from the Treasury on the

-Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to drive down wages. Yet 'the DCMS is paying its own staff a 5.6% increase', said Steve. 'English Heritage has fallen behind mainstream civil service employers and, with this offer, is set to fall behind other DCMS-fknded bodies, too.'

But the industrial action is about more +"-m just pay. In 2000, EH staff voted to , ~ e p t a pay deal after management promised talks about an improvement the following year. These talks never materialised and management simply imposed 3.5%. At first they blamed the Foot and Mouth crisis, but once the provision for foot and mouth was released management still failed to put more money into pay. Management even rejected the union's offer of arbitration because they claimed they couldn't afFord to pay their staff more. However, managenlent were able to find 'around 0.5% of the pay bill to finance the former Chief Executive's severance package,' say Prospect. The Chief Executive earned &100,000 in 1999.

As well as the monitoring oj archaeological sites, stnke action would

hit some 400 EH properties, including Stonehenge. The action will be coordinated with sister union PCS (the Public and Commercial Services Union) that represents administrative and security staff. PCS are also balloting for strike action.

The industrial action at EH comes against a background of increasing militancy in the heritage sector, with strikers at the Museum of London winning a big pay increase last year, and diggers in units like Wessex, Oxford and AOC pushing for union recognition.

The Digger wholeheartedly supports the action EH union members are taking, and we urge all archaeologists to do the same. We wish them luck. A victory at English Heritage will strengthen the campaign for better pay and conditions for archaeologists too. It will show that the way to win improvements won't come from relying on organisalions like the IFA, but from action we take ourselves.

All Party Parliamentary Group just a talking shop?

As you work in a cramped, cold trench with the winter rains lashing down, spare a thought for a group of Parliamentarians munching biscuits in heated rooms as they decide your future. The All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group (APPAG) has been set up to i d e n w problems with archaeology and will be presenting a report to the government in the Autumn.

The APPAG, headed by Lib Dem peer Lord Redesdale, consists of 129 members of the Commons and Lords and includes MPS Tam Dyall, Simon Hughes and Jeremy Corbyn. Individuals and organisations like universities, units, the IFA and the union Prospect (formally IPMS) were invited to opine on the faults of archaeology in the UK today. 250 submissions have been received. More evidence will be sought in a series ol public meetings in the Spring and the

report will be completed in Septembcr 2002.

The APPAG admits that 'Responsibility for archaeology is divided amongst several Government departments both in Westminster and in the devolved administrations. Archaeologists are also split into many different areas and groups. This has meant that thcy have rarely spoken with one voice.' The Group aims to reflect 'the concerns of all those with an interest in archaeology, both professional and amateur' and will 'consider strategies for funding' UK archaeology.

Concerns that are likely to be flagged up include:

pay and conditions, health and safety, training, problems with developer-funded archaeology, fragmentation of the industry, PPG 16, underfunding no career progression, no money for research, the destruction of sites supposedly preserved in situ, standards of work, old uncle Tom Cobbly and all.

But will this just be a tallung shop for MPS? The mainstream parties' commitment to archaeology is demonstrated by the fact that none of them even has a policy on it. Admittedly Lord Redesdale has tried to correct this embarrassing omission by hastily convening a Lib Dem archaeology panel to decide what his own policy should be. One digger in Cambridge who happened to write a letter to Redesdale suddenly found himself seconded onto this panel to give it some credibility.

Rumour has it that Redesdale himself is determined to bang heads together to get some answers, but also that he has already rejected the solution to a problem which lies at the heart of the crisis in UK

archaeology - an end to competitive tendering. Competitive tendering leads to fragmentation of the industry as sites are often dug by units who submit the lowest bid, not those who have the most local knowledge. The market also drives down wages and conditions as units cut corners to bid as cheaply as possible. The alternative - public fimded archaeology - is no panacea, but at least funding decisions are dcmocratically accountable.

Another moot point is how much effect even the strongest-worded report will have on a government that is dogmatically committed to private finance, whatever the consequences. Chances are that in a year's time we'll still be stuck in the same (or similar) cold trenches, and the Padiamentarians will still be sitting in heated rooms, munching on the same (or similar) biscuits.

New Editors for The Digger

The Digger is set to continue with a new team of editors. The new team stepped in at the eleventh hour to save the publication that has become a forum for ordinary archaeologists often forgotten by organisations like the FA.

The new lean said, 'The Digger is a massive achievement on the part of the original editor and we want to cany that achievement forward. From day one, the publication gave diggers a strong independent voice that we've rarely had before. It would be a real loss to have this voice silenced.

'The publication has highlighted bad units, discussed F A and union issues, covered strikes and international concerns like the Ilisu Dam, all on a shoestring budget. And the Digger has an irreverent streak that we want to see continue. It has frequently enraged the archaeological establishment, for example - always a good sign! '

The change of editors means that there will be a new PO Box for correspondence (see above) and a new email address: thedigge@,email.com. But the Digger can only continue to reflect what you think if

you tell us what's happening where you are. So keep your letters coming!

92% say IFA minimum not enough

In a poll conducted on the BAJR website a staggering 92% of people demanded L250 or more per week as a reasonable wage for diggers. David Connolly, who runs the website, asked, 'When will the F A raise the minimum wage level from the £215 that is currently in place? Just how long does it lake to change the minimum pay rate? Surely RAOs [archaeological organisations registered with the FA] could be informed of the change with a single email. '

Over 600 people answered the question 'What do you think a reasonable weekly digger's wage should be?' 3% said it should be L21.5, 29% said it should be £250 and 63% said it should be 'more than 6250'.

Twenty-nine people (5%) said diggers should be paid nothing and should do the job for love. David asked that they 'get in contact with me as I would like to hire them! '

The average wage in the UK is £380 per week.

BAJR watch

'I'm perfectly happy in my job, thankyou' is not a phrase you often hear in site tea cabins or in unit offices. But even if you're not bothered about the latest vacancies, why no1 check out the BAJR anyway? It's more than just a job sheet. There's a MESSAGE BOARD as well as that vital accessory that no up-and-coming website can be without - the infamous CHAT ROOM.

But if you are looking for a new job, the BAJR is the place to go too. It's frequently updated, free and used by almost every unit and archaeological organisation in the UK. And if you want to advertise a job on the site it's £2.5 a shot, or £7.5 for the year. Cheaper than the Guardian and you'll get more replies.

The B AJR is at both www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk and www.bair.co.uk . And you can email info@,bair.co.uk too.

Jamie Oliver to present Time Team?

Recently the makers of Time Team advertised for new presenters. Applicants had to care about archaeology as deeply as 'Jamie Oliver cares about cooking'(!) the advert said. But The Digger asks - why settle for second best? Now the Naked Chef has been dropped by the BBC, why not snap him up for the Channel 4 programme instead! Or failing that, the new dumbed-down Time Team could be presented by Gordon Ramsey or Ainsley Harriot.

Channel 4 are desperate for new ideas , - breathe life into a programme that many believe has gone stale. The alarm bells started ringing in the production suite a month ago when the viewing figures for the first programme in the current series dipped below two million - the lowest for years. Viewing figures have picked up a bit since then, but producers are already experimenting with new formats.

But if new presenters are introduced what's to become of Tony Robinson? The producers hotly deny that they'll be 'doing a Carenza' on him. Still, if he is sidelined it'll leave him more timc to fulfill h s duties on New Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC). Here the ictor who is best known for playinn aowan Atkinson's manservant WM.-. jway the hours agreeing with everything rony Blair says and does (surely 'battling 'he bzireaucrats for a better deaf for zrchaeofogy '? Ed).

Finances

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Thanks to everyone who has contributed.

I I

The Digger is a non-profit making newsletter existing entirely on donations. All donations welcome, cheques should hc made out to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Mgger on the web, with extra art and discussion areas; and the British Archaeolo&cal Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uk). Check it. Do we have your correct name and address? If not, drop us a line and well pi11 i t right. If you want to receive The Mgger but don't, or you don't want to receive The M_ager but do, send us your details.

Prospect loses its nerve over EH strike

Ln a move that will anger many union members, the Prospect and PCS unions have called off strike action at English Heritage. As we reported in The Digger, in February EH workers voted overwhelmingly for a campaign of one- day strikes backed up by overtime bans and working-to-rule. However, the hard work of ordinary union members in building this campaign has been thrown away by union officials who have accepted a management deal which even they d . - ;ibe as 'vague.'

The dispute centred around poor pay and the lack of a pay structure at EH. The wages of the 500 staff employed by the heritage body lag approximately 10% behind those of the mainstream civil service. The threat of two one-day strikes in March brought EH management to the negotiating table, and the stnkes were postponed until the beginning of this month. Last week, industrial action was cancelled altogether when unions and management signed up to a new pay structure.

But in documents seen by The Digger, union officials wony about the shortcomings of the deal and admit that U 1 members may feel betrayed. In a c k d a r , Becky Payne, the head of the negotiating team, says that 'a lot of our members are going to be disappointed, angry and frustrated' at the decision to call off the strike. The deal itself is 'vague' and 'lacking in detail', she says, although there is 'extra money on the table. '

A major flaw is that there is no mention of this year's pay deal, an issue at the heart of the dispute. Management had imposed 3.5%, condemned at the time by Prospect as 'the last straw' and 'one of the lowest settlements in the Heritage sector.' In a ballot 90% of union members rejected it. But union officials seem to have forgotten about the pay deal and it has quietly dropped off the agenda.

The only thing that has been agreed is the bare bones of a pay structure. Although this goes some way to address the grievances of EH S W , the deal won't be fully implemented for 3 years. Important timescales have yet to be finalised, although EH has been tied down to providing a minimum amount of money to fund the eventual implementation of the deal.

The danger is that now the threat of action has been lifted, there is no longer any pressure on EH management to complete negotiations. Unions hope to ballot members on the new structure in May, but this is doubtfi~l if management soft-pedal on the deal. The unions would have been in a much stronger position if they had kept their nerve and gone ahead with stnkes. This would have shown that they were serious about fighting for their members' interests and much more could have been achieved.

A ~uestion of Recognition

Whether it's Unison for local government units, or the AUT for university units, archaeologsts are joining unions in ever greater numbers. However, the union that seems to be reaping the greatest rewards is Prospect, which organises in the independent sector. In the next edition of The Digger we speak to the Secretary of the Prospect Archaeologists Branch about the reasons for this, but today we report on the progress of union recogniton in contract archaeology and see what diggers at the sharp end have to say.

'A few of us who have been IPMS [now Prospect] members for years went on a recruitment carnpgn, as we had a new influx of diggers,' one of our contacts told us. 'We did this with a view to forcing management's hand over the percentage issue. A rep was appointed and representations made to both management and to Prospect.' The union and management then began talking about recogrution.

Union recognition can be voluntary or can be enforced using the statutory powers outlined in the Employment Relations Act

London E13 9YP

e-mail: thedigger@email.com web: www.archaeo.fkeeserve.co.uk

(1999). Since the act came into force most employers and unions in the UK have opted for the voluntary route.

With statutory recognition, however, the union has to demonstrate it has support of 40% of workers in a given 'bargaining unit' as well as a majority of those voting in a secret ballot, or 50% membership. A 'Central Arbitration Committee' (C AC) makes the final decision. The latest report of the CAC reveals that of the handful of cases that made it through the entire procedure, union recognition was enforced on employers in all of them.

In London, PreConstruct Archaeology (PCA) have agreed recognition without a ballot, although this won't be formalised until the Spring. Prospect is also negotiating the recognition agreement at the Oxford Unit (OAU) following an overwhelming ballot in favour of union representation.

The union also won an internal t;allot at Wessex by a landslide, but management there are insisting on another formal ballot. AOC, based in Edinburgh and London, were listed in a union publication a year ago as a unit where Prospect was recognised. This attempt to 'encourage' the management down the road of recognition, however, did not succeed, and a ballot looks likely here too. The union is also in talks at the Dyfed Archaeological Trust in Wales.

At the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, management were initially reluctant to contemplate recognition, but agreed to let the union have a meeting with all staff when the union explained what might happen if statutory procedures were invoked.

Progress has been slow everywhere. 'I don't think management has blocked unionisation, but I suspect that they're dragging their heels . . . There is a feeling that until Prospect is recognised as representing all members of stafT, the union is without teeth should their services be required. All this, of course, while the subscriptions continue to be paid month on month. Prospect is keen to negotiate on

our behalf, but cannot do so until allowed to the table. '

There are also wonies about Prospect itself. One digger we spoke to said, '1 am uncomfortable with the union representing such a large proportion of workers in the nuclear industry. No one begrudges their right to representation, but I am not happy with the political implications of my subscriptions being used to lobby for purposes to which I may object.'

Prospect reckons that by 'mid 2002', union recognition should be in place in four of the units that it is targeting. But perhaps the union shouldn't count its chickens. The Digger has learned that in at least one of these units management toured sites trying to dissuade their workers from joining the union. 'We were gobsmacked!' said one of the diggers. 'But we joined Prospect anyway!'

The IFA examine your wage packet

In, the most recent edition of The Archaeologist (43, Winter 2001), the F A review what's happened to pay in the past year. They do this by looking at the jobs featured in the JIS, the F A weekly jobs bulletin.

The author of the review, James Drurnmond-Mumy, found a marked drop in the number of jobs advertised in most categories. Pay increased overall by 3.8%, but this masked a sharp variation between jobs. Diggers' pay only just kept ahead of inflation with an increase of 2.9%. Supervisors fared worst, with pay actually falling by 1% compared with last year. The pay for Field Officers was virtually unchanged, while Project Managers' pay increased by 7.2%.

The fact that most jobs were advertised at above the IFA minimum for each grade prompted the author to comment that 'i1 may mean these are now too low'. This was a sentiment echoed by 92% 01 respondents in a recent poll, reported in the last edition of The Digger.

The pay offered by private employers ~ften outstripped the F A minimum and he average was held back by local iuthority units. But there was one xganisation singled out in particular for laying below the odds. 'Come on, English 3eritage.' said James, 'make it your New Year resolution not to employ Project LZssistants at f 11,133 when the IFA mmmends f 11,817.'

Ci" Letter Bombs Ci"

rony Robinson promises 'not to sulk' 24 Congratulations on keeping The 9igger running. In your last issue you had I pop at Time Team in general and me in mrticular. It was good knockabout stuff md I promise not to sulk, but I'd like to mrrect a few misapprehensions.

rime Team is more popular than ever, with viewing figures in excess of 3 million. We're not loolung for new presenters, I've just agreed a two year :xtension to my contract. But we are trying to find new young diggers to reflect the changing world of archaeology, something I'm sure you'd endorse.

As to my work on the Labour Party NEC, ['m currently co-chairing the Policy Commission responsible for DCMS. It's my ambition to convince politicians that our historical heritage is as important as our environmental one. It's only when they are persuaded of the vital role you play, that money will become available to pay you decent wages. - Best wishes, Tony Robinson.

The establishment view ... As part of the 'establishment' I am

delighted that The Digger is alive and flourishing. Honest! Your voice is veq important.

Archaeology is suffering the growing pains of a young profession and some changes will take time as well as political pressure from all sides - including frorr The Digger and its readers. Archaeologists are poorly paid in comparison with mosl other professions, exacerbated for many bj contractual rncul t ies and appalling physical conditions.

h's going to be a long haul. Things won't h n g e overnight because there are too many powerfd forces militating against it. But some of us are spending (unpaid) time md effort to improve matters. We are xginning to see improvements in some xganisations - better archaeology and xtter care and appreciation of their iggest asset, their staff. Managers need help and support too. We have to pull together in the same direction or we'll get nowhere.

Things are happening - Valetta, APPAG, the F A Roles & Skills project, RAOs and inspections encouraging better management and conditions, improved [FA membership, wider consultation, useful training, CPD, better understanding with developers that archaeology and archaeologists are important. Archaeologists need and deserve more; 1

2 hope you get it.

Please continue to be a thorn in the side of the complacent. But you'll get further and quicker with constructive criticism.

. .. and the view of a digger El Just to let you know about Trent & Peak unit. Basically they have fucked up as they simpiy haven't got work in. So ALL bar one of their diggers have been laid off. Shitty bit was people had been told work would have been there at the time. Now I know that archaeology is a depressing way eke out an existence, but it seems to me that the gulf between 'us' and 'them', that is the diggers and the 'managers' has begun to grow far too large. While their positions appear secure, they simply don't give a damn what - happens to the dggers. We are expendable.

Finances -

Total contributions Total costs (projected) 4123 End balance

Skint!

1

The Digger is a non-proflt mahlng newsletter existing entirely on donations. AU donations welcome, cheques should be made out to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The D f g p on the web, with extra art and discussion areas; and the British Archaeological Joba Resource (vrr.baJr.co.uk). Check it. Do we have your correct name and address? If not, drop us a line and well put it right. 1f you want to receive Ttra D i m b u t don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details.

'Don't blame the system'

In the March edition of The Digger, we suggested that competitive tendering lay at the heart of the crisis in UK archaeology and that publicly funded archaeology could be on answer. Here, one of our readers puts his view.

'Is PPG16 so bad? P P G ~ ~ has benefited archaeology by forcing Local Authorities to address heritage issues within development plans such as Local Plans. This has resulted in more sites being investigated and more archaeologists G ing out tlus work than in the halcyon dafi of the 70's and 80's public funding.

'Are readers (and editors) of The Digger willing to go back to the days when non- elected county archaeologists and English Heritage distributed funding to County units based on importance of sites? This would lead to less work being carried out and fewer archaeologists. The smaller sites now covered by PPG16 would not happen. Meanwhile loads of sites will get dug in February and March and other perhaps more significant sites would not get investigated if too many sites come up in one year.

'The method of paying for archaeology within a public finding system is a form of development tax. Presumably this would b percentage-based tax on the costs of all'developments nationally or regionally. So the more expensive a development the more tax paid.

'What happens if it's a regeneration project involving the redevelopment of a threatened historic building (perhaps for social housing) carefidly designed to ensure no affect on any archaeology? Is it fair that this developer should be paying tax to fund the excavation of a Greenfield site down the road that destroys an Iron Age settlement?

'With the present system at least those who dect archaeology most severely have to pay the most. A development tax wilI end up costing environmentally friendly developers more than others because careful design often costs more initially.

'At present the Government is trying to encourage redevelopment of towns and

PO Box 23570 London

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web: www.archaeo.freeserve.co.uk

:ities on Brownfield sites. A firther tax on i h e ~ developments will not help the regeneration of historic towns. What is needed is grant aidmg by the Lottery of :xcavations carried out in advance of regeneration projects. This would mcourage a greater take up of difficult Brownfield sites.

'Blaming the funding method for all our problems in archaeology is wrong. The reason some sites are badly excavated is that a unit puts too low a tender in to get h e job and then cuts corners. It is illogical to blame thls on the system.'

Unionisation - the wav forward?

In the last 2-3 years, trade union membership in developer-funded urchaeology has grown rapidly. The Prospect Archaeologists Branch, which represents many contract archaeologists, has seen a four-fold increase in membership. The Digger asked Jayne Gidlow, the Secretary of the branch, why urchaeologists are joining unions in such large numbers.

'First, there has been a change in the dynamics of archaeological work. Archaeologxal skills and labour are in more demand than ever before and many units find it hard to recruit. It appears that far fewer archaeologists in the UK are unemployed and many itinerant field workers have seen an upturn in general terms and conditions.

'In addition to this, multi-million pound road, air and rail link developments brought large numbers of field workers together. Excavations and 'stay away' jobs generated a network of informal contam and this network was both strengthened and utilised by the arrival of The Digger Field workers have come into contact wi6 other subcontractors and witnessed thei~ far superior site welfare provisions. Fol many archaeologists this has mean1 throwing their rose-tinted, 'Rescue spectacles on the spoil heap!

'Second is the random variation in t e r n and conditions between employers Increased work opportunities and longei

:ontracts mean that archaeologists have more of a stake in their profession and are quite within their rights to enquire about xnsions, sick pay, training, appraisals md career prospects.

'Third, the slow improvement of thc mhaeologist's lot to date has largely come From exqernal factors and not the :mployers themselves. The competitive tendering economy is usually blamed for a lack of provision of basic necessities. Similarly, attempts at dialogue about terms and conditions through other means (eg professional bodies, Staff Councils, site reps) are generally unsuccessful - especially for those in casual employment. The individual contracts of employment dished out by non-union employers divide a workforce and make participation almost impossible in decisions affecting how we work.

'But trade union representation offers the option of collective bargaining - a real tool in the fight for better conditions. Mass membership of a union is an acknowledgement that there are areas of conflict within archaeological organisations where disenfranchised workers require outside representation. Union membership is a sign that archaeological workers find their terms and conditions of employment unacceptable and that they are keen to see a change and participate in the nature of this change.

'Obviously it is not in our interests to put our employers out of business! For example, Prospect is very close to finalising recognition agreements at PCA, AOC, Oxford Archaeology and Wessex Archaeology. Along with MoLAS (where Prospect is already recognised) these form the big employers in the South-East. When these four 'jump together', developers will no longer be able to expect lower prices via cutting of necessities for archaeological staff, because those workers will be protected by recognition agreements.

'Prospect advocates this approach as a national strategy for archaeology. Archaeologists are a dedicated workforce with a sense of responsibility for what they

do whilst at work. The level of dissatisfaction and of union activism to date dwsn't come from a group of people who bear a grudge and can't be bothered to do the job well, but from people who genuinely care about all aspects of archaeology and those that work within it.

'So go on, join and get involved, whatever stage in union relations your employer happens to be at. Union recognition is the first step toward a decent living wage for all archaeologists.'

Contact info: Union website: www.prospect.org.uk Enquiries about recognition to: prospectarchaeology@hotmai1.com

Give Milord Redesdale a piece of your mind!

Lord Redesdale's All Party Parliamenkuy Archaeology Group (APPAG) is attempting to dmover what's wrong with the way archaeology is organised in the UK. A series of meetings is scheduled for May and June at the House of Lords to grilI English Heritage, the F A , the CBA, Rescue, museums, universities, government departments etc. APPAG say that ordinary diggers are welcome, but only as observers (ie only if you keep your mouth shur).

But there is also an APPAG public meeting where you can have your say. This will be held in London at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly (on the left hand side of the courtyard as you approach the Royal Academy) on Saturday 6 July, from 13:OO to 16:OO (doors open at 12:30). The meeting will be chaired by the formidable Dr Rosemary Cramp.

So if you're hacked off with your pay, conditions, health and safety, or with seeing unrecorded archaeology ending up on the spoil heap so your unit can make a fat profit - get yourself along!

TV Review

Some of you may have seen Time Team's latest venture 'The Big Dig' in Canterbury. I personally think it was the greatest leap forward in TV archaeology since their original series, which showed the public how we really worked.

From start to finish the archaeology formed the backdrop to the unfolding human drama. A large urban excavation followed the all too familiar themes of little time and less money.

Perhaps the most touching scene involved Tony Robinson being given the 'grand tour' of the dig house and shown the single hand basin that Sewed as the only sink for hventy diggers! Then cut to a permanent member of staff, who could at least afford to have his own roof and central heating repaired.

For the first time a digger's wages were dxussed on camera. It was good to see this classic exchange between managers: 'We have taken out a big advert to get 10 diggers, but we haven't had that many applicants.' 'Why - is it the wages of £215 per week?' 'Er, could be . . . ' 'So how big is the shortfall?' 'Eight! '

We also saw dggers working in the appalling weather conditions we know and love. Arguments with ground workers and unsupervised machining of archaeology all featured. By the end I was in tears. Not for the loss to archaeology, but because my life, our story, was there.

Originally posted on the BAJR messageboard.

Letter Bombs

Employers - you have nothing to lose B It is about time that more employers realised that what they need is not more staff, but more time. If you can ration your staff out and negotiate longer slots for excavations, you increase the length of time you can employ individuals.

This should put no extra cost on the project. Fewer sta£f equals fewer NI subs. Staff are kept on for longer, become more loyal, are more able to put down roots, find accommodation etc. Therefore less need to advertise. Longer digs mean more continuity between excavations .equals fewer and shorter lay offs.

A realistic unit should ration and sequentially organise its projects so that it employs exactly the same number of people throughout the year. And before you say it isn't possible, it is. I've seen it in action and it works. And because it works I have a house and a wife and a car, and I live in the same town in which I work. All it takes is a shift in the mentality of the big

employers. So come on guys, give it a shot, you have nothing to lose. -Chert

Beware court action! B I am not a unit manager. I do take your point about how suppressing costings whllst tendering for archaeological works leads to low wages. However if the industry was to hike its costs and a developer took umbrage. Well ... PPG16 is only planning guidance, not law, so if in court a developer was to win the right not to deal with archaeology then we would have a precedent and we would no longer have an industry. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.

What is the legal minimum? I've got a querylgrumble - what are

h e legal minimum standards a digger or experienced and qualified archaeologst should be offered? I am thinking mainly of holiday, sick pay and notice periods when , work is likely to dry up. Where I am employed at the moment we do not get any of the above. Surely something is wrong, but ignorance certainly isn't bliss. Yet rocking the boat would mean quick replacement. Any suggestions out there? Ed.

Charity work at OAU [X1 While I naturally applaud all the good charity work that the Oxfam Archaeology Unit (OAU) does, I do think that putting up all those poor souls in long-term bed and breakfast accommodation is only a short-term solution to the problem. It is not uncommon for many of these poor people to live in bed and breakfasts for many months (in some cases years!). There is the danger that they will become rootless, living from one breakfast to the next, existing outside the community most of us take for granted, their few possessions stuffed into a plastic bag. Yes, the phrase 'bag for life' becomes more poignant when seen in these terms.

Finances

Total contributions +£l05 Total costs (projected) -&l28 End balance -5137

Thanks to everyone who has contributed!

The Digger is a non-profit making newsletter existing entirely on donations. AU donations welcome, cheques should be made out to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger on the web, with extra art and discussion areas; and the British Archaeological Jobs Rerource (araa.bajr.co.uk). Check it. Do we have your correct name and address? If not, drop us a line and well put it right. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't waut to receive The Digger but do, send us your detdb.

Petition for Change

This month The Digger and BAJR are launching the Petition for Change. The petition is aimed at the employers of archaeologists and of other workers in the heritage sector. It draws attention to the lack of career structure and pensions, the long hours and the poor job security that we all know and love. The petition also calls for the Institute for Field Archaeologists (FA) to increase its minimum pay rate to a level deemed by the European Union necessary to lead a c' m t life (the 'European Decency -1hieshold') and to expel any of its members that do not comply.

The editors of The Digger said, 'The idea is that people take the petitions round their workplaces for their colleagues to sign, and ~ e n return the sheets to us or to BAJR. We'll forward them to the F A . The more people who sign the more impact the petition will have. The petition highlights problems faced by all Heritage workers. Let's use it as a tool to improve all our lives at work.'

In a recent poll on BAJR 92% of people said that the current F A recommended minimum pay rate of &2 15 per week was too low. It would cost the F A nothing to increase its minimum to a decent level. A- -' yet this change would mean a real in+ovement to the lives of thousands of low-paid workers in the heritage sector.

The petition will be publicised to the CBA, Rescue, Britarch, APPAG etc. The text of the petition is as follows:

End poverty pay in the Heritage Sector!

The Institute of Field Archaeologists (FA) estimate that archaeology contributes £100 million to the economy. Many sites that archaeologists work on yield big profits to developers; some are multi-million pound projects. Yet many archaeologists and other Heritage Sector workers earn less than £ 13,000 pa, and some earn less Lhan £8,000 pa despite having high practical skills andtor good academic qualifications.

Field archaeologists and Heritage Sector workers also work long hours, sometimes unpaid overtime. Few can aflord mortgages. Pension provision and sick pay is often non- existent for those on short contracts. Too many

archacologists arc forccd to leavc thc industp due to poor pay, poor job security and no hope of'moving up a carcer ladder.

111 July, a ~tullio~i IJiiison, GMH and T k G members went on strike for a 6% pay rise for public sector workers. We also demand an end to low pav. With decent wages and career stnicture comes respect aid pride in the profession.

We call on Ule enlployers to end poverty pay for archaeologists and others in the I-leritage Sector and to introduce a clcar and standardised career structure with a recognised work description for each grade.

We also call on the F A to raise its minimum pay rate to the European Decency Threshold or £280 per week (£7.34 per hour) with immediate effect, and to enforce this by expelling units and unit managers that do not comply.

Training wage or cheap labour?

In June English Heritage advertised for trainees to join the fieldwork team at their long-running project at Whitby. 'Trainees must be keen 10 learn and gain experience as part of their career development,' the advert in the Guardian said. The wage for the trainees was just & 10,200 pa.

At The Digger we decided to find out what sort of 'training' EH was offering for such a pittance. A Digger correspondent posed as an unemployed archaeologist with a few months experience and phoned the EH people organising the site. The conversation went something like this:

Digger: As a trainee how many hours a week wi11 I work? English Heritage person: It's a 36 hour week, but you may have to work some weekends. D: What does the training consist of! EH: It's a basic five week placement working closely with archaeological staff. It's very similar work to the site staff. D: Are there any fonnal lectures? EH: Oh yes! Well - not lectures exactly. Talks. D: Does the training count towards any academic qualification or accreditation? EH: Er ... no. D: Is there any written component or tests?

EH: No. D: So in what way do the training posts differ from the work that the ordinary archaeologists do? EH: (pause) You get a turn with the EDM.

The EH person went on to explain that thc training jobs were aimed at archaeology graduates who were 'not up to working on site.' She said she wasn't aware that the wage was so low (the cost of ten pounds a week for accommodaLion effectively reduces the trainee wage to 69680 pa). But she said that the trainees at Whitby were in fact lucky because elsewhere 'most training positions aren't even paid.'

She praised English Heritage's other work in funding training.

No one is born an archaeologist, so of course people need training on site. But if you're doing the same work as others you deserve the same money. And low pay for one group of diggers drags down all our wages. EH, as a leading heritage organisation, should be setting a better example, although they are not the only offenders in paying 'trainees' so little. Many Digger readers will remember last year's notorious job advert from the Canterbury unit offering E7737 pa to trainees 'preferably with some excavation experience.'

To be fair, the EH person did point out that with our few months digging experience, we could apply for one of the slightly better paid site assistant jobs. But training with no formal lectures, no tests, no written work, no accrcditation, no recognition or regulation by any academic or professional body, and very Iittle difference to the site work being done by the other diggers - can these really be called training posts? Or are they just an excuse for getting the site dug on the cheap?

STOP PRESS: We wrote to the Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage to comment on our Jndings. This was his reply:

'I have seen the Whitby project design and the training programme has been endorsed by the Archaeologicd Training Forum in

previous years. This year's programme has been submitted to the ATF.

'Thc bass of thc training programrnc 1s that trainees are rotatcd around as many parts of the project as possible. pairing than mith an cspcrienccd archaeologist as a mentor. There arc talks and scrninars from Wcrent cscavation staff members ,and from visiting specialists. There is no formal csainination qstem but the students' work is checked and signed off by a supervisor.

'Your comments suggest you havc a rather formal attitude to training. As I am responsible for the finances, I can assure you that the presence of the trainees adds to the cost of the project rather than providing labour on the cheap. The charge for acconlmodation is to avoid the Inland Revenue taxing it as a benefit in kind.

'Yours sincerely, David Miles. Chief Archaeologist. '

Wessex says yes to a union

Staff have voted by 71% to rccognise Prospect at Wessex Archaeology. The union says that the majority meets all the swutory requirements for a recognition ballot, which means that Prospect is now officially recognised at the unit.

This is unlikely to affect terms and conditions straight away. However, J a p e Gidlow, the Secretary of the Archaeologists' Branch has told The DIgger that 'a recognition agreement wiIl now be drawn up and will have to be agreed upon by both parties (ie the company and the union members at Wessex). Union members will elect representatives to a committee, usually called something like a Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). '

The recogrution agreement will contain the areas of the terms and conditions of employment at Wessex that both parties agree can be collectively bargained upon. This could include pay, pensions, travel time, annual leave entitlements etc. Once this is agreed, then the actual terms of employment can be discussed.

The result is a victory for the union and ordinary union members who have campaigned hard for recognition at a number of units, despite a less than

enthusiastic rcsponsc from somc managements.

APPAG meeting postponed

The All-Party Parliamenta~ Archaeoloe Group's public rneetlng In London has bccn postponed. A nen datc nil1 be announced for the Autumn. Details at \\~iw.sal.orguk/a~~a~/cill.ht~n. Get yoursclf along and tcll thcnl what's nrong with the way archaeology is organised!

C?" Letter Bombs &'

Court action could lead to improvements 8 The letter 'Beware court action' in L)i,gger 32 pointed out that PPG16 is only planning gu~dance and could be challenged in court. But if a challenge were successful. would the archaeological profession and the public stand by and accept the consequences? Such a case would expose the fragile nature of archaeologxal provision. Archaeology isn't the NHS. but it has never had a higher public profile; popular awareness has never been greater. Government would have to act to ensure protection of the historic environment, resulting in an inprovement in archaeology's legislative situation and also in terms and conditions.

Another point. I know several graduates of an MA course in heritage management who have been lectured by representatives of dBerent developers. In every case the representatives have been astonished that archaeologsts undersold themselves in comparison to all other contractors and consultants. They're expecting us ta charge more, and their budgets can cope with it - but they're hardly likely to put that in tender documents, are they!

The 'don't bite the hand that feeds you' argument has been used by employers ta counter demands for improvements in pay and conditions since the onset of industrial capitalism. If we fall for it we'll wail forever - and in vain - for sigruficanl improvements.

Put the bosses on weekly contracts! m At the unit I work for, supervisors. directors etc. outnumber field staff by 2: 1 at least, I kid you not! If the directors' main (if not sole) job is to find work foi

hc field staff n-h! isn't any work coming n'? This is what happens when you get m-of-their-depth academics trying to run . 1 business! If the! want to moon about .alking archaeology all day they should be Aoody lecturers. otherwise go out and secure some contracts. We could always ?ut the directors on weekly contracts and see how they like living in financial limbo, not knowing from one day to the nest whcre the rent is coming from!

PS - Friend of mine was digging with Network Archaeology and it was pissing with rain. His supervisor was in the bottom of a muddy trench covered in filth when the guy emptying the Portaloo saw him. shook his head and said. 'You've got [he worst job in the world, mate.' - Northern Ranter

In Memoriam

The Digger sends its condolences to the family and friends of Darren Riddle, 26, ..: who tragcally lost his life during an archaeological excavation in the Yorkshire Dales last month.

Darren, from Huddersfield, was a first year Archaeological Sciences student at Bradford University. He was taking part in a four-week University excavation at a site near Malham, North Yorkshire. The day he died was a rest day from the excavation, and he had gone out walking. When he didn't return a search was launched and his body was found that evening. He had fallen down a quarry.

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r he Digger is a non-profit making newsletter existing entirely on donations. All donations

Carl Heron, the University's dean of archaeological and environmental sciences, said: 'Darren was a mature student who enjoyed his studies n'

Bradford. He was well-liked, with ma.., interests and a bright future.' There will be an inquest, but police are not treating the death as suspicious.

I

welcome, cheques should be made out to

Finances

The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger on the web, with extra art and discussion areas; and the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bair.co.uk). Check it. Do we have your correct name and address? If not, drop us a

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Petition for Change - support floods in

Support for the Petition for Change has been flooding into The Digger and BAJR. The petition was launched in the last issue of The Digger and calls for an end to poverty pay and the introduction of a decent career structure for archaeologists and others in the Heritage Sector. The petition demands that the Institute of Field Archaeologists (FA) raise its minimum recommended pay rate to the European Decency Threshold of L280 per week '7.34 per hour), and to enforce this by

'expelling units and unit managers who do not comply.

The petition has won the support of archaeologists from Southampton, Liverpool, Sunderland, Hull, Gateshead, Norfolk, Newcastle, Bath, Scotland, Tayside, Swindon, York, Middlesex, Durham, Sheffield, London, Birmingham, King's Lynn, Lincoln, Wales, Cambridge, Canterbury, East Yorkshire, Kent, Oxford, Bristol, Worcestershire, Leeds, Cumbria, Essex, Twickenham, and Tyne and Wear. There has been support from members of Unison, Prospect and NATFE. Diggers from units big and small have sent their support, as have university archaeology departments and consultancies.

. .: Branch Secretary of the mchaeologists Branch of Prospect, Jayne Gidlow, has said that she supports the petition in a personal capacity. Stephen Cheshire is promoting the petition on his website for illustrators. On BAJR over 400 people have pledged their support in an online poll.

So keep those petitions coming in! Have you signed yet?

Carlisle Archaeology Ltd - What went wrong?

It was a unit in an important UK city sitting on a wealth of Roman and medieval archaeology. It had just completed a major excavation. It had a well-respected university behind it. Yet Carlisle Archaeology still went bust, throwing sta£f on the dole and losing local expertise gathered over almost 25 years 01

peration. And even though a year has ~assed since it went to the wall, mtroversy still dogs the old unit. The atest twist is that police are investigating he disappearance from the unit's old HQ )f artefacts that could be worth hundreds )f thousands of pounds. So what went wrong at Carlisle? In a special report, The 3igger investigates.

rhree years ago, it must have seemed like he perfect match. Bradford University was on the lookout for new training digs md opportunities to dabble in the worId of mmmercial archaeology. Carlisle Council was eager to privatise its city archaeology mit. As a result, Bradford University ~cquired the unit in 1999 and Carlisle 4rchaeology Ltd was formed.

When the takeover was first announced, a mior Bradford lecturer held a meeting uith Carlisle staff. 'He said something h u t using Carlisle as a training area for heir students,' one of our contacts told us. I never found this all that convincing a reason though, as there was only ever 2 or 3 students there at any one time.'

bo ther promise was that 'dggers and 3ther staff would be employed at Bradford if work dried up at Carlisle,' our contact said. 'It was also suggested that Carlisle staff would be able to undertake postgrad muses funded by the new company, but by the time the deal was finally done, this had been quietly dropped.' As our contact wryly observed, 'They weren't going to make me a guest lecturer.'

But at the time of the takeover the future looked rosy. A L7.2 million construction scheme in the heart of Carlisle was on the cards. The Mllemium Project was jointly h d e d by the City Council and the Millennium Commission who put up about half the money each. The scheme included the construction of a gallery with an underground passageway that involved archaeological investigations around the castle. Roman remains were known to s w i v e here, particularly the Castle Green area.

The excavations, led by Mike McCarthy, made some astonislung discoveries. These included important Roman structural timbers and articulated Roman armour

hailed by experts at the Royal Armouries as 'a unique discovery from anywhere in the Roman world.'

But things started to go wrong in the autumn of 2000 when the local newspaper ran a story headlined 'Roman Chiefs House Makes Way for Millennium Gallery'. The Cumberland News reported that the Castle Green finds 'could put Carlisle in the same league as York', but that part of the Roman fort would have to be destroyed to make way for the new gallery. By this time, a local campaign to save the Roman remains was gathering momentum. One letter to the local press described the proposed removal as an 'abdication of responsibility in allowing needless destruction of an irreplaceable asset.'

The campaign succeeded in forcing a statement from English Heritage defending the scheme. EH said that the benefits outweighed 'the loss of such a .

small part of the archaeological remains.' But the City Council was already approving a redesign of the Millennium Gallery, even though the additional archaeologml work would increase costs.

'The whole wllennium] scheme was a nightmare from star1 to finish,' a source close to the City Council told us. 'When it was originally costed, there was no budget for further digs on the Castle Green. The Council was picking up a f5 million cost for what was supposed to be L3.5 million.'

Perhaps this very public debacle soured relations between the Council and its recently-privatised archaeological unit. Because there was more trouble when the post-excavation budget for the archaeological works came to be discussed. Rumour has it that the quote for the work was much higher than the Council expected.

The Council and Bradford University are both tight-lipped about what arrangements had been made about post-ex funding. But former managing director of the unit Mike McCarthy is explicit that Carlisle's demise was because the unit 'was unable to come to an agreement with the client with regard to the post-excavation programme for the Millennium project.' He also

blamed 'inMcient contracting work to sustain staff..' These were fatal body blows. The unit closed in August 2001 and staff were made redundant. Mike McCarthy secured a post as Senior Lecturer at Bradford University.

So what did Bradford do to defend the unit? A source in the archaeology department told The Digger that the feeling there is that the university let the unit go into liquidation rather than stand up to the City Council. The unit had been reliant on Bradford to support it financially for a long time. Three months later, the unit's work was taken over by the ubiquitous Oxford Unit in the form of Oxford Archaeology North - ironically itself once a university unit.

But that's not the end of the story. A stock-take last November revealed that more than 150 finds from the Castle Green excavation had vanished, including the rare Roman annour. News of the dsappearance has only recently been made public. The finds had been stored in six boxes at Shaddon Mill - the former HQ of Carlisle Archaeology.

'It's a huge blow for historians. Some of the items were unique and extremely rare,' said Gerry Martin, who led the dig with Mike McCarthy. 'The lorica squamata is very rare - there has only ever been one found here before.' Artefacts of this nature can be sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds over the internet to overseas collectors, Mr Martin added.

Cumbria Police confirm that they have been called in to investigate. The City Council refuses to speculate about the disappearance of the artefacts now it is a police matter. But a spokesman stated that: 'The council has liaised closely with and taken the advice of English Heritage and the county archaeologist' in matters connected with the finds, which were 'being stored in good condition and thorough c l~kks were made to ensure their continued upkeep.'

Whatever the outcome of this latest twist, it marks another undgrufied episode for a unit that has fallen victim to a number 01 factors.

The privatisation of the unit was the beginning of the end. The City Council are not the first local authority to discove~

llways bring cost savings and improved luality - the opposite can be the case. The mexpected increase in the costs of the vlillennium Project suggests a lack of oresight, and the council must be quinning with embarrassment that lationally important artefacts have gone nissing and that the police are poking rbout.

What about the role of Bradford Jniversity? Apparently some in its own uchaeology department feel that the miversity was not robust enough in ;tanding up to the City Council over the mstex funding - an issue that was dtimately to sink the unit. Promises to C'arlisle staff were not kept and work to =stain the unit was not secured. Did the university fully appreciate the cut-throat nature of commercial archaeology today? Presumably it was not the university's intention to have its new unit close down after only two years.

The outcome of this sorry tale is that Carlisle is now without a regional unit, local experlise and important finds have been lost, diggers have been made redundant and the archaeology in the.city will be carved up between units parachuted in from hundreds of miles away. Not a great success for British archaeology.

STOP PRESS: Carlisle City Council have written to tell us that despite extensive reports in the national news to the mntrary, 'the armour was never lost'. It 'is undergoing conservation at Durham University.' Since the police investigation, many of the items have been recovered, 'although a few are still outstanding.' Don't miss the next issue of The Digger for more responses to this article!

With thanks to the many people who contributed to this article.

Archaeologists on the picket line

In July up to a million public sector workers took strike action for a day against low pay. It was the biggest public sector stnke for decades and involved members of the Unison, GMB and T&G unions including archaeologists workmg for local councils. A curatorial archaeologist tells The Digger why the

;trike was necessary and what happened )n the day.

I voted for strike action in the Unison )allot. This was because I feel that the owest council grades are stiIl too low. I would also like to give Blair a hard time. I was not taking action for personal reasons )f greed, and certainly not so senior nanagers can get 6% for crossing the licket lines.

We contacted our union branch for advice md picketed outside our ofice and the ocal museum. We did not try to prevent irisitors attending the museum. Our senior aanager did not try to talk us out of aking strike action. He did, however, mme to work. My line manager (a union member) crossed the picket line. Words rail me. The response from the public was mixed - some obvious support and some hought we were trying to better our own position. ' -S

The picket line consisted of finds specialists and SMR staff. No union members at the museum crossed the picket line. 'The manager of the museum stopped 3y to wish us well. He had no intention of going to work!

'I am not sure that a few curatorial xrchaeologists striking for one day does any good in the long term. We obviously Felt obliged to support the others, and will 30 so again. It is the suspension of :ssential services that will have most :ffect. I am willing to keep going until some compromise is reached - not necessarily 6% across the board, but xrtainly a better deal for the lower grades within the council. I would like to see more support and more unions cc _ ~rdinating their strike days. Longer periods of strike action will only have an effect with solidarity, i.e. no bins being emptied. '

The letters section returns in the next issue.

Finances

Start balance (this issue) Total contributions Total costs (projected) End balance

Thanks to everyone who has contributed!

that selling off public servi&s does not I The Msger is a non-profit making newsletter existing entirely on donations. All donations welcome, cheques should be made out to -- The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Mgger on the web, with extra art and discussion areas; and the ~ r i t i s h Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uk). Check it. Do we have your correct name aud address? If not, drop us a line and well put it right. If you w a d to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Mgger but do, send us your detalls.

Carlisle Archaeology - 'An inquiry is needed'

In the last edition of The Digger we ran an article about Carlisle Archaeology Ltd, which went bust a year ago aJer being taken over by Bradford University. A disagreement over the post-ex funding of a large-scale excavation - the Millennium scheme - and lack of other contract work sunk the unit.

It's clear that bitterness over the closure still runs deep. In response to the article, "4ke ~McCarthy, who ran the unit and is -,W a senior lecturer, calls for an inquiry into the closure. He accuses the client of 'harassing and interfering' with the unit and heritage agencies of staging a 'coup d 'etat ' once fieldwork was over. Bradford Ufiiversity says the affair 'raises many questions about the condition o j professional archaeology in Britain. ' Read the replies below ...

Mike McCarthy: 'Here are some on the record comments for you.'

'At the time of, and for sometime after, the transfer from the City Council to the University, Carlisle Archaeology Limited (CAU) was winning a very high level of bids. That began to change and by the end of the first full operating year it was in +fiCit. This continued throughout the -,and year, not helped by the foot and mouth outbreak. As companies cannot legally trade whilst being insolvent, the University had little option but to opt for closure. The University did not have sufficient financial resources to continue underpinning the operation.'

<The millennium scheme was a major project by any standards. The archaeological component had been worked on by CAU on behalf of the developer, Carlisle City Council, English Heritage and other interested parties over a number of years. It had undertaken all the fieldwork but the archaeological programme was bedevilled by the client who [was] harassing and interfering with CAU throughout the last year of excavation. These are matters of record.'

Mike McCarthy goes on to say that during the excavation heritage agencies were very

supportive. 'However, once the fieldwork was over, they quickly turned against CAU and effectively staged a rather nasty coup d'etat over the question of the post- excavation programme. The client wished to get away with a minimalist contribution, but the data, including finds, required a much higher level of support.' Mike adds that heritage agencies rejected 'a solution which would have retained the expertise of CAU.'

'The closure resulted in many members of staff who had acquired an unrivalled knowledge of a major frontier zone over many years being put on the spoil heap, as it were. It was as if thev were of no consequence. It was handled with astonishing ineptitude and insensitivity. Some have re-trained to the profession's loss. These are trained, articulate, literate and experienced archaeologists. The profession is not so well endowed that it can afford to lose such talent.'

'An inquiry is needed into the whole affair. There is certainly a great deal more that can be said on tlus shameful matter.'

Dr. Rick Jones on behalf of Bradford University: 'The University originally began negotiations with Carlisle City Council because we saw an opportunity to make links across the sectoral divisions in British archaeology. The University took over Chrlisle Archaeological Unit for those motives. We saw mutual benefits in enhancing research and developing archaeological practice. We hoped over time to initiate new projects that would build links between staff based in the Unit in Carlisle and in the University in Bradford. We saw many exciting possibilities in these areas, but all were dependent on the Unit's basic financial perforinance being satisfactory. The University did not expect to make financial gains from the Unit's work, but it could not sustain losses either.'

'As it turned out, the overall financial performance of Carlisle Archaeology Ltd left the University no choice but to terminate its activities, with much regret. The Millennium Project resulted in many exciting archaeological dmoveries, and the University has co-operated with other

responsible agencies to ensure that thej will be fully published.'

'The whole episode raises many questions about the condition of prolessional archaeology in Britain. We remain convinced that there should be closer links across the sectors. The problem remains, even if this attempt to achieve somethmg sadly failed.'

Keep those petitions coming!

Many thanks to those who have sent in their copies of the Petition for Change.

The petition calls for employers to end poverty pay and to introduce a decent career structure for archaeologists and others in the Heritage Sector. The petition also demands that the Institute of Field Archaeologists (FA) raise its minimum recommended pay rate to the European Decency Threshold of £280 per week (57.34 per hour), and to enforce this by expelling units and unit managers who do not comply.

Get your copy of the petition by contacting The Digger or by downloading from the BAJR website.

Last minute reprieve for Gloucester unit

A spirited campaign supported by local press and celebrities and involving petitions and demonstrations has saved the Gloucester unit from closure.

Gloucester City Council had been threatening to close the regional unit as part of a series of cuts. The council hoped to save £100,000 by throwing up to six of the unit's seven staff on the dole.

However, a local campaign to save the unit involving Time Team's Tony Robinson and Mick Aston stopped the council in its tracks. Professor Aston said, 'Gloucester is one of the most historically important cities in the country and for it not to have its own unit will make it more diEicult to protect what it has. Every year [this] happens somewhere and every year I get really angry, we have to fight another battle. ' Tony Robinson urged protesters to

'go home and get agitating. Let them balance the books but not at the expense of the Gloucester Archaeology Unit.'

The campaign made the front page of the local newspaper - The Citizen - and when councillors turned up at their North Warehouse headquarters to decide the unit's future, they were stunned to be besieged by 100 banner-waving protesters - some dressed as Saxons, Plantagenets and Tudors. A petition signed by more than 5,000 people was also handed in.

Then at the eleventh hour, the council backed down and said the unit was safe for the time being. Phi1 Jones from Unison, said, 'This is a tremendous shift in policy by the cabinet. We had no idea it was going to happen until a sheet of revised proposals was handed round at the meeting. We must now keep the pressure up to make sure the unit is kept. We have been astounded by the depth of feeling this issue has created. '

Earlier, the cabinet member for culture Bill Crowther denied being a hypocrite in threatening to close the unit even though his party, the Liberal Democrats, has recently adopted a policy of promoting archaeology.

Developer faces fmes for destroying sites

A landfill company faces fines after a local council accused it of destroying parts of an l lth century battlefield. Aberdeenshire Council has issued an enforcement notice to Stoneyhill Waste Management, based in Peterhead. The council says the company extended its landfill site before archaeological work required by planning permission could take place.

David Lynn, director of the Scottish Council for Archaeology, said, 'Our archaeological heritage is always under threat. You can't have the economic imperative overriding everythmg else.'

Glenn Jones, manager of Stoneyhill Waste Management, said: 'As far as we are concerned, we don't believe that they were archaeological sites. '

Speak out against low pay

The All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group (APPAG) public meeting has been

:alled for Saturday 7 December at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London at loam. APPAG is :ompiling a report about all aspects of wchaeology, and the meeting is an ~pportunity for ordinary diggers to have )ur views heard. To obtain a ticket, :ontact Lisa Elliott at le1liott@.sal.0rg.uk.

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The Digger is a non-profit making newsletter 'rhe Digger'. Any contributions of material

Low pay is also a burning issue for museum workers. A meeting 'For love but not money' has been organised by the Museum Professionals Group as part of their own campaign against low pay. The meeting will be held on 9 December at the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Conservators, museum education staff, and the director of the Museums Association will all speak.

p Letter Bombs

Too harsh on EH YOU were a bit harsh on English Heritage (EH) regarding the trainee wage (Digger 23). The people who take thcse positions would probably not get a look in with most 'professional units'. Don't Forget, there are enough so-called training digs that charge a king's ransom for the privilege of telling people how to hold a trowel. The experience with EH can only help them get more work - that is if working in Whitby in the autumn doesn't put them off archaeology for life!

Bfitish Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uk). Check it. Do we have your correct name and address? It" not, drop u s a line. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details and we'll put i t right.

I

existing entirely on donations. AU donations positively encouraged. The Dfgger on the web,

I don't think a fuss would have been made if EH had advertised the positions as voluntary. Also, you can't compare the work of a trainee with that of a site assistant. I can't imagine trainees being able to make complete sense of stratigraphy and their speed and quality of work is not likely to be great.

l

l

l

l

1

- welcome, cheques should be made out to

with extra art and discussion areas; and the

I am thadd%l that I turned the Whitby job down after reading that trainees would be paired with experienced diggers. Maybe you could ask EH if they pIanned to pay those diggers who had trainees a better wage? More work demands more money. Doesn't it. .?

EH training 'the way forward' =AS a 'graduate' of the EngIish Heritage (EH) archaeological trainee scheme, I feel I have to defend it.

You say that there is no formal training on the scheme. But surely the only way to become a decent digger is through

practical experience and asking more experienced site staff their advice? On the ' EH digs I've been on everyone from the project manager downwards was dead friendly and helpful. You get to work on all parts of the site, learn how to use the equipment, get talks and informal site visits. When was the last time you got this working on a developer-funded site, eh?

You also say that £10,200 pa is bad! OK £5.45 an hour isn't good, but then no job in archaeology pays well. If you take the cheap accommodation (£ 10 a week) into account, it is not much worse than your bog standard site assistant's post (who has to work the full week without the trainees' perks). Anyway, with EH training I easily walked into a site assistant job at the dizzy heights of £12,000 a year.

I think you are well off the mark criticising the EH training posts. They ar- one of the few good things to happen - archaeology in the past few years. It's worth putting up with the money aspect for a short time, and having seen the miserable experiences of fresh-faced graduates in contracting units, schemes like the EH one has got to be the way forward. So there!

'Avoid Trent and Peak unit' B 0 n c e again, Trent and Peak Archaeology Unit have laid everyone off, including the assistant supervisors.

This is the second time in a year this has happened, but now there isn't even the prospect of future work. How can a unit that should have control over two counties be so crap? The answer is simple. The people at the top do not value their str" They show diggers and supervisors -.J

respect and no trust. Diggers are not even allowed to fill out context sheets, and you need divine intervention to even look at the EDM.

This is a unit to avoid.

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Rail company 'desecrates' St Pancras cemetery

Most of us use a trowel to excavate a skeleton, some use a plasterers' leaf too, while others favour a spoon bent into interesting shapes to get at the awkward bits. Well, at St Pancras in North London they've discovered a new tool for the job - it's called a JCB.

The archaeological community was horrified to learn that an important cemetery was being machined out after archaeologists had been thrown off site. A aeologists and English Heritage (EH) inspectors were barred from the Camley Street Cemetery site by Union Railways, despite a 'gentlemen's agreement' that there would be an archaeological excavation.

Simon Thurley, the director of EH, said: 'The archaeologists were excavating these remains with respect. Now, instead, the company will bc sending bdidozers straight through the lot, loading the soil, bones, bits of coffin and name plates into what they call a muck-away uuck. It is a total desecration of human remains.' A worker on the site confirmed that: 'We've been digging up skulls, ribs, legs, the lot.'

The cemetery was first used in 1792 for the Catholic community in Camden and ari :rats fleeing the French Revolution. BUM continued until 1854. The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) said that 'this short period of burial activity makes the assemblage even more signiiicant as trends can be analysed over a couple of generations.' Many of the caskets have names on them, increasing the potential for historical research.

The site is part of a new station for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), built by Rail Link Engineering for London and Continental Railways. The scheme is governed by its own Act of Parliament, the CTRL Act 1996. This sidesteps normal planning regulations - archaeological intervention is not statutory, ordy by 'gentlemen's agreement.' The developers now say that time has run out, although archaeologists were allowed only three weeks to excavate about 100 graves out of

thousands. The CBA estimates that 'over 2,000 graves' have now been removed without archaeological monitoring.

The outcry - by the Church of England as well as archaeologists - was reported on TV and radio and in the local and national press and after an emergency board meeting the developers agreed provisionally to refrain from using JCBs. An EH statement welcomed the developers' promise to 'reinstate archaeological monitoring and prepare for our approval an archaeological method statement appropriate to the new exhumation methodology.' EH said it would 'continuc to monitor the archaeological programme. '

The developers insisted that: 'We have all the relevant permissions required to carry out t h~s process and we are fully compliant with all our commitments. The work is being undertaken by a competent specialist contractor.' The change in the exhumation method 'could have--serious imp:ications for the cost of the project and for its completion date,' they added.

The CBA, whch was at the forefront of the campaign to stop the destruction, said it was pleased with the result but warned that: 'We need to keep the pressure on to ensure that the planned archaeological work is reinstated.' The wider implications were 'extremely worrying,' however, since proposed changes to make planning legislation more 'business- friendly' would result in blanket consent being granted for other major projects such as airports.

OAU makes a grab for Essex

The Oxford (OAU) unit's quest for world domination continues: they want to take over the Essex unit.

The news-broke first on the messageboard of the BAJR website. Essex staff had been summoned to the unit's Braintree headquarters earlier that day to be told that the council had recently been contacted by OAU. A letter from Oxford raised 'the question of whether it would be beneficial for both parties to enter into

discussions about the future possibility of joint working' or, failing that, of OAU 'acquiring' the Essex unit.

Graham Tooms, the head of the Waste, Recycling and Environment directorate that oversees the archaeology unit, and Dave Buckley, the Head of the Heritage Conservation Branch stressed that the proposed merger or takeover was not definite and only 'one of a number of options under consideration.' A source within Essex council told The Digger that these options included Essex 'merging with another unit or units in the South- EastlEast Anglia region,' adding that: 'It seems that Oxford are keen to establish a base of operations somewhere in the South-East,' - another possibility being Kent.

Once the story was out, Essex Council issued a press release saying that 'an operational review' had been set up to examine 'the role of [the Essex unit] within the county council.' The review panel - which will initially include three archaeology staff - will decide whether the unit will be retained withm the council or be merged or go into partnership with an external organisation. The review will be completed 'by late February 2003' and negotiations will only begin with an outside organisation if Essex councillors give their approval.

Despite these assurances, our source told us, 'the temporary staE are not convinced that Oxford would keep [them] employed on the county payscale, as apparently they pay their digging stag much less then Essex County Council. Why would they pay one group of diggers more than another?'

The fact that the council has not rejected OAU's proposal outright suggests that it is actively considering privatising the unit. Councils have no statutory duty to provide an archaeology service - and some councils have tried to make short-term savings in the past by shutting down or selling off their archaeology units. In November, the Gloucester unit was only saved from closure by a spirited campaign of demonstrations and petitions backed by local press and celebrities. Two years after

being acquired by Bradford University the Carlisle unit was controversially closed down.

From the point of view of OAU. taking over Essex is a shrewd move. OAU gains a firm foothold in the lucrative South-East market and eliminates a competitor at the same timc.

Union backs petition

The Museum of London branch of Prospect has pledged its support for the Petition for Change. The union branch - which represents MoLAS archaeologists as well as museum workers - joins lwndreds of others who are calling for an end to poverty pay and a decent career structure in the heritage sector. Eighty people signed at the London based unit after the petition was circulated around MoLAS's HQ and sites.

The petition demands that the Institute of Field Archaeologists ( F A ) raises its minimum recommended pay rate to the European Decency Threshold of £280 per week. This change would cost the F A nothing, but would mean a real improvement to the lives of thousands of low-paid workers. The F A estimates that archaeology contributes £100 million to the economy. Get your copy of the petition by contacting The Digger or by downloading from the BAJR website.

News in brief

The Annual General Meeting of the Archaeologists' Branch of Prospect will take place at 11.30am on 22 January at Prospect House, 75-79 York Road, London, SE I. Lord Rupen Redesdale will be one of the speakers and all members of the branch are welcome. The union is also compiling a report on accommodation supplied by employers on 'away sites'. As wcll as poor pay and conditions, poor accommodation is 'an additional cause of occupational stress' says the branch's Health and Safety Oflicer. Send details of your experiences to Martin Campbell at blueaceswild@hotmail.com, or to The Digger at the usual address.

The Museum Professionals Group seminar, 'For love but not the money', advertised in the last issue of The Digger has been rescheduled for 10 February.

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P Singalong P &' Letter Bombs @ TESSERA

by A Lodoen & K Harris (sung to the hine of 'Que Sera Sera')

When I was a young trust trainee l asked my bosses What will I find?

Will 1 find treasure'? Will 1 find gold?

This is what they said to me: Tessera, sera

Whatever you'll find, you'll find And honestly, we don't mind

Tessera: sera

Then as a site assistant, still I had to ask them What should I do'?

Should 1 use mattock? Should I use hoe?

I haven't got a clue Tessera, sera

Whatever you'll do, you'll do But please make it quickly, too

Tessera, sera

Then as a supervisor, still I had to ask them What should it be?

Should we use mattocks Or JCB'?

Please huny answer me JCB, CB

Whatever it'll be, it'll be But it is the JCB

That will set us free

Then as a Project Manager I was in meetings All the day long

"You can have this bit" "This bit is mine"

"We mustn't get it wrong" Tessera, sera

Whatever that we'll decide We never can relax

Skanska's on our backs

Now I'm Director of the Trust Six weeks from now

We will go bust We need some treasure

We need some gold All that we have is dust

Tessera, sera Whatever I'll do, I'll do Whatever I say - is true

Tessera, sera

We deserve a 60% rise Whilst supporting wholeheartedly the

petition for a decent wage for archaeologists and for an overhaul of the 'career structure' in our industry, I feel that we ought to say that trained site archaeologists are worth around £18k pa, with salaries raised accordingly for supervisors, project officers, specialists etc. That's around a 60% payrise.

The perils of self-employment It's all very well the Petition for

Change recommending a minimum wage of £280 pcr week but it's also important that diggers are taken on as salaried staff. I work as a subcontracted employee for £50 per day. This does not seem too bad compared to other units but works out a lot lower. I have to provide all my clothing - hard hat, viz vest etc. I have my hours dictated to me and also the invoice form - that I have to submit to get my wages. I do not gct paid leave. My wages in real terms are about £5.70 per hour. Being made unemployed from units like these also affects benefits. We need units to fully employ their staff even if it is just for a week.

I earn more as a temp Your recent newsletter sums up the

frustration that I am going though. I am desperate to get back into archaeology, but cannot because I can't afford such a large pay loss. Why do I get paid more doing simple, boring secretarial work than those who are actively unearthing. conserving War managing heritage? It's absolutely disgraceful and I'm heartbroken. Archaeologists should not only be paid more fairly for their hard work, but should -' also get more accolades for preserving and presenting history.

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The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Dfggeron the web, with extra art and discussion mras; and the British Arehaeelegieal Jebs Resouree (-.bajr.ee.uk). Check it. De we have y e w eerreet name h i 3 address?'If not, drop us a Line. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Dfgger but do, send us your detalk and w'll put it right.

APPAG report met with deafening silence

The long awaited All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group (APPAG) report has been met with a deafening silence from organisations responsible for archaeology. The report, entitled 'The Current State of Archaeology in the United Kingdom,' was published over a month ago. But neither the Department for Culture Medla and Sport (DCMS), English Heritage (EH), the Institute of Field Archaeologists (FA) nor even the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) has made an official comment

,ut it. In a special article, The Digger lifts the lid on what APPAG has discovered, and reveals why some of the changes it recommends may be unpalatable to those in charge.

APPAG consists of 139 members of the Houses of Parliament who invited submissions and arranged select- cormnittee type hearings to gather evidence for their wide-rariging report.

The report makes ten key recommendations for change in the way archaeology is organised. These include making Sites and Monuments Records and museums statutory, boosting the teaching of archaeology, the abolition of class consents so farmers can't plough up sites like Verulamium, and much more. This

cle will concentrate on the parts that hive most impact on field archaeologists, but it's also worth reading the full report; even the most hackneyed heritage worker will learn froin (and be shocked by) some of its findings.

The government plays a vital role in the organisation of archaeology, but the report highlights how fragmented this is. Responsibility is split between DCMS, EH, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Minislry of Defence, the Department of Transport and others. Not surprisingly, there is a 'lack of coordination' between these bodies; the report recommends the establishment of a DCMSchaired committee 'at ministerial level' to bring them together.

Another key recommendation that diggers will cheer is that: 'There is an urgent need to improve pay and conditions for employment in field archaeology so that they are commensurate with graduate entry level in allied professions, such as local authority planning officers, civil engineers and university lecturers.'

The F A together with EH and the union Prospect should create a training structure linked to career development, the report says. Employers not meeting training standards would not be allowed to bid for developer funded work. 'In the longer term, the current fragmented commercial unit system which has resulted from competitive tendering should be replaced with a more stable regional, or more local framework of archaeological organisations. '

So how much would we get if this recommendation became law? The report doesn't put a figure on it, but our research shows that graduate level entry in .the professions mentioned is about £16,000- £19,000 pa. That's not too bad - it beats the Petition for Change that only demands the European Decency Threshold figure of £14560 pa minimum for diggers. The report recognises that archaeologists are 'insecurely employed, poorly paid and generally itinerant.' We're also 'excluded from training ... [which] prohibits promotion to more secure senior posts.' There is 'no clear career development path'. Why is this? The report is explicit: 'Ths is in large part due to the effects of the system of competitive tendering' and because of 'a weak professional structure.'

Developer funding may be worth '£75 million per annum', but competitive tendering comes in for a real bashing. The report acknowledges that 'Competition on cost tends to drive down the quality of work, impair morale and career structure, and to remove costs . . . such as training'. Competition for every job 'results in great ineficiencies and unnecessarily large overheads' for units because of the cost of preparing tenders that do not succeed. It is expensive, information is not readily exchanged between rivals, and it cuts off local communities from archaeological activity. Even the group that should

benefit from the current system perceives it as unfair, the report finds. 'A developer in one place may have no plaming constraint, whereas an identical development next door which happens to affect an archaeological site may have a prohibitively expensive constraint.'

Many submissions to APPAG suggested a 'developer tax' - but although the report says this suggestion should be 'carefully considered', it does not feature in the recommendations. Instead the report recommends that 'Urgent consideration should be given to replacing the present system of competitive tendering in developer-funded archaeological investigations by a local franchise system.' The report reveals little about how such a system would work except that 'Franchises should be offered after consultation with the relevant local and national authorities and would need to be reviewed at regular intervals.' Who would award the franchises? This 'will need to be discussed,' says the report.

The idea of franchises is not a new one - it was mooted in British Archaeology in 1996. The article 'Let us have franchises in archaeology' was pemed by John Walker, now Chair of the Standing Conference of Archaeological Unit Managers and Director of the York Archaeological Trust. He argued that a regulator - 'Ofarch' - would spec* levels of performance, and the contractor who provided the best quality at a reasonable cost would win the franchise. Franchses could be awarded for each county, with the winner subcontracting if necessaq.

But would it work? A franchise system may simply reproduce all the problems of competitive tendering. What would stop a developer (or a consultant in his pay) acquiring a franchise and then sub- contracting out all the work on a tendered basis? What would stop larger units driving smaller ones to the wall? How would a unit that lost its franchise suslain itself and the postexcavation work it was committed to? Even the word 'franchise' has unfortunate associations. It conjures up dodgy burger bars and train companies ripping off passengers while running down the rail network. Even as a starting

point for discussions about the best system to replace competitive tendering, the idea of franchises is flawed.

One key reconunendation that will stun many observers is that the CBA, the F A and other lobbying groups should merge, or at least clarlfy their functions. It seems reasonable enough that there should be 'a single voice to make the public case for archaeology,' and APPAG says that it 'stands ready to advise on this process.' But the CBA and the F A are very different organisations, and although they have overlapping aims, il's hard to see how merger would work. The CBA gets 'core funding from the British Academy,' and both the CBA and the F A 'are in receipt of major funding from EH.' No doubt the government would be licking its lips at the prospect of cutting back funding for the new streamlined CBAJIFA.

A phrase in the report generating more attention that it perhaps deserves is this one: 'watching briefs ... could be most appropriately serviced by local amateurlvoluntary groups.' Some professionals fear that this means an army of unqualified volunteers will soon be appearing on the horizon to take work off US.

It is a sad symptom of the way the current system has divided us that we see amateur involvement as a threat. The best amateur societies already undertake watching briefs - often on sites that would otherwise go unmonitored. The first ever archaeologists were amateurs. Amateur involvement is an expression of the public's fascination with archaeology. We'd do better to nurture this enthusiasm rather than dismiss it - after all, public campaigning and support reprieved the Gloucester unit recently and saved the Newport ship.

So why the silence from official bodies? The motive force behind APPAG, Lord Redesdale, has described the way archaeology is organised as 'a bit of a mess.' This is embarrassing for EH and DCMS, a minor government department with little interest in archaeology. As for the CBA and F A , a merger may attract cuts in their government grants. The findings on pay and training underline how the IFA has failed those at the bottom of the profession. Some people will be wishmg that this report would just go away.

The report has its flaws - even though the sub-tea is that UK heritage needs more money, the report shies away from recommending anytlung as drastic as an increase in general taxation - or even a developer tax - to pay for it. Franchises, too, are a non-starter. But overall, the report is a step forward. The people who make the laws have acknowledged the problems with low pay, training and career structure caused by competitive tendering. Now they've acknowledged it, maybe it's time we put pressure on them to do somethmg about it Loo.

You can download a copy of the report fiom w~v.sal .or~.uk, or send a £3 cheque payable to 'The Society of Antiquaries ' at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London WlJ OBE. The CBA is also hosting an email discussion list about the report.

Job cuts at Stafford and Birmingham

Ironically, just when APPAG is recommending greater regionalisation of units and more outreach work, a local unit with an excellent record of involving the community is being shut down. Stafford Borough Council has announced that its archaeology service will be axed at the end of this aozth. The closure, which may save as little as &25,000, is part of i1.2 million cub across the council.

Local heritage groups have expressed disgust over the closure that will result in the loss of two posts and may put an important publication on Stafford Castle in jeopardy. The unit's responsibilities will be transferred to Staffordshire County Council.

Meanwhile, we're getting reports that cuts at the Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit (BUFAU) may result in the loss of '25% of the field unit's staff,' undermining the unit's postex capability. The university promotes the unit as 'one of Britain's foremost centres for applied field archaeology and research.' 'Not for much longer' a source within the university tells us, describing the decision to launch the new Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity just as staff are working out their notice as 'crass.'

The Director of the Institute, Dr Vince Gaffney, confirmed that a review was being conducted as part of 'restructuring

within the University' and that this was being done 'with full consultation of Field Unit staff, the University personnel department and union representatives.'

Archaeologists against war

Archaeologists have got together to campaign against war with Iraq. Archaeologists Against War is 'an organisation for archaeologists who are opposed to war, the destruction of heritage, the exploitation of professional diggers, establishment control over archaeology, and the abuse of the past to justify imperialism in the present.' It is a 'loose, open, democratic grouping that links together archaeologists and other heritage sector workers,' say the organisers.

Two dozen archaeologists marched on thc February anti-war demonstration in London under a banner showing a trowel . breaking a bomb. Two million protesters took part in total, with millions more across the world. Neil Faulkner said, 'There was a tremendous excitement that we really could win. We have an email list of about 100, including some from abroad. A university in California even asked if it was okay to have an AA W banner on the Szn Francisco demo - so already we're a global organisation! '

The Digger fully supports this initiative, and we urge readers to join Archaeologists against War. This is a war about oil and US dominance that will kill thousands of innocent Iraqis and wreck archaeological sites dating the origins of civilisation. Send your details and E5 to Dave Thorpe, 12b Despard Road, London, N19 5NW. Contact email is dav.thom@,virgin.net. A -

newsletter will be launched soon, with a conference in May. More protests are planned the day war is declared.

The letters section returns in the next issue.

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All donations welcome, make cheques available by post, by email, or on the web

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Open letter to IFA Council

This is the text of an open letter sentporn The Digger to the IFA Council on the eve of the 2003 IFA Conference in Bangor.

Dear F A Council,

As the ruling body of the Institute of Field Archaeologists, you have the power to rule on the level of F A recommended pay rates. Many employers of archaeologists use these rates when they set the pay of their staff. Increasing the recommended pay rates would have an immediate affect c 'he lives of thousands of archaeologists a d would be a big step in tackling low pay in the industry.

In the APPAG Parliamentary hearings last year, Peter Hinton, the head of the FA, denied that there was a crisis in archaeology. Yet the reality of low pay and the lack of a career structure mean that crisis is a regular feature of diggers' lives. Every time an archaeologist is turned down for a mortgage, or fails to scrape together the deposit for a rented property, it is a crisis. Every time an archaeologist loses their job and has to start again with another employer at the bottom of the 'career ladder,' or misses out on the training they deserve, it is a crisis. The F A seems detached from the reality faced bv many that it claims to represent.

tr5 not that there is no money in archaeology. The F A itself estimates that archaeology contributes &I00 million to the economy, and archaeological sites yield big profits to developers. Letters to The Digger confirm that other contractors are astonished to learn how little archaeologists are paid, despite high practical skills andlor good academic qualifications. We all know many excellent and capable archaeologists who have been forced out of the profession because of poor pay, poor job security and no hope of moving up a career ladder.

Recently MPS and peers in the All Party Parliamentary Arclueology Group (APPAG) published a report into the state of archaeology in the UK. The report recommended that: 'There is an urgent need to improve pay and conditions for employment in field archaeology so that

they are commensurate with graduate :ntry level in allied professions, such as local authority planning officers, civil mgineers and university lecturers.' This is about ~16,000d19,000 pa. What is the F A doing to implement this recommendation?

Last year The Digger and BAJR launched the Petition for Change. The petition calls For a standardised career structure and for the F A to increase its minimum recommended pay rate to the level deemed by the European Union necessary to lead a decent life (the European Decency Threshold). On current figures, updated since the Petition was launched, this quates to E3 I6 per week.

Hundreds of archaeologists and heritage workers from across the country have already signed the petition, and 400 backed it in an online poll. The petition dso gained the support of leading members of the Prospect union's Archmlogy Branch and- of the union's Museum of London branch.

When will the F A implement these zhanges? We hope that t h s month's F A ~onference will begin to tackle the deep- rooted problems in the profession. However, if the F A continues to ignore these problems, many archaeologists will rightly question the relevance of the F A , and its viability in representing their interests.

Welsh trust saved - for now

Gwent and Glamorgan Archaeological Trust has been saved from bankruptcy by a Last minute deal with Newport city council. The council had been refusing to pay E3 1,000 that the Trust needed to pay the salaries of its 20 staff. The money related to work that the Trust had undertaken on the rare 15th century ship discovered unexpectedly during the construction of a new arts centre in Newport last year.

However, a bill for &102,000 - also for work on the ship - remains outstanding. Trustee chairman Bob Trett said, 'We are obviously in dispute about the larger sum but I am relieve4 it is enough to keep us in business.' The chairman of the Friends

of the S h p group, Simon Rutherford, which headed the campaign to save the ship, said: 'It seems extraordinary that the council would risk bankrupting the archaeological experts.' The Trust provides planning advice for 12 authorities across south Wales.

A spokeswoman for the authority said it was obliged to ensure 'efficient and effective use of public money' and act in the best interests of Newport.

Irish nightmare

A Digger reader S experiences:

Lured by the pay, the quantity of work and the Guinness, I headed for Fishguard to work in Ireland. I had read tales of Dickensian style workhouse horrors in The Digger. However I wanted to experience the Emerald Isle for myself and I jumped at the chance of a job promising me 1000 Euros [E6601 a week. l also wanted to gain my director's license after interview with Duchas, the Irish Heritage Service. But 1 was about to embark on one of the most unpleasant experiences of my working life.

I won't name the company because I might be done for slander, but they are one of the major players in Dublin and indeed Ireland. I began as Assistant Director on a major infrastructure project and was responsible for monitoring the initial 60km strip.

My suspicions of doom were first aroused when I was left on my own to watch not one or two 360° excavators but 14! Spread over a distance of 2km. I've watched a few machines in my time but I challenge anyone to monitor that situation successfi~lly. Most site photos were done with disposable cameras and I was told to ignore anything that didn't have charcoal or burnt clay in it.

1 was working 8 till 6 and rarely got home until 7.30pm. I also didn't get half the money I was promised. When I wrote a letter to the company explaining the situation one of the bosses rang me and said I was a troublemaker and if I complained again I would be fired. This was the person who begged me to come to Ireland in the first place.

Now with all those machines suprise, surprise they hit a cemetery and of course guess who got the blame? Me. There was a 12 foot spoil heap with bones and skulls sticking out - it looked like something Pol Pot would be proud of. So I get hauled up in front of Duchas to explain myself and everyone leaves like rats from a sinking ship. Next thing my contract ends because 'there is not enough work.'

Later Duchas exonerated me for any wrongdoing. I moved on, yet all of a sudden no one had any work, despite advertising.

I was invited for interview to get my license and I was convinced I had passed. However I got a letter telling me 1 had little clue of how to dig or recognise artifacts and that I would have to wait six months for another interview, even though they are held every month. Someone had been making a lot of phone calls I fear.

This was the final straw and I've decided to give up archaeology as a career after 5 years. So don't work in Ireland. We've heard it before yet we still go. Yeah the money's good but the practices would make you cry.

News in brief

Ever gazed out of the tea cabin window and wondered what happened to the team you dug with a couple of seasons back? Well, you've heard of 'Friends Reunited' - now there's Digs Reunited. Cole Henley, an Edmburgh-based research student, says his site aims 'to help diggers past and present get back in touch with people they've met on excavations but have since lost touch with.' The idea came to hlm 'on a long stumble home from the pub.' The free site has been a runaway success, with over 500 people registering in the first few weeks. Check it out at httD:Nwww.~ole007,netl~nsreunitedl.

An ex-archaeologist is researching what diggers think about the current state of the profession. Paul Everill asks, 'Do you enjoy the job you do? Does your future lie within commercial archaeology? Has the profession changed since you started out? What would you change about it?' Contact him at Dept of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield, Southampton or through his website at h~://www.invisiblediggers.net.

The Digger is a non-proflt m d n g newsle

Dave Webb is collecting images of archaeologists on his website at http://~wv.archdianers.co.uk/dinaers/. The photographer says that a discipline concerned with documenting people's activities 'seems to have forgotten to record itself.' He wants to 'replace the usual anonymous back of the head shot of "diggers" seen in archaeological reports and put a face to them instead.'

Prospect and the F A are holding a joint conference in Birmingham on Skills and Pay on 3 1 May. Contact Becky Wright at 75-79 York Rd, London SE1 7AQ or 020 7902 6670 for details.

10,000 holes

The Time Team is appealing for archaeological facilitators to help in 'Britain's biggest ever archaeological evaluation.' Channel 4 is encouraging members of the public to dig test pits in back gardens, private land and public spaces.

The aim is to add to knowledge about the archaeological resource, to involve people in local archaeology and to introduce them to how practical archaeology is conducted correctly, the programme makers say. The test pits will be 0.60m deep by a metre square, and the facilitators will be needed to give advice about any archaeological deposits or artefacts that are discovered.

However, some archaeologists have expressed reservations about the programme. Questions have been raised about health and safety, damage to archaeology, and the impression that archaeology is an amateur pursuit rather than a profession. The project will take place on 28 and 29 June.

p Letter Bombs ei Wrong to back this anti-war group

I was worried to see that The Digger has backed the Archaeologists Againsl War group (Digger 27). Whilst 1 and perhaps the majority of archaeologists are against the war in Iraq, possibly all war, the reasons for these stances are highly varied. I do not feel it is helpful of The Digger to support this group when debate on BAJR has shown that many diggers are not supportive of its political take on events, something you do not mention.

You state that 'this is a war about oil.' I agree, but wouldn't i t have been better to invite opinion and suggest alternatives, like CND or other groups? Let's have a dialogue.

The Digyer has a voice in archaeology Decause it cuts through a lot of the crap and keeps people in touch with the issues fleeting dirt diggers. This important role would be diminished if it came to have too political a voice. I feel that you have failed to be objective on this issue.

There has been debate about this group 9n the CBA 'S Britarch mailing list and the BAJR nressageboard. So is The Digger pight to back Archaeologists Against War? Ifme your sny - write to us at the vsual address. Ed.)

Not really self-employed g One correspondent wrote on 'the perils of self employment' (Digger 26; goes on to describe a situation where i,, sounds as if their self-employed status has been decided by someone else (an archaeological unit). This is not in the employer's say-so (at least in England). There is information from the Inland Revenue, which helps anyone work out whether they are employed or self- employed within the meaning of the law.

Lf your correspondent reads this information and feels that they are really 'employed' (and it sounds as if they would prefer to be), they may want to contact their local tax ofice, who have pretty tough powers to act against transgressing employers.

Thousands of people struggled for their work to be recognised as 'employment' in the 19th and 20th century, in the teeth o. strong opposition from employers. To be selfemployed should be a choice, a balance of freedom against security. The law protects people from having that choice forced upon them.

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Skint!

Er existing entirely on donations. All donations welcome, make cheques payable to The - - . .

Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by emdl, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeologicd Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uk). Check it. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details and well put it right.

Future 'bleak' for Essex

Substantial job cuts are taking place at the Essex unit as it struggles to keep afloat. Out of the 42 staff, up to 22 face redundancy. Some have worked for the unit for more than 15 years. Work has been so short that diggers were painting the walls of the Braintree HQ to keep them busy. Managers are also under threat, but 'the hardest hit will be diggers and supervisors,' a source told us.

Earlier this year, The Digger revealed that the Oxford unit (OAU) had approached ' sex council to take the unit over. dwever now 'the merger with Oxford seems to be very much on the back burner -with the heat turned off?'

'There is a little more work about now, but not enough to make a real difference. I don't see how this is really going to save the unit, as no structure so top-heavy can survive for long,' said our source. 'Frankly it all looks very bleak.'

French archaeology in - ~

turmoil

Archaeology in France is in turmoil afier the government overturned a new funding system. A French reader explains ...

After barely a year's trial period, the new '-W on rescue archaeology in France is ..,ming under heavy fire From politicians. Up until early 2001, French law covered the protection of archaeological sites but didn't take into account the funding of rescue archaeology. The few rescue excavations were carried out by the state services with the help of volunteers and amateur societies.

There was a lack of any clear legal framework so developers were treated unequally. The level of funding for an excavation was related to the developers' capacity to pay rather than the real interest of the site. Following on from the scandal of Rodeze, where the right wing Prime Minister Alain Juppe intervened to stop an excavation deemed by the developer as being 'too expensive', French archaeologists managed to fight off proposals for a system of competitive tendering.

A change of government later, and a new law was proposed that brought in an annual budget proportional to the level of development (and thus to the level of site destruction). Money would be allocated depending on the interest of the site. I t was clearly stated that rescue archaeology is a research activity and a public service not subject to commercial competition.

A governmental agency - lNRAP (Institut de Recherches Archeologiques PrCventives) - was created to carry out excavation under the control of the regionally-based state archaeological services. Although other organisations could carry out excavation work with INRAP's consent, there was no external competition. Funding was based on the 'polluter pays' principle, with a licence fee (rkdevance) levied on certain categories of development. This was a break with the previous system in that it meant that rescue excavation was developer funded without being developer led. The cost of archaeological work was calculated using complex formulae based on site surface area, depth of overburden, depth and nature of stratigraphy etc.

The advantage of the new arrangements was that the funding and the conditions of any given intervention were legally defined, with developers treated more equally. Most INRAP personnel were permanent with some on fixed term contracts to meet specific needs. Pay and conditions were aligned with those of civil servants. Even junior site staff could consider leading a normal life! From the staff's point of view, there was real status with a career structure and the possibility to develop long term projects integrated with universities.

However, there were disadvantages too. The Byzantine complexity of the procedures created an administrative overload. The funding for evaluations was insufficient. The 'price' of a deeply stratified urban site was often far less than its real cost to dig, while large area rural sites were more expensive for developer: than under the old system.

The political landslide of April 2002 sav the arrival of a new right-wing coalition The majority of the laws passed by tht

xevious government (especially :oncerning the 35 hour week) were liquidated including the new law on rescue ~rchaeology.

In December a group of deputies and jenators tried to bring in an amendment to a t developer costs by 50%. This lobby is :omposed mainly of mayors and other Aected representatives, most of whom are llso developers. They seized on some of the more extreme cases of expensive :xcavations to start a campaign of 3isinformation. Their intention was to abolish INRAP, introduce competitive tendering and return to the good old days of volunteer diggers. The total lack of any opposition was painful. The government instructed the regionally-based archaeological services to reduce their project designs by 25%, catastrophic for evaluations and smaller sites.

With no money coming in, INRAP couldn't pay all its expenses and came under the administration of the ministry of finance. Its budget barely meets the wages of the 1200 permanent staff. No capital expenditure is possible and no temporary staff can be taken on (usually 300 or so). Meanwhile, the government still required MRAP to respect its obligations and schedules. As a French proverb says: if you want to get rid of your dog, convince everyone it has rabies.

Despite the small numbers spread out over a very large area, INRAP personnel managed to mobilise enough people to stage several protest actions in Paris, including sit-ins at public monuments and government buildings, attracting a good deal of public attention. There was also a campaign of 'harassment' of the minister of culture, infiltrating public and official events, virtually forcing him to answer questions and make public policy statements. A 1700 strong protest march at the end of January made national news.

The most important thing is to keep showing that we are active, organised and angry too! Long term, most staff formed impromptu regional working groups to take up political lobbying and contact with the media. In this way, we can counter some of the misinformation spread by the anti- archaeology lobby.

Contacts with our European colleagues have been helpful - for instance the recent All Party Parliamentary report on the state of British archaeology has provided us with reasoned arguments for our protest movement.

Contacts with developers has also been interesting. Contrary to popular belief, it's not necessarily the cost of an excavation that worries them, but delays. Many of them would prefer to pay a tax and have the archaeological constraints removed rapidly than go back to a system of last minute negotiations which could hold up their projects. A tax is attractive because everyone pays a little and no-one gets lumbered with expensive digs whilst his competitor gets away with nothing.

It has become clear that the anti- archaeology lobby is motivated by a handhl of extremely aggressive free- market militants who are able to bring to bear a good deal of political influence. The lukewarm support from ministers is worrying and shows that they do not have any desire to intervene. There is also a real sense of weariness since the personnel of French archaeology have been engaged in an ongoing conflict for the last five or six years. On a more optimistic note, one of the results of this latest conflict has been the growing awareness amongst French archaeologists of the need for a cooperation and an organisation on a European level. Why not create a lobby for the creation of European legislation for the profession so as to enforce minimum wages and a real career structure? If we don't act, we will forever be reacting, and one day that simply may not be enough.

OAU to dig Newport ship

There have been more twists in the saga of the Newport ship. The unique 15th century vessel was discovered last June during the construction of an arts centre and was only excavated after a vocal public campaign. 95% of the ship was excavated by Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust (GGAT).

However, Newport Council has announced that the rest of the ship - the bow - will be excavated not by GGAT but by Oxford (OAU) and Mary Rose Archaeological Services. Is it a coincidence that GGAT are currently in dispute with the council for an unpaid bill for work amounting to over L 100,000?

The Digger is a non-profit making new?

The council has also said that it is too dangerous to excavate the ship's stern even though experts insist that this is vital to understand the ship's construction. Outraged local campaigners are convinced the true explanation for the decision not to recover the stem is the compensation that would have to be paid to the builders of the arts centre by the council if construction work were delayed.

DGchas to be closed down

Duchas - the Irish equivalent of English Heritage - is being closed down. Some of its functions will pass to local authorities and others to the Department of Environment which will have the word 'Heritage' inserted into its title.

In a press release, the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) condemned this 'retrograde step.' They say the move 'raises serious doubts regarding the commitment of the Government to the protection of the archaeological heritage . . . Perhaps this is indicative of an underlying trend by Government to pandering to the Construction/Development lobby with regard to archaeology in particular and to the built heritage in general.' Certainly this seems borne out by the actions of the lrish government earlier this year when they forced a motorway building scheme through the 13th century Carrickmines Castle site in South Dublin despite local protests and allegations of corruption.

The lrish archaeologists add that placing responsibility for Duchas into the Department of the Environment is 'inappropriate' given 'the development agenda of that department.' They say: 'The expansion of the heritage roles of Local Authorities is also of concern, particularly with regard to Archaeological Heritage. There are many instances where Local Authorities have not implemented the recommendations of Duchas, whereby the Archaeological Heritage has been endangered.' The IAI say 'what is really required is a more independent heritage protection agency outside the influence of government' and call for the government to rescind the decision to abolish Duchas.

The Minister of the Environment, Martin Cullen, said that the proposed new arrangements would 'optimise organisational resources.'

6"' Letter Bombs 6

Shed no tears for GGAT I t is with surprise that I greet the tone

of the article about GGAT (Digger 28). Why anybody should be pleased that this outfit have been saved from bankruptcy is beyond me. Perhaps the fact that Newport Council are reluctant to pay would indicate that they, at least, were not quite so happy at the job provided by GGAT as these 'experts' would have us believe.

Militant archaeologists - apply here m Mick Aston and I dedicated our book 'Archaeology is Rubbish' to 'the army of highly qualified, underpaid diggers whose commitment to high standards helps make British archaeology standards among the best in the world.'

I'm CO-convenor of the Labour Party's 'Quality of Life' Policy Commission which deals with issues covered by DEFRA and DCMS. We've managed to include tl following into the consultation document? 'Nearly 40% of our archaeology sites are under threat from ever-deeper ploughing and climate change but also from the activities of man. How can we raise awareness of our historic environment? Is new legislation to protect it needed? How can we help communities realise the potential benefits that can be derived from their local historical environment?'

Any archaeologists who are Labour Party members and want to make recommendations to us should go to their local constituency meetings or Local Policy Forum and submit something to us. I t would be great if we were overwhelmed by militant archaeologists.

- Tony Robinson.

Don't miss the next edition of The Digger with the FA'S reply to The

Petition for Change.

Finances

Start balance (this issue) Total contributions +E 745 Total costs (projected) -E75 End balance +E637 L1

Thanks for everyone's very generous contributions!

tter emsting entirely on donations. AU donations welcome, makecheques payable to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by email, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uk). Check it. If you want to receive T h e Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your d e t d s and well put it right.

IFA reply to The Petition for Change

Last year, The Digger and BAJR launched the Petition for Change. flundredr of archaeologists signed the petition which called for a decent career structure and an end to poverty pay. Here is the IFA's reply to the Petition and the open letter in Digger 28.

The IFA is grateful for the support that the letter and petition indicate for its long- running campaign to increase wages in archaeology. Until the profession can --ccessfully address this issue,

,chaeologists will continue to be rewarded below the level we merit, driving talented people out of the profession before they can establish a career. This situation prevents us from serving either our commercial clients or the public as well as we should.

It is apparent from the letter that there may not be universal support for the IFA's tactics, but we can all agree on two things: that pay in archaeology is scandalously low, and that the IFA recommended minima are much lower than we would all like them to be. Unfortunately we are up against some harsh realities in terms of market forces, with an oversupply of archaeologists and an undersupply of work. Even in such a situation a professional ' .stitute can still have a significant effect,

k u t its impact is severely compromised when two-thirds of the profession do not sign up to its code of professional ethics, preferring to leave regulation in the hands of the marketplace rather than the profession. With - at a guess - a similar proportion of archaeologists reksing to join their trades union, perhaps we have what we deserve.

In such circumstances it's worth exploring two scenarios suggested by the petition. The first is the IFA dramatically raising its recommended minima and strong-arming its Registered Archaeological Organisations (RAOs) into significant wage increases. The RAOs would then have to decide whether to increase costs, with the consequence that they lose contracts to unregistered organisations and make their staff redundant, presumably to work for the unregulated competition at

below the recommended minima. The second is the union members agreeing to refuse to work for the less than the minima: this, as now, would surely result in jobs being taken by non-union members prepared to accept lower wages. Simplistic and extreme scenarios perhaps, but enough to suggest that a more subtle approach is required.

The first limb of the IFA strategy is to identifjl the roles that archaeologists fulfill, the skills required to cany out those roles, the training needed to provide those skills, the qualifications that indicate that those skills have been obtained, and the IFA membership grade that recognises the skills - and so to argue about the pay and conditions that reward the expertise denoted by the IFA grade and qualifications. This is the route successfully taken by other professional bodies such as those representing, engineers, scientists, accountants and the like. The National Occupational Standards for Archaeological Practice now give us the fust two elements, allowing us to proceed to developing the structures for training, qualifications, recognition and reward - importantly expressed in the terms that human resources professionals understand and using arguments they accept.

The second line of attack is to encourage recognition of the importance of 'qualified, specially authorised' archaeologists (to quote the Valletta Convention) by government, clients, consultants and curators with their responsibilities for ensuring that work of an appropriate quality is done. This is how other professions, with a recognised career structure, put in place thresholds of competence and quality that ensure that the underskilled and undercosting organisations find it hard to win work. And this is what we are pressing the national heritage agencies, ODPM, APPAG and others to help us with.

This is a long-term plan. This reflects the IFA's belief that radical changes to pay rates will not be achieved if all other aspects of archaeology stay as they are - though modest improvements will continue to be won. The IFA is delighted to be working closely with the Archaeology

Training Forum and Prospect to bring about a proper career and reward structure for archaeologists. An alliance of professional institute and trade union is how these things are done. Many signatories to the petition will be IFA or Prospect members. We hope that the signatures of those that are neither is an indication that they are about to join both organisations to help with this campaign, rather than standing aside waiting for others to produce miracles.

Archaeology in Holland

There are times when we've all stared out of the tea cabin window and wondered about digging abroad. But what's it really like? Recently we've focussed on Ireland and France. Today it's Holland A reader in the Netherlands takes up the story ...

Developers in Holland are responsible for h d i n g any digs that need to be done as a result of their work, although in very special cases (eg Roman villas etc) the

6onts up the cash. In my opinion the mostly commercial nature of archaeology is leading to a fall in standards in this country. Developers are pushing for faster and cheaper digs and opting for watching briefs rather than excavations. This is held in check by the relevant authorities - 'het Ryksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek' (ROB) - and the Kwaliteitsnorm Nederlandse Archeologie (KNA) has been recently set up to monitor standards. But it isn't enough for my liking.

Pay and conditions are much better than in the UK. Although archaeologists' pay is still crap compared to other professions, I do get holiday and sick pay and all my travel expenses. It varies from company to company but if I have to travel more that 1 % hours to site I'm entitled to a hotel and about & 15 a day expenses. And of course the cost of living is much lower over here - particularly beer and tobacco!

Digging strategies in Holland are a bit different 6om the UK - I can't remember the last time I used a trowel! And if you want to get anywhere you need to try to learn the language. Everyone speaks English, but companies are reluctant to hire non-Dutch speakers. I would say if you're

keen enough go for it! Digging abroad has given me. the chance to be employed in archaeology for the last 6 years solid, and now I've got a permanent contract. I can't see me having managed that in the UK.

Whaf S your experience of digging oufside [he UK? Wrife to us af [he usual address.

Giffords to dig 'billion dollar' site

Giffords has been named as the archaeological consultant for the salvage of the HMS Sussex. The warship sunk with its cargo of coins in the Mediterranean in the 17th century.

The project has attracted controversy because artefacts will be sold off and the proceeds split between the British government and the US salvage company. Odyssey Marine Exploration say that 'value estimates for the cargo range from several hundred million to a billion dollars or more.'

An Early Day Motion signed by over 60 MPS condemned the 'treasure hunting' and the CB.4, Rescue and the IFA have questioned whether an archaeological excavation is even feasible at the extreme depth of the Sussex.

G Letter Bombs @ Don't forget the public!

Your article on the APPAG report (Digger 27) was very informative. I was pleased to see the comments on community involvement in archaeology. Professionals would be unwise to dismiss public enthusiasm for heritage.

The report states that: 'The Government's priorities are expressed in terms of broadening access to and developing the educational potential of the cultural sector. These aims, while worthy in themselves, force Government-funded bodies with responsibilities for archaeology to divert attention away fiom what should be their core aims, to identify, protect and sustain the historic environment, towards these other goals. . . . Without the preservation of this fundamental resource, there will be nothing left to provide access to or to educate people about.' (p 6).

I think that we would all agree with that. But without the support of the public for archaeology as a community service which helps to give a sense of place and personal

and community identity, there is no pressure for local and national government to give a damn when it comes to axing public services. It should not be an 'eitherlor' question. What is the point 01 digging all this stuff up if it is not shared with the community whose heritage it is? We must not allow lack of hnds to force us to make a choice between the resource and the involvement of the community.

Professional archaeologists (and I am one) and administrators should look to the future of community participation in archaeology; this will lead to the survival of their jobs in the long term. Public involvement should be of [he heart of the job not the periphery. I t will never be so whilst competitive tendering exists and this is why all archaeologists should be concerned with the restructuring of the profession.

The ~&er ' . Any con&buhons of material photos and discussion areas courtesy of

- Chris Tripp

BAJR's view of APPAG Over the past 3 years of running BAJR,

I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly reality of archaeology in the UK. Poor pay, poor working practice and our fragmented, disorganised and toothless 'profession'. Whether as a digger in the field or a specialist in a museum we have all seen heritage becoming more popular while funding is cut and jobs lost! The APPAG report is just what is needed; I agree with 95% of it. However, there are points that I am concerned over:

receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Dfgger but do, send us your detruls and well sort it out.

I

Amateurs working on watching briefs and evaluations. Not so much a problem of them working with us ... rather them working instead of us. The whole point of our work is to involve and inform the public, not to shut them out from our secret world. Free watching briefs may sound enticing to developers, but where is the experience of an archaeologist who does this for a living, not to mention problems of public liability. Money should be made available for professionals to work with local groups, this not only creates a bridge between us, but allows the concept of research excavations/surveys to actually exist.

l

,

1

,

,

,

Franchkes? Get real! It is unclear whether a single company will receive a 5 year franchise for a region or not. If so, many of us will be out on our ear. There are small consultancies that work well in an area, so there is no reason to squeeze them

L out. Pav rates varv meatlv now. and there lel ati - - positively exkoura&d. The Digger is avdable by post, by email, or on the web with

the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uh). Check it. If you want to

is a (rather fuzzy) realisation that pay and conditions must go up - however has anyone noticed that small companies with less overheads often pay more? I would' like to see a system combining the Irish version of the Licensed Archaeologist and a multi-franchise system. With these in place, the policing of archaeology becomes much simpler. If an archaeologist or unit fails to meets recognised standards in the course of the 5 year period, then they are banned from that area for 5 years until they can prove the standards have improved - harsh but damned fair!

Chartered status. This is the only way to go, though the suggestion that the IFA, CBA etc merge is bizarre. A fresh new organisation is needed ... started from scratch. I see no problem in using the IFA as a template as it is the largest organisation in UK archaeology (though with only c. 25% of the heritage workers involved, it is not exactly fully representative).

l fully agree with the polluter pays policy of a tax levy on developers depending on the size of the company. Balfour Beatty can afford to place &large amounts& into a general kitty, while Tiny Builders Ltd need only pay Esmall amounts&. This is as fair for the developer as it means if Tiny Builder Ltd finds a Saxon Graveyard in the area of a house extension they ars not forced to close down the project because they cannot afford to pay for the archaeology.

People should read the report (or the synopsis), understand the consequences and react. Burying your head and hoping it all passes by is to ignore the change that is zoming. I want to be seen as the professional that I am - this report ' .S

begun that .... But not all that glistenb--ln this report is gold, some of it is pure s**t - But at least it is a start.

- David Connolly.

Finances

Total contributions Total costs (projected) -£l 16 End balance

I'hanks to everyone who has contributed!

The Dimer is a non-profit making news tter existing entirely on donations. All don! ons welcome, make c h e ~ u e s payable to

IFA reply to The Petition for Change

Last year, The Digger and BAJR launched the Petition for Change. Hundreds oj archaeologists signed the petition which called for a decent career structure and an end to poverty pay. Here is the [FA S reply to the Petition and the open letter in Digger 28.

The IFA is grateful for the support that the letter and petition indicate for its long- running campaign to increase wages in archaeology. Until the profession can -vccessfully address this issue,

,chaeologists will continue to be rewarded below the level we merit, driving talented people out of the profession before they can establish a career. This situation prevents us from serving either our commercial clients or the public as well as we should.

It is apparent from the letter that there may not be universal support for the IFA's tactics, but we can all agree on two things: that pay in archaeology is scandalously low, and that the IFA recommended minima are much lower than we would all like them to be. Unfortunately we are up against some harsh realities in terms of market forces, with an oversupply of archaeologists and an undersupply of work. Even in such a situation a professional '~stitute can still have a significant effect,

' ~ u t its impact is severely compromised when two-thirds of the profession do not sign up to its code of professional ethics, preferring to leave regulation in the hands of the marketplace rather than the profession. With - at a guess - a similar proportion of archaeologists refusing to join their trades union, perhaps we have what we deserve.

In such circumstances it's worth exploring two scenarios suggested by the petition. The first is the IFA dramatically raising its recommended minima and strong-arming its Registered Archaeological Organisations (RAOs) into significant wage increases. The RAOs would then have to decide whether to increase costs, with the consequence that they lose contracts to unregistered organisations and make their staff redundant, presumably to work for the unregulated competition at

below the recommended minima. The second is the union members agreeing to refuse to work for the less than the minima: this, as now, would surely result in jobs being taken by non-union members prepared to accept lower wages. Simplistic and extreme scenarios perhaps, but enough to suggest that a more subtle approach is required.

The first limb of the IFA strategy is to identify the roles that archaeologists fdfill, the skills required to cany out those roles, the training needed to provide those skills, the qualifications that indicate that those skills have been obtained, and the IFA membership grade that recognises the skills - and so to argue about the pay and conditions that reward the expertise denoted by the IFA grade and qualifications. This is the route successfully taken by other professional bodies such as those representing, engineers, scientists, accountants and the like. The National Occupational Standards for Archaeological Practice now give us the first two elements, allowing us to proceed to developing the structures for training, qualifications, recognition and reward - importantly expressed in the terms that human resources professionals understand and using arguments they accept.

The second line of attack is to encourage recognition of the importance of 'qualified, specially authorised' archaeologists (to quote the Valletta Convention) by government, clients, consultants and curators with their responsibilities for ensuring that work of an appropriate quality is done. This is how other professions, with a recognised career structure, put in place thresholds of competence and quality that ensure that the underskilled and undercosting organisations fmd it hard to win work. And this is what we are pressing the national heritage agencies, ODPM, APPAG and others to help us with.

This is a long-term plan. This reflects the IFA's belief that radical changes to pay rates will not be achieved if all other aspects of archaeology stay as they are - though modest improvements will continue to be won. The IFA is delighted to be working closely with the Archaeology

Training Forum and Prospect to bring about a proper career and reward structure for archaeologists. An alliance of professional institute and trade union is how these things are done. Many signatories to the petition will be IFA or Prospect members. We hope that the signatures of those that are neither is an indication that they are about to join both organisations to help with this campaign, rather than standing aside waiting for others to produce miracles.

Archaeology in Holland

There are times when we've all stared out of the tea cabin window and wondered about digging abroad. But what S it really Iike? Recently we've focussed on Ireland and France. Today it S Holland. A reader in the Netherlanh takes up the story ...

Developers in Holland are responsible for funding any digs that need to be done as a result of their work, although in very special cases (eg Roman villas etc) the governm&t ftonts up the cash. In my

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opinion the mostly commercial nature of archaeology is leading to a fall in standards in this country. Developers are pushing for faster and cheaper digs and opting for watching briefs rather than excavations. This is held in check by the relevant authorities - 'het Ryksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek' (ROB) - and the Kwaliteitsnorm Nederlandse Archeologie (KNA) has been recently set up to monitor standards. But it isn't enough for my liking.

Pay and conditions are much better than in the UK. Although archaeologists' pay is still crap compared to other professions, I do get holiday and sick pay and all my travel expenses. It varies fi-om company to company but if I have to travel more that 1 % hours to site I'm entitled to a hotel and about E15 a day expenses. And of course the cost of living is much lower over here - particularly beer and tobacco!

Digging strategies in Holland are a bit different fiom the UK - 1 can't remember the last time I used a trowel! And if you want to get anywhere you need to try to learn the language. Everyone speaks English, but companies are reluctant to hire non-Dutch speakers. I would say if you're

keen enough go for it! Digging abroad has given me. the chance to be employed in archaeology for the last 6 years solid, and now I've got a permanent contract. I can't see me having managed that in the UK.

What S your experience of digging oulside the UK? Wrile to us a1 he zrszral address.

Giffords to dig 'billion dollar' site

Giffords has been named as the archaeological consultant for the salvage of the HMS Sussex. The warship sunk with its cargo of coins in the Mediterranean in the 17th century.

The project has attracted controversy because artefacts will be sold off and the proceeds split between the British government and the U S salvage company. Odyssey Marine Exploration say that 'value estimates for the cargo range from several hundred million to a billion dollars or more.'

An Early Day Motion signed by over 60 MPS condemned the 'treasure hunting' and the CB.4, Rescue and the IFA have questioned whether an archaeological excavation is even feasible at the extreme depth of the Sussex.

Letter Bombs

Don't forget the public! [XI Your article on the APPAG report (Digger 27) was very informative. I was pleased to see the comments on community involvement in archaeology. Professionals would be unwise to dismiss public enthusiasm for heritage.

The report states that: 'The Government's priorities are expressed in terms of broadening access to and developing the educational potential of the cultural sector. These aims, while worthy in themselves, force Government-hnded bodies with responsibilities for archaeology to divert attention away £tom what should be their core aims, to identify, protect and sustain the historic environment, towards these other goals. ... Without the preservation of this fundamental resource, there will be nothing left to provide access to or to educate people about.' (p 6).

I think that we would all agree with that. But without the support of the public for archaeology as a community service which

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helps to give a sense of place and personal The Digger is a non-profit makiug news

and community identity, there is no pressure for local and national government to give a damn when it comes to axing public services. It should not be an 'eitherlor' question. What is the point of digging all this stuff up if it is not shared with the community whose heritage it is? We must not allow lack of finds to force us to make a choice between the resource and the involvement of the community.

Professional archaeologists (and l am one) and administrators should look to the future of community participation in archaeology; this will lead to the survival of their jobs in the long term. Public involvement should be a1 the heart of the job not the periphery. It will never be so whilst competitive tendering exists and this is why all archaeologists should be concerned with the restructuring of the profession.

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- Chris Tripp

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BAJR's view of APPAG Over the past 3 years of running BAJR,

I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly reality of archaeology in the UK. Poor pay, poor working practice and our fragmented, disorganised and toothless 'profession'. Whether as a digger in the field or a specialist in a museum we have all seen heritage becoming more popular while hnding is cut a ~ d jobs lost! The APPAG report is just what is needed; I agree with 95% of it. However, there are points that I am concerned over:

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Amateurs working on watching briefs and evaluations. Not so much a problem of them working with us .. . rather them working instead of us. The whole point of our work is to involve and inform the public, not to shut them out from our secret world. Free watching briefs may sound enticing to developers, but where is the experience of an archaeologist who does this for a living, not to mention problems of public liability. Money should be made available for professionals to work with local groups, this not only creates a bridge between us, but allows the concept of research excavations/surveys to actually exist.

Franchises? Get real! It is unclear whether a single company will receive a 5 year franchise for a region or not. If so, many of us will be out on our ear. There are small consultancies that work well in an area, so there is no reason to squeeze them out. Pay rates vary greatly now, and there tter existing entirely on donations. W dona

is a (rather fuzzy) realisation that pay and conditions must go up - however has anyone noticed that small companies with less overheads often pay more? I would' like to see a system combining the Irish version of the Licensed Archaeologist and a multi-franchise system. With these in place, the policing of archaeology becomes much simpler. If an archaeologist or unit fails to meets recognised standards in the course of the 5 year period, then they are banned from that area for 5 years until they can prove the standards have improved - harsh but damned fair!

Chartered status. This is the only way to go, though the suggestion that the IFA, CBA etc merge is bizarre. A fresh new organisation is needed ... started from scratch. I see no problem in using the IFA as a template as it is the largest organisation in UK archaeology (though with only c. 25% of the heritage workers involved, i t is not exactly fully representative).

L,'

I fully agree with the polluter pays policy of a tax levy on developers depending on the size of the company. Balfour Beatty can afford to place £large amounts£ into a general kitty, while Tiny Builders Ltd need only pay .£small amounts£. This is as fair for the developer as it means if Tiny Builder Ltd finds a Saxon Graveyard in the area of a house extension they are not forced to close down the project because they cannot afford to pay for the archaeology.

People should read the report (or the synopsis), understand the consequences and react. Burying your head and hoping it all passes by is to ignore the change that is coming. I want to be seen as the professional that I am - this report ' is begun that. ... But not all that glistens--m this report is gold, some of it is pure s**t - But at least it is a start.

- David Connolly.

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Excavation or plunder?

In the last edition of The Digger, we reported that Giyord and Partners were acting as archaeological consultants for the controversial salvage of the 17th century warship HMS Sussex. The $nu3 - said to be worth 'a billion dollars or more' - will be sold off and the proceeds split between the US salvage compaty Odyssey and the British government. Grffords are registered with the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA). BAJR contacted the Director of the IFA Peter Hinton, for comment. Ifis informal response is

- ,produced here with permission.

The IFA has been a signatory of most of the letters to the MOD about the project. We've taken the view that it is clear that the site will not survive (too well known, too much loot) and rather than have it trashed with grab buckets it is better to go with the Odyssey plan and get some archaeological data. We've argued therefore that the site needs proper arch~eo!ogical supervision and that the excavation should be to IFA standard. With an RA0 [IFA Registered Archaeological Organisation] we expect to get that. None of the above detracts from the view that the concept of digging sites to flog the finds is appalling and possibly in contravention of the Malta code.

We will keep the pressure on the wernment throughout so that they get the

-message not to be so dumb as to enter into an agreement like this again. They know they screwed up but of course cannot admit it, and we intend not to let them forget how painful an experience it can be. But that doesn't include turning our fire on professional archaeologists trying to make the best out of a bad job. Much the same line as not opposing archaeological recording in advance of ill-conceived dam projects, and so unlikely to be universally popular - but the debate I think is about tactics rather than principles, which seem to be pretty universally shared on this one.

I don't have a copy of the Giffords project design, and I'd be amazed if one is available for public scrutiny - not if it gives the detailed whereabouts of E3bn of gold, anyway!

- Peter Hinton.

"Never play jokes on the guy with the machine gun"

"NEVER play jokes on the guy with the machine gun. He might not share your sense of humour." That's the advice from 'Archaeologists for Human Rights' (AFHR) who want you to work for them in Iraq.

A group of young German archaeologists formed AFHR in the aftermath of the recent war. The Digger spoke exclusively to one of the founders, Sinje Stoyke, who has been in Iraq since September. AFHR advertised recently in the UK for diggers for a 'long-term project of excavating and documenting mass graves in Iraq.' Several hundred graves are already known fiom the hundreds of thousands of victims of Saddam Hussein7s regime. If you want the job, you'll be paid $2500-3000 (£1700- 2000) a month and stay for six months to a year in the war zone where - according tc the Foreign Office - 'the threat to British nationals from terrorism remains high.'

Sinje's team is based in Irbil, the biggest city in the Kurdish region in the north 01 the country. The Kurdish Regiona Government is financing the project anc providing protection. A car bomb in Irbi in September killed one and injured 4; people. Elsewhere, recent bombings of thc Red Cross and UN headquarters haw prompted NGOs and aid agencies tc evacuate most of their foreign staff.

AFHR have already identified fourteen kej burial sites. They will be collecting evidence for future trials and will return tht remains to families for humane burial Forensic experts will be closely involved the AFHR website lists no previou! forensic archaeology experience for thr current team's members.

We asked Sinje about the existin> situation. "We are basically occupied witl making contacts with the communities local authorities and NGOs," Sinje told us "We plan to start excavating the burial site as soon as possible - within the next twc months. We will be celebrating Christrna. and New Year in Irbil!"

How have focal people reacted? "Wc haven't experienced a t y resentment fion the population. We have had a lot o

support from the Ministry of Human Rights in Irbil. The University of Salaheddin is providing staff and measuring instruments - even though their resources are limited they eagerly want to be involved. The mass grave issue is a very delicate subject and being here you feel the urgent need of the people to start with the work. They are not willing to wait any longer and they will begin to excavate by themselves, with or without international help."

What experience do you have of this sort of work? "AFHR archaeologists have worked extensively in Syria and Iraq. They are well trained and experienced excavators. They are very used to the climate, soils and working conditions here. The method and documentation of excavation is applicable to any kind of site."

There have been reports of archaeological sites being looted since the war. Have you seen any evidence of this? "We only passed Niniveh, but didn't walk around the site. Too dangerous."

What other experiences have you had in the country? "On our fust attempt to get to Baghdad we had to return to Irbil because of robbers on the road attacking bypassers. We were travelling in two cars with officials from the Ministry of Human Rights and a bodyguard with a machine gun in each car, but we preferred to come back in a few days rather than in a few pieces. Being in Baghdad was fiightening. Even though it was quiet we didn't go out after sunset at all. During the night there was frequent shooting in the city. That doesn't give you the idea of having a nice time in some restaurant or walking around the place."

So is there any other advice for diggers working in Iraq? "Don't use clearly marked cars. Don't hang out around US military bases, UN Headquarters, international NGOs. Stay away ffom Falluja and Baghdad. Don't go sightseeing in Tikrit."

Winchester unit to close

Another archaeological unit is being forced to close because of council cuts. . Winchester City Council plans to axe its field team in March 2004 with the loss of three jobs. The two fieldwork personnel

and the team's Documentation Officer, who deals with the curation of archaeological archives, have over 40 years experience between them. The cuts will save £90,000.

Winchester is only the latest local council unit with problems. Essex Council's archaeology service is also in trouble and there are rumours that the Gloucester unit is under renewed threat. Gloucester was saved only last year when local people and celebrities mounted a campaign of petitions and demonstrations. Councils are under no statutory obligation to provide in-house field units which are often first in the firing line when savings are imposed.

There has been an archaeological field unit supported by the council at Winchester since the 1940s. The popular annual Community Archaeology project will also be closed down. The Director of Community Services at the council, Steve Tilbury, told The Digger: "The fieldwork service carries a significant overhead and it is the one area of the service in which we can make a cost-saving." But archaeologist Dr David Johnston, a former tutor at Southampton University, criticised contract archaeologists undercutting the council service. "Local background knowledge will be lost," he said. "The cheapest alternative is not necessarily the best."

Letter Bombs p Don't be put off working in Ireland [E3 I was dismayed to read the recent article about an archaeologist's experience working in Ireland (Digger 28). The treatment that person received was outrageous, unprofessional and insulting. I'm equally disappointed to say I'm not surprised, having worked in commercial rescue archaeology in Ireland since 1996. I've heard several similar horror stories from Kends working for particuIar companies. I know the person who wrote the article; I know the story is true.

Yet I have to say that the statement "don't go to Ireland" is a bit harsh and mildly offensive. Yes such incidents happen, yes they raise the question of professionalism and ethicaI conduct in Irish archaeology but please don't tar the entire profession in Ireland with the same brush. Professionally, ethicaIly, in terms of organisation and pay there are companies over here who try to maintain and push up

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standards There are all levels try their standards.

in all aspects of archaeology. also individual archaeologists in of the 'cowboy' companies who best to work to the highest

, often under difficult conditions, and I'm not talking about the weather. I have worked with archaeologists from the UK who have grim stories on the conduct of some units in Britain.

Improper conduct happens in all professions, it's up to those of us who care to try to right any wrongs. Please don't be put off coming to Ireland. Perhaps I can persuade a couple of my English fi-iends here to write positive accounts for you. They came over a couple of years ago and show no signs of leaving. Indeed, it's tough enough to get them out of the pub.

Liverpool's past is being destroyed In 2008 Liverpool will be European

City of Culture - a great chance for the city to celebrate its heritage. Massive injections of money and new development should put the city firmly on the map. Liverpool was an important medieval centre - chartered in 1207. In the industrial revolution, Liverpool was one of the most important cities in Europe - the docklands were the biggest and busiest around. But the reality is that Liverpool's heritage is being destroyed. There is a tremendous backlog in planning applications. No archaeological investigation takes piace in or around the city. There is no county tendering list, no proper established commercial unit, and a workforce that cannot fmd work.

This is not the fault of the county archaeologist, rather the system that she has to work within. I think pressure should be put on the council to provide funds to deal with applications. I am just one of many professional archaeologists who are desperate to work in the place where I live. But as it stands I am not able to. So it is time to do something else, and I am not aIone in having to do this. I feel that The Digger is starting to carry some weight and maybe some pressure could be put on.

Told to sign on to boost low wage [RI I recently finished a degree in ancient history and &chaeology. M& of my field experience consisted of unskilled, slave, manuaI labour, so I decided to gain some practical experience before doing my masters. Unfortunately no one wants to pay you to train and on principle I will not work for nothing and I cannot afford to anyway - ,tter existing entirely on donations. AU dona

However, I was recently offered some paid training on a university run excavation at £150 a week. This is below minimum wage. When I questioned this I was informed that it is cash in hand so 1 can still sign on. I was also told that I would be provided with 6ee food and a field to pitch my tent. I have worked on the side in the past but do not wish to do it any more. But if I sign off to take the job I will not be that much better off. Also, I will have no record of work for the month of the excavation so there will be problems when I try to sign on again. I would like to report the bastards but feel it may make it harder for me to get work in archaeology in the future.

No luck with jobs in Europe This is not a story of great success and

riches gained in the wonderful world of archaeology outside Britain. I've been employed by units in the Midlands almost continuously since graduating in 1996. But I fancied a change earlier this year so I quit my job and moved to Vienna to fir, archaeological work somewhere in Europe. Couldn't be that hard could it?

However, three months later I am still unemployed. To date I have applied to around 100 contracting archaeological companies within mainland Europe with about a 15% reply rate (probably the same as in Britain if you scattered your CV to [Re wind). i've had some very nice replies but the underlying problem seems to be the depressed economy. This was quoted in over half the replies I received. The only success I've had is securing a contract for next summer in Austria. But this is even worse paid than in Britain!

So the moral of my story is that archaeology seems to be in a pretty bad state over the whole of Europe. If yc fancy a job abroad I would suggest you-' sort it before you go! I'm coming back to the delights of the British winter soon before the bank sends the bailiffs after me!

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Pay: 'industry-wide bargaining is the answer'

Phil Carpenter, Negotiations Oficer for Prospect, explains the union S latest initiative.

Prospect is the trade union which represents staff in the major archaeological organisations in Great Britain. It has members in the independent contracting bodies and archaeological trusts, all the national museums, English Heritage (EH), Cadw, Historic Scotland, and the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments.

( , of the APPAG recommendations is that Prospect, EH, the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) and other national institutions should work towards improving pay and conditions, training and career development for archaeologists as a matter of urgency.

Both the IFA and the Standing Conference of Archaeological Unit Managers (SCAUM) have objectives. which relate to improving pay in archaeology. SCAUM principles of archaeological employment practice include a commitment to 'invest in development and skills, remunerate in line with qualifications, cumulative experience and responsibility'. The IFA Code of Conduct, Principle 5 says: 'the archaeologist shall recognise the aspirations of employees, colleagues and

yers with regard to all matters relating to employment, including career development, health and safety, terms and conditions of employment and equaliu of opportunity '.

However, these statements have never been turned into reality. The IFA minimum pay guidelines are a welcome underpinning to pay, but they are based upon local authority pay levels and should also include other parts of the local authority remuneration package such as a final salary pension scheme, good annual and sick leave provision and travel and subsistence arrangements. If a true comparison is to be drawn then these factors need to be costed to produce an equivalent total salary package.

Prospect policy is to try to get all units and organisations to raise their pay levels and conditions at the same time. This would

remove the excuse that if only some units improve pay then others are given an advantage in a competitive tendering situation.

The solution we propose is 'Industry Wide Collective Bargaining'. There would need to be a formal agreement between two parties - an employers' organisation on one side and a trade union, or group of trade unions on the other. There are already other industries that use such a process; discussions cover such issues as: pay (including increments 1 progression and London weighting), sick pay, holidays, hours etc.

Before this process could become a reality there are a number of hurdles to overcome, not least who would form the employer group at the negotiations. At the moment no one organisation covers all employing units. The IFA Registered Archaeological Organisations (RAOs) cover most of the largest organisations and SCAUM covers most of the other employers and units too.

hospect has agreed to work with- the RAOs and SCAUM to see if a common approach can enable a suitable employers' organisation to be formed and appropriate mechanisms for the purposes of Industry Wide pay negotiations.

After the APPAG Report there is a unique opportunity that should be taken by all parties if they truly want to see pay and conditions improved. The alternative is that we accept low pay and poor conditions as the natural state of affairs in archaeology. We all know that things must change. If industry wide bargaining is not the answer - then what is the alternative? And if we don't take this opportunity for change - then will change ever be possible?

- Phil Carpenter, Prospect.

Council cuts put more archaeologists on the dole

As councils put the finishing touches to their budgets this month, it looks like cuts will mean more archaeologists out of work.

In the last issue of The Digger, we reported that archaeologists at the Gloucester and the Essex local government units were under threat. As we go to press, the future

~f the Gloucester unit still looks far from :ertain, while at Essex it has been ~nnounced that 20 jobs are to go.

jloucester council has just set its budget vhich includes E3 million worth of cuts in he coming year, despite extra finding of :214,000 secured fiom the govenunent ecently. The county council said that 'a ange of services will suffer ffom restricted nvestment.'

3loucester's plans to close its Folk vluseurn for 42 weeks a year and cut its ~rchaeology unit to the bone caused a ;tom of protest. Before the budget was set, m insider told The Digger: 'The council is ~lanning to sell off the unit building, stop :ontract fieldwork - resulting in the 5edundancy of fieldwork staff, and leaving WO planning archaeologists - and relocate -emaining staff to the City Museum. The ;ervice will be focused purely on planning 'although still expected to do watching ~riefs and training projects - without leldwork staff).' Two staff were lost last year. 'This is a!! being dressed up a 'improvements" to the Museum and 4rchaeology Service, the result of a ;trategic review of the service which ;tarted in March last year,' our source told 1s. 'Needless to say staff are at a loss to see low this all constitutes improvement.'

The Gloucester branch secretary of Unison, Phil Jones, told councillors that staff are jick of threats to their jobs. Ln a letter mblicising the union's 'Save our Heritage' zampaign, he said that this was 'the third year in a row the Council has put museums and archaeology in the frame for cuts,' adding, 'Once again it is down to us, the service's supporters, staff and unions to :ome to the defence of the service.'

More than 30 museum and archaeology workers with members of the public lobbied councillors and handed in an 800- signature petition calling for the plans to be dropped. One of the two former mayors who supported the petition, Derek Dobbins, said, 'We should not be closing our culture in this city, we should be exploiting it for our benefit.' The protest resulted in plans to close the Folk Museum being put temporarily on hold.

The title of Gloucester's corporate strategy is 'Proud of our past, building for the

fi~ture,' yet it fails to mention either the museums or archaeology service once. In a response to a letter of protest from BAJR, Mary Smith, leader of the city council said: 'We did give the archaeology section a year to make themselves self funding, but unfortunately they did not manage to achieve that, and did not win the tenders they expected to win. That does not mean that we will stop doing the statutory duty we have to do in connection with planning applications.'

In Essex, the 20 archaeologist redundancies are part of l00 job cuts made across County Hall. Lord Hanningfield, the leader of the County Council, announced the redundancies following the biggest- ever spending shake-up in the authority's history. The Tory peer insisted the redundancies were "unfortunate" but were part of a major new efficiency drive. He said that "We are able to bring in a much lower rise in Council Tax this year".

Concern is also being expressed at the length of time Lancashire County Council has taken in reappointing its County Archaeologist post. Is this another attempt at saving money?

@ Letter Bombs @ In Digger 31, we published an article about Archaeologists for Human Rights (AFMR) who were advertising for archaeologists to join them in lraq to excavate the mass graves of those killed by Saddam Hussein's regime. Here are some of your responses:

AFHR supporting illegal occupation The Iraqi based activities of AFHR

may - and probably should - be taken as indirect support for the illegal military occupation and economic colonisation of that country. The investigation of the killings and human right abuses of Saddam Hussein's awful regime is commendable, but it would be naive not to be concerned about the political implications during ongoing military conflict. Any activity that uses the opportunities opened up by the invasion of Iraq is likely to provide the political prospects for hrther human abuses by the occupying army, whose humanitarian record is not better than thal of the former Iraqi butcher.

DON'T GO! I've worked since 1996 as a forensic

archaeologist and anthropologist, both in

:he UK and overseas, for U K police forces, :he MOD, the Foreign Office, and the UN; ['ve worked in Bosnia and in Kosovo, and I think I have a fair experience of these jituations. My advice to anyone ~onsidering working in the set-up that is Lurrently proposed by AFHR is: DON'T 5 0 .

There are good ethical and professional reasons for concern about the proposed AFHR excavations, but in addition there u e very strong safety concerns. Insurance is currently fourteen thousand pounds per month for anyone from the UK working in [raq - and for good reason. If you are a sivilian, you are a target, especially if you u e working to retrieve and record evidence >f past crimes on this scale.

You need training on mines, on booby- traps, on behaviour in crisis situations. The advice not to drive marked vehicles chills a e - they should not be out without a full military escort. Driving in war-zones is a skill in itself, not just an off-road burn-up.

This is not cowardice on my part, but zxperience and knowledge. I've been in :nough dangerous situations for work to last me a lifetime, and a long lifetime is what I'd prefer to have. This is not exciting, nor a big adventure. Going to Iraq at the current time would be - in my personal and professional opinion - stupid, foolhardy and possibly one of the last decisions you might make.

If you want to move into forensic archaeology, look at the reputable organisations around internationally - Bahid, Inforce, CIFA. And never, ever, work in a war zone without full backing of an international organisation such as the UN, full training, and the back-up of experienced team-members to work along the inexperienced.

Laura Sinfield, Forensic Medicine Section, School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Misleading and flippant As you may be aware, there is a bit of

debate surrounding your article on AFHR. Much of the concern revolves around The Digger's misleading portrayal of the work and flippant attitude, especially concerning security. I feel that The Digger should feel a moral obligation to present the work in Iraq accurately.

I have worked as an archaeologist in the UK and as a forensic archaeologist in the

Balkans since 1999. Armed police and military security were always provided, with de-mining and security assessments conducted at every crime-scene and . exhumation site. Grenades, plastic explosives and live munitions have been routinely uncovered and crowds of people hostile towards the work are not uncommon. Iraq presents further concerns of potential chemical contamination of graves, the uncertain threat of depleted uranium, for instance.

There are many in forensics who want to disassociate themselves from AFHR out of concern of inexperience and lack of information about security. However, I had been contacted by AFHR and am considering assisting them with their work once unanswered questions have been resolved.

My objection to your article is that it does not at all project the seriousness and concerns related to the work to be done in Iraq. This is not the message th archaeologists seeking to get experience in forensics should be hearing, it is terribly misleading.

Derek Congram

Editor's reply: In our defence, our article did draw attention to Foreign OSfice advice that 'the threat to British nationals fieom terrorism in lraq remains high. ' We pointed out that the Red Cross and the UN have evacuated most of their foreign staff and that Irbil where AFHR are based has been the target of suicide bombs. We referred to armed guards provided for the archaeologists and characterised Iraq as a 'wanone. '

In our necessarily brief article, we wanted the archaeologists involved to speak for themselves. We lefi readers to draw th. own conclusions about whether AFHR's intentions are naive and foolhardy or not, and whether there is adequate provision both for the work and for safety.

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ions welcome. make cheaues ~ a v a b l e to tter existina entirely on donations. AU don The Digger is a non-profit making new: at A a -

The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively e ~ c o u r a g ~ d . The Digger is available by post, by emafl, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.co.uk). Check it. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send u s your d e a s and well sort it out.

How can they get away with this?

A Digger reader has sent us shocking allegations about an IFA-registered archaeological unit based in the south of England The reader names the unit in question, but we have decided not to publish the name pending an investigation by the IFA.

A few months ago, I worked for a while with [the unit]. I should like to warn any of your readers against working for them, and if possible warn potential clients about

*

~loying them.

I am not writing to get revenge for a slight of some sort. I am writing because the unit is the worst bunch of 'cowboy' diggers I have ever encountered, paying the barest lip-service to proper techniques and procedures, and they should not be allowed to get away with it.

The unit suffers fiom a negative attitude fiom top to bottom. One member of senior management has been quoted as saying, "You should never have to resort to using a trowel," and, "This is what I think of trowels: they should only be used for cleaning tools." The tools owned by the unit are few, and low quality - they did not own a single pickaxe when I was there.

One supervisor had no tools of his own, lacked a basic understanding of the

Harris matrix. Health and Safety on site were nearly non-existent, with diggers allowed to work close to JCB's, without hardhats. There was minimal first-aid equipment, no running water, and sites which had not been cleaned of modern sewage, asbestos and syringes.

The standard of archaeology was appalling: on one urban site, the top three feet of stratigraphy was machined away, leaving only the bases of contexts remaining. On this multi-phase site in a medieval town- centre, I estimate that two thirds of the contexts were destroyed before hand- digging began. The shoddy organisation on site, and the ridiculous time constraints for this large area meant that maybe only 10% of the potential archaeology was recognised, and of course only sample cuts were put into these. No attempts were made - or allowed - to excavate contexts

mefully. The idea was to remove werything fast, and find as little as mssible. The final plan was interpreted as treas, rather than as the superimposed )hases that they really were.

4 second site, considerably larger, was 5iven a small number of workers, and only ;ix weeks to excavate. After four weeks, we had done only a quarter of it. When iuman skeletons were discovered by the nachine, so much overburden was -emoved that only the bases of the ikeletons were left. The skeletons were hen dug up as fast as possible, and we ivere told that it was unlikely that they ivould be examined at all. Similarly, we ivere told that environmental samples were regularly dumped rather than being :xamined.

The permanent staff I met told me that such hings were normal in this unit. They also :old me that many units will not employ you if you have worked for this unit. 1 would therefore suggest that anyone reading this would think twice before applying to work with them, because to be bank, this company should not even be in business let alone flaunting its Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) approval.

The Digger editor ad&: We have no independent wwqy of verrfiing this story, but we are passing the details we have - including the name of the unit, but not our reader's identity - to the IFA. We are also calling on the IFA to fully investigate the degations, and to make the result of these investigations public.

It is important that the IFA investigate these allegations, and is seen to do so. Should the allegations become widely known - ie beyond the archaeological community - and it also emerges that the allegations were not investigated. then the result could be damage not just to the unit concerned and the IFA but to archaeolog). and archaeologists generally. This is particularb the case where the proper excavation of burials is concerned - as Imr year's experience at St Pancras showed

It is in everyone's interests that the allegations are thoroughly investigate6 and either proved (and appropriate actior taken), or disproved

Issue No 33 September 2004 PO Box 23570

London E 1 3 9YP

e-mail: thedigge@email.com NEW! web: www.bajr.org

Seller of archaeological records apologises

A person who sold archaeological records to metal detectorists on the intemet auction site eBay has apologised to the archaeological community. The seller fiom Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, lmown only by the eBay pseudonym nov1128, sold 1600 records fiom five counties for £350.

The card index of archaeological records for Cheshire, Durham, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Cumberland/Curnbria included OS grid references and were advertised as 'a guide to finding more ,

productive metal detecting sites.' The seller had obtained the records h m 'a '

retired archaeologist/archivist.'

But after outrage fiom archaeologists, the seller offered 'profound apologies.' In a statement posted on the intemet the seller said: 'It was never my intention to upset the archaeological and heritage fraternity who have recently voiced #,eir opinions by describing this disposal of these records as unethical, especially as they view this information could fall into the hands of the unscrupulous who may use it to locate and plunder sites. In hindsight, had I realised that this could cause a potential problem, I would not have put them on eBay. I therefore will not offer for sale by auction any more of these records.'

There is increasing concern about the sale of such records as well as antiquities on eBay. The British Museum and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, who manage the HLF grant that supports the Portable Antiquities Scheme, are currently in discussions with eBay with a view to producing a Memorandum of Understanding about such sales.

Pay going backwards The FA'S annual review of pay in,. archaeology suggests that wages are going backwards for almost all grades. The average annual pay for diggers fell h m £13,232 last year to £12,903 this year. Supervisors' pay fell fiom £14,806 pa to £14,765 pa in the same period. Pay for field officer and project manager grades also fell, but there were increases for SMR and specialist posts.

The author of the review said that the F A recommended minima were becoming increasingly influential, but warned that the IFA needed 90 increase them more aggressively if archaeology graduates are to have any chance of paying off their t o p up fees." The F A minima for the period covered by the review were £12,720 pa for excavators, E14,8 17 pa for supervisors and E 19,185 pa for managers.

The review was based on pay rates quoted for jobs advertised with the F A and on BAJR and was published in i'%e Archaeologkt earlier this year.

Red face corner

Let's face it, we all make mistakes. Fortunately most of us don't have the media breathing down our necks when we blunder. But some archaeologists aren't so lucky, and end up with red faces when their discoveries turn out to be less than earth shattering.

For example, there was the carved rock found on a beach at Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. The two-tome lump of granite was engraved with intertwined serpents, a dragon and runic symbols. Excited archaeologists at Norfolk county council declared that it could be up to 2000 years old. Only after the rock had been transported away for safe storage did unemployed construction worker Bany Luxton, 50, reveal that he had made the carvings for a modem druid celebration nearby. The rock had become buried in sands and shingle. County archaeologist Bryan Ayers admitted, "It seemed too good to be true even at the time."

Or there was the Viking settlement in Buckhaven, Fife, that turned out after months of excavation to be a 1940's patio. Douglas Speirs, chief archaeologist at Fife council, said it was "an easy mistake to make." The patio "had all the hallmarks of ancient building techniques" although he admitted that his team had ignored finds of a WW2 child's gas mask and an old television remote in their search for Viking evidence. "The chap next door - who has lived there since 1939 - was absolutely certain that there had never been a patio in that back garden," Mr Speirs said. The owner of the patio, Marion Gany, 50, said she hoped to turn it into a garden feature. "It looks quite messy now but I think it will look pretty with flowers and plane - -

gowing around it," she said. The Digger is a non-profit maglng new: sle

Do you have a nomination for Red Face Corner? Send us details at the usual address.

BAJR museum appeal

The British Archaeological Jobs Resource pm) has launched a E 1000 appeal to help a museum in Georgia get back on its Feet. The Nokalakevi Museum was looted in 199 1 during political disturbances that Followed Georgia's independence. Valuable xhibits were taken and windows and cabinets wrecked.

Despite the fact that most other artefacts were subsequently transferred to the National Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi for safety, the Nokalakevi Museum is still Dpen, although visitors are advised to bring their own torch since there is no electricity. The Museum holds pottery and exhibits from the 6th century BC to the modem period. It is located next to one of the most important archaeological sites in West Georgia where many of the artefacts were Found. The site was a fortified administrative centre and capital of the west Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Egrisi-Lazika - the land of the mythical Golden Fleece, of Medea and of the Jason and the Argonauts legend.

The money will be used to buy an electricity generator that will provide power for the museum and the local community, as well as to repair damaged display cases and increase security so important artefacts can return. BA.lR's David Comolly said, "With more money we can even replace the war damaged dig houses and fit them out with accommodation and work rooms for visiting specialists. Even a pound will make the difference - how often do you get to rescue a museum for a quid!"

Send donations to: David C o ~ o l l y , Museum Appeal, 512 Hamilton Terrace, Edinburgh, EH15 INB, or log on to the BAJR website.

Letter Bombs @ Don't worry about challenges to PPG16! m Some readers of The Digger have expressed concern about possible legal challenges to PPG16 because it is only planning guidance.

Well, so are all PPGs (Planning Policy Guidance) which cover the whole planning

system. However, it is not just PPG16 that gives archaeology its place in planning.. Archaeological Policies are found in County Structure Plans and Local Plans which have been adopted by locally elected members of County and District councils. These plans are the basis on which planning decisions are made and therefore cany weight in planning applications or appeals.

The concept that a developer can 'win the right not to deal with archaeology in a court' doesn't fit very well with the planning system as it is not normally a judicial matter. Developers can argue not to have evaluations prior to determination of planning applications and this does happen frequently. However, that decision is up to the elected members or a delegated planning officer not a court. Also a developer could appeal against an archaeological condition placed on s permission but as long as the reasons . the condition are sound, a planning inspector is likely to dismiss the appeal and uphold the condition.

Very rarely have developers argued that archaeology should not be a consideration in a planning proposal and won, and that is only when the elected members believe that the reasons for the development outweigh any archaeological issues. However, these are not really precedents as every planning case is unique. Although some Planning Inspectors have ignored archaeology or removed conditions it is far more common for inspectors to place conditions on appeals found in the developers favour.

Many LocaI Plan Policies have been tested in appeal situations and been upheld don't worry too much about PPG 16. It is & robust as any other PPG. Interestingly, PPG16 is currently under review. It is expected to remain basically the same with some of us hoping the words 'research' appear in the new version!

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Thanks to those who have contributed!

tter existine: entirelv on donations. AU donc ~tlons welcome, make cheques payable to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by email, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Reaource (W-bajr-org). Check it. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details and well sort it out.

Diggers get organised

Last month at MoLAS's London H Q archaeologists with various backgrounih and experience met to discuss the latea IFA initiative - ' f i e Diggers Forum.' Acting Committee member Paul Everill explains what this new group hopes to achieve.

Ten of us made the trip, and none of us knew whether the train fare would be worth it. Later though, as we headed to the pub to wrap up the day, we all felt that the Forum was not only worth the fare, but was an

siting prospect for the future of contract mchaeology too.

Our aim is to establish an IFA special interest group for the most under- represented sector of contract archaeology - the site staff! As with other special interest groups (such as those for Finds, Buildings, Maritime Archaeology etc) IFA membership will not be a prerequisite for those wanting to get involved. Instead, non-"IFA members will be asked to pay a minimal annual rate to cover postage and administration, about the cost of a couple of pints of beer a year. Members should be able to discuss issues at national and local meetings, and there will be a newsletter and a wcbsite detailing developments in the profession and the work being done by the Committee to push for change.

a y people will ask what can really be achieved in my name? Well, how about this - the Diggers Forum is primarily conceived as a way of unifLing contract archaeologists to campaign through the 1FA for change within the profession. Archaeologists involved in excavation and post-excavation assessment are currently under-represented (as opposed to managers, consultants, county officers etc). The Forum will aim to redress this balance and keep the issues that @ect us at the top of the IFA agenda.

We all h o w there are serious problems that desperately need resolving: poor pay and conditions, lack of traininglcareer progression, poor health and safety standards, under-fimded projects. The Forum will serve as a platform providing information and news about subjects affecting archaeologists and how the IFA

responds to them. Through the Forum we can discuss and formulate responses to IFA initiatives and put forward our own. We aim to strengthen our voice by increasing our representation on IFA Council and various committees. From this position we can potentially influence issues fiom the subscription rates for PIFAs, recommended minimum wages, effective and transparent disciplining of units with poor employment practice. You name it!

The work of setting the Forum up is still ongoing, but soon we can begin to really change things. There will never be a better opportunity and now there really are NO excuses for not getting involved.

If you want more information on the next meeting or membership please contact: Jez Taylor jezt0molas.or~~u.k (0207 410 2242) or C M Clarke tallteddvc@~otmaiI.com (0775 1 6 12574).

The Digger wholeheartedly supports this initiative and we urge readers to get imolveb. - . -

War wrecks world heritage

Iraq's present and future are being destroyed by the USNK occupation that has already killed 100,000 civilians. But what about the country's past? Iraq is the 'cradle of civilization' encompassing much of ancient Mesopotamia and some academics say that the whole county should be a World Heritage Site.

Francis Deblauwe's 'Iraq War and Archaeology' website is regularly updated with news of the war's impact. At the start of the war, there was international outrage when the Baghdad Museum was ransacked after being left undefended by Coalition forces. Over 8,500 artifacts are still missing according to Dr Deblauwe, but he points out that 'the spotlight has not been focused as intensely on the plight of archaeological sites throughout Iraq. Journalists are unable to venture out into remote desert areas where most archaeological sites are located.' He admits that his list of at least 32 sites that have been looted, including ancient Babylon, Nimrud and Hatra, is 'grossly incomplete.'

Even back in June 2003, Haniet Crawford of the British School of Archaeology in

Iraq warned that many Sumerian cities in the south like Larsa and Umm a1 Aqarib were being systematically robbed. This process continues today. An aerial photo in the latest Rescue News shows a site in the southern Dhi Qar Province reduced to a lunar landscape by looters' trenches.

But looting isn't the only cause of damage. Although military authorities claim they respect Iraq's buried heritage, worryingly British troops refer to the area outside their bases as 'the Gifa' (Great Iraqi Fuck All). Hatra, near Mosul, is a UNESCO World Heritage site; its thick stone walls and towers have withstood invasions for millennia. However, since May the US army has been using the area to detonate unwanted munitions. US colonel Paul Woerner admitted in an email to Chicago University that the explosions are 'causing a deteriorating situation to the structure' of the ancient buildings.

Some sites get caught in the crossfire. In October, -Times correspondent J HXde: - described how Marines dug foxholes and trenches at Yusufiyah, the site of an ancient city south of Baghdad. 'The resistance has been using the archaeological sites to bury their weapons, and have been using the mounds as a vantage point to fire,' he said. Iraqi fighters 'started firing heavily' on the Marines and 'we spent most of the day pinned down at this historic site with mortars flying over our heads, while we called in mortars to strike back.' Iraq's built heritage has fared little better. Falluja - 'the city of mosques' - has been reduced to rubble according to TV reports.

Ironically, millions of dollars of USAID grants have been allocated for archaeology and museum conservation in Iraq. These programs, often subcontracted to companies with Republican party ties, are a problem for Iraqi institutions. If they cooperate, they risk being identified with the occupation and targeted by the resistance as a result.

But above all, it is the mounting human cost of the war that is most alarming. As Francis Deblauwe says: 'No epic Sumerian cuneiform tablet, majestic Neo-Assyrian lamassu sculpture or any other Mesopotamian artifact is worth a human life, be it Iraqi, American, British or other.'

Developer bulldozes site after telephone enquiry

Developers in portishead have denied destroying an important World War 2 structure because local historians expressed an interest in getting it listed.

The possibly unique pillbox guarded Portishead Marina from air raids. Military historians telephoned Quay's Consortium who are developing the area to ask about the future of the structure. Within hours of their call, the pillbox had been flattened.

Chris Cain for the developer said: "This concrete bunker was in a very unsafe state and there is evidence it was being used as a den by youths. It is in the middle of a site designated for employment use."

Portishead local Adrian Jones said: "Concerned individuals were carrying out some research into its history and as to whether or not it was the last remaining structure of its type in the country. It may not have been the most beautiful piece of architecture but the very fact that there was a time in our history when we had to build structures for this purpose should not be forgotten."

Second unit referred to IFA

In the last issue of The Digger, we published claims that a unit in the south of England had little regard for Health and Safety and machined away stratigraphy and human skeletons without proper recording (see Letters section for more). The F A are currently investigating the allegations.

Since then, it has emerged this unit isn't the only one that's being investigated. Buckingham-based Network Archaeology has also been reported to the IFA according to the minutes of Buckinghamshire County Council's Historic Environment Forum. The forum members expressed concerns in March this year that Network Archaeology 'had not fulfilled their publication obligations.'

A revised post-excavation programme was agreed, but by September the outstanding reports had still not appeared. The unit was referred to the FA, with the threat of 'further sanctions' if the medieval site of Bury Farm in Great Missenden and Roman sites found along- the Aylesbury to Steppingly gas pipeline were not

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published. The fieldwork for the pipeline was finished seven years ago.

Bucks CC have also had problems with Tempus Reparaturn which went bankrupt before fieldwork back in 1996 at a prehistoric site at Little Marlow and a Bronze Age and Saxon settlement at Bierton could be published.

Letter Bombs Ci:"

The ~i&er'. Any con&butions of material photos and discussion areas courtesy of the

That unit has been investigated before I read the article in Digger 33 with

interest, knowing exactly which unit the person was talking about (unless there are two of them, perish the thought!).

The IFA have investigated them on several occasions but nothing ever seems to get done. The F A never interview the diggers fiom the unit, just the higher levels of S- and having the boss within earshot means that nobody dares to speak the truth.

The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details and well sort it out.

L

lel it positively encouraged. The Digger is available British Archaeological Jobs Resource

My iiiends and I could tell you many stories about the unit that would make any archaeologist cringe, it is appalling what they get away with.

by post, by email, or on the web with (www.bajr.org). Check it. If you want to receive

I also have a similar story about the excavation of a cemetery fiom July 2003, and other*fiiends worked on a similar site a couple of years ago, so it's not just a one- &.

The unit is very proud of their F A status, and all diggers have to fill in PDA forms regularly, although they're told to make things up and most of them get laid off as soon as the site has finished anyway. I was laughed at when I said that l wanted to be a site supervisor - girls get to write up the reports, only men get to run sites.

If the F A want any eye-witness reports I know several people, plus myself, who would be willing to tell them exactly what goes on there.

T h d l l y the local county archaeologists have started to wise up and do everything they can to stop this unit from working in their areas, but money talks and unfortunately they do always manage to come up with the lowest tenders - no prizes for working out how.

Archaeology machined out [XI Although you edited out the name of the unit, I think that most of us down here can guess who they are.

tter existing entirely on donations. AU dona

While 1 was working for a council in East Anglia I ran a small excavation in the centre of a market town. In the plot next door, a certain unit had also undertaken an excavation the previous year. Reading their report it was painfully obvious that once again they had machined through medieval and Roman stratigraphy down to the natural. This meant that most features were only recorded in section unless they were deep enough to have their bases surviving. In one of their section drawings a Roman wall was visible, but there was no record of its alignment or length.

One of their former project officers came to work for us and told us that this was normal policy, in fact insisted upon by senior management. This unit gets a lot of 'work in our area, and most of their sites are similarly ruined. Something has to be done about them before they bring our profession into disrepute.

Tell us who to scrutinize 191 Dear Digger, Please find attached our open, standing list of archaeological contractors. The list is not an 'approved' list, and infers no endorsement by the County Council. The list is used only for information purposes to help developers. If you think there are any contractors on this list that might benefit fiom closer monitoring or scrutiny by our service to improve quality control, then I would be grateful for your views. You could respond by simply asterisking such contractors and returning the document.

I have always taken the view that archaeological endeavour is a joint or partnership effort, and that higher standards are realised by involving everybody, curators, consultants, contractors, workers, academics, an$ avocational people.

- Neil Campling, Principal Archaeologist, North Yorkshire County Council

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Thanks to those who have contributed!

ions welcome, make cheques payable to

Fears that EH cuts will hit archaeology

There are growing fears that government cuts to English Heritage (EH) will mean less money for archaeological projects.

Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, announced the 4.6% reduction in spending in December, but EH says that in reality the figure is nearer 6.3% - on top of 10% cuts since 2000. This amounts to a f l3m reduction in real terns, contrasting with a 98% increase in government funding for sport.

Smon Thurley, EH chief executive, said, "We need to look and see what a &13m cut means for us. It will mean something, and probably something that we don't like very much and that our partners won't like very much."

He has already axed staff numbers by 1 l%, including the post of Chief Archaeologist last year. He ruled out an "equal misery for all" approach, fuelling fears that archaeological fimding could be hit disproportionately.

In a letter to the Guardian, Alison Taylor of the Institute of Field Archaeologists warned that the 'accelerating programme of cuts' would mean that the 'worst-hit of all funding will be the budget for arrhaeological commissions, ie the money tl xtually supports work in the field.'

The government cuts are only the latest of EH'S woes. There is no guarantee that the Heritage Lottery Fund, which has given £3bn in grants in its 10-year life including £lbn on historic buildings, will exist after the current lottery contract ends in 2009. Its director, Carole Souter, insisted she was "confident" that ministers would c o n f m that heritage would remain a lottery good cause "as soon as they are able".

In addition to archaeology, EH'S major repairs programme for cathedrals and its grants scheme for historic parish churches are also rumoured to be under threat.

However, the Department of Culture denied that the budget had been cut. A spokesman said that "English Heritage will receive an extra £13 million for capital projects across the next three years."

Babylon trashed by troops

Parts of ancient Babylon have been irreparably damaged and severely contaminated by US and Polish forces, according to a report by the British Museum's John Curtis. Dr Curtis, head of the Department of the Ancient Near East, was allowed access to the site that was established as a camp by the US military shortly after the invasion of h q .

His report details how the original brick surface of a 6th century BC processional route has been crushed by tank tracks. The famous Ishtar Gate has been damaged by attempts to remove decorated bricks and trenches have been dug into the zigguarat - the basis for the legend of the Tower of Babel. He describes how acres of the site have been levelled, covered with imported gravel and sprayed with chemicals which, together with fuel, are seeping into unexcavated buried deposits. Two 20m long trenches have been dug through the site a ~ d thousands of tonnes of archaeological material lie in spoil heaps or have been used to fill sandbags and mesh crates.

Babylon was the centre of the Babylonian empire and the capital of Hammurabi (1 792-1 75OBC) who introduced the world's fvst code of law, and of Nebuchadnem (604-562BC). Dr Curtis says that his 14-page report "should not be seen as exhaustive7', but is only "indicative" of the types of damage caused.

Invisible diggers

A Digger reader reveals thejindings of his survey into UK archaeology ...

I left full-time, commercial archaeology two years ago and began work on a PhD at the University of Southampton. I wanted to examine commercial archaeology by using a previously untapped resource - the opinions of those within the profession!

There are two strands to my project: a series of i n t e ~ e w s and an online survey to submit more detailed comments. I am now publishing the interim results to disseminate the information and to encourage more people to take part. More detailed articles will appear elsewhere and www.bair.org is kindly hosting some of the

Issue No 35 February 2 0 0 5 PO Box 23570

London E13 9YP

e-mail: thedigger@email.com web: www.bajr.org

written submissions, which tell their own story.

Participation has been fairly good, with responses now about 9% of my estimated total of 2,100 commercial archaeologists. Based on the IFA survey Profiling the Profession 2002/03, these responses appear to be broadly representative. I have, however, had a higher response rate from the under 30s than from those in their 40s. This may be a reflection of the sampling and of an under-representation of the under 30s in the F A study.

Of my respondents, 37% believed that a rethink is needed in order to prevent a future crisis in commercial archaeology. 35% believed that it is already in crisis and needs urgent attention. However, of the latter group only 21% are currently trying to get out of the profession while 59% intended to remain as long as they can. This demonstrates the dedication most archaeologists feel to their job, even when they feel the profession i s in crisis. The most disillusioned sector appears to be 26- 30 year olds of whom 34% are currently trying to get out.

The under 30s represented 42% of all respondents. Of these 28% were IFA members; 16% couldn't afford to join; 15% felt the IFA wasn't relevant to them; 7% would never join, but 31% would consider joining. Ln this age group 12% were members of Prospect, with 9% members of other unions. 18% didn't believe there was any point in joining a union, but a stunning 60% would consider it.

In comparison 3 1-40 year olds represented 36% of all respondents (making over three quarters of all respondents under 40). Of this age group 33% were IFA members and 30% Prospect members. 32% and 33% would consider joining the IFA and a union respectively. This makes this age group statistically the most actively 'involved.'

There is much interesting data to be had by getting it straight from the source, and this research has the potential to be the most detailed study of professional archaeologists ever undertaken. I hope that everyone reading The Digger will get involved. Visit www.invisibledimers.net to have your say. - Paul Everill

The next Diggers' Forum meeting will take place on Saturday 19th February 2005 at lpm at MoLAS HQ at Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London, N l 7ED. The Forum is intended to unify contract archaeologists to campaign through the IFA for change within the profession.

Contact Jez Taylor (020 7410 2242 or 0795 1 024 197 jezt@2molas.org.uk) or Chris Clarke (020 8769 5029 or 07751 6 12574 ta~teddyc@~otmail.com) for more details.

Hotline set up as IFA dismiss 'moans in a pub'

The Institute of Field Archaeologists have said that allegations about an IFA Registered .Archaeological Organisation ( M O ) are 'moans in a pub.'

The Digger published claims by a reader that the unit, based in the south of England, ignored health and safety and machined out stratigraphy and human skeletons without proper recording. Other readers wrote in with similar stories of bad practice and The Digger passed the name of the unit to the IFA to investigate.

However, the %A says it will not act unless a formal complaint is made. An article in the latest edition of the IFA magazine The Archaeologist says: 'Moans in a pub reported third hand and without evidence don't take us far' but complaints 'with names, dates and description, and ideally with photographs, will be taken very seiiously indeed' by the IFA's RA0 Committee.

The F A response has prompted David Connolly, who runs the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (BAJR) website, to set up his own hotline to report rogue units.

Once David has established that a complaint is genuine and 'seriously breaches codes of conduct in the IFA guidelines or has serious Health and Safety implications,' he wiU contact the appropriate County Archaeologist or HSE officer. David says that: 'This procedure is designed to have a positive effect on the profession.'

The hotline number is 0787 6528 498 or email info@,bair.org.

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Letter Bombs

Give the IFA hard evidence I was the IFA Vice Chair for Standards

for 6 years, and some of that time was extremely hstrating because we knew there were bad apples in the barrel but had insufficient proof to do anything about it. RA0 inspections flushed out some bad practice and huge efforts were made to improve the standards of those who were falling below those of the .Code of Conduct. But because the inspections, help and advice are strictly confidential, the wider world erroneously assumes that nothing is being done! Far from it - one particular organisation cost the IFA dearly in staff time and money (despite Council Members only receiving travelling expenses) and there has been a noticeable all round improvement in this and other cases. The F A has no jurisdiction over non-members. The more members we get and the more RAOs the better the standards will become.

Site visits are made so that the archaeology and not just the admii and records are scrutinised, and efforts are made to talk to site staff out of management earshot. If a number of offences are made over time this is also recorded and may lead to disciplinary investigation or non- registration. We are encouraging more participation 6om archaeological planning officers who have a crucial role - they write the briefs, inspect sites and sign them off. This should deal with non-IFA cowboys - the minority who undercut by cutting corners.

We get lots of hearsay evidence - but until those who actually witness from first hand stand up to be counted, there is little that the IFA can do. Give the IFA hard (not malicious) evidence and these cowboys can be removed from the RA0 register and if proven guilty at a Disciplinary Hearing, chucked out of the F A . If 'curators' and clients insisted on RA0 or MIFA status or proven equivalent for site directors, this would hit the cowboys hard. Similarly, if a client finds that his shoddy archaeological work is not signed off by the 'curator' he won't use them again, and it could cost the unit a pretty penny.

;letter existing entirely on donations. AU donations welcome, make cheques payable to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by email, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.org). Check it. If you want to receive

At the end of the day, if dud archaeologists are still RAOs it is because you, the diggers, won't use your communal strength to cry foul and get them out; it need not be one brave soul going it alone. All

archaeologists have a duty to protect our heritage, and if you are party to a site being ruthlessly b******d, then that is on your conscience too. - Evelyn ~ a k e r

Network response (XI Network Archaeology is committed to an appropriate level of publication for all its projects. To this end, Network has recently appointed a Publications Manager and three dedicated Reports Officers.

With regard to the two projects referred to in the last issue of The Digger, full and open dialogue is being maintained throughout with all relevant parties, and dates for report submission have now been agreed with Buckinghamshire County Council Archaeological Service and the EA. The IFA has not previously, and nor is it currently investigating Network.

All archaeological organisations face the challenge of bringing their work tc publication within the commercial an^ .. political pressures of the business world. Timescales for post-excavation programmes can range from weeks to years dependent upon issues such as size of project, commission delays, specialist sub- contract works, client confidentiality issues, internal commercial pressures etc.

We support The Digger in tackling this issue, but wodd point out that there are existing mechanisms in place for dealing with organisations which struggle or fail to meet their professional obligations or planning requirements. Bodies such as LPAs, English Heritage and the IFA generally show an enlightened approach to dealing with such issues by working with archaeological organisations.

We hope that The Digger will refrain fron singling out individual cases and - companies and instead encourage support of those numerous organisations that have worked hard to tackle this important issue in .recent years and thereby bring the whole profession to a much improved position. - David Bonner on behalf of the directors

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IFA pledges changes after. Digger revelat ions

Following revelations in The Digger about the practices of a rogue unit in the south of England, the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) has pledged to reform its disciplinary procedures. F A director Peter Hinton admits that the current procedures are cumbersome, lack credibility and are nol transparent. 'Our process has proved long-winded and expensive, and has done little to silence critics,' Mr Hinton says in an article in IFA r uine The Archaeologisf.

1n-the IFA's 22 year history, there have been forty formal allegations of malpractice and numerous informal complaints. Allegations are usually about competence, business behaviour, or impugning the reputation of other archaeologists. However, only one of these allegations has ever resulted in the suspension of a member. Another case is in progress, and in a third case the allegation was withdrawn on compassionate grounds. There have also been 13 formal complaints about six F A Registered Archaeological Organisations (RAOs). Eight of these were partially or fully upheld and several are pending.

The new procedure will be drafted by a lee4 advisor and is intended to improve t t _ redibility of the IFA by making 'the punishment fit the crime'. However, the 1FA will not normally investigate when the complainant insists on anonymity. This is a problem, since many potential whistleblowers have been reluctant to report bad practice in their units in the past for fear of being blacklisted.

The proposed changes will be published on the F A website and voted on at the IFA AGM in the autumn.

Arch Sols kicked off IFA register

Hertford-based Archaeological Solutions, foimerly Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust, has lost its RA0 status. A statement on the F A website reads: 'Unfortunately it has now been necessary to remove Archaeological Solutions fiom the Register [of Archaeological Organisations] for

providing false information in support of an application for registration.'

Archaeological Solutions has been a long- standing member of the IFA in which managers have held senior positions.

BAJR hotline a success

Digger 36 April 2005 PO Box 23570

London E13 9YP

e-mail: thedigger@email.com web: www. bajr.org

The BAJR hotline for reporting rogue units has proved a success. The handful of complaints so far have been dealt with by alerting the appropriate County Archaeologist, the Health and Safety Executive or the F A . David Connolly of BAJR told The Digger: 'Curators think the hotline is a useful tool, and contractors see it as a wake up call and a reasonable way to watch out for cowboys. The head of some large national organisations have also privately backed the initiative. Even a group who have been wrongly accused are backing the hotline as it is easy to squash rumours before they start.'

However, not a!! archaeological units we happy. The Digger has learned that a director at one unit contacted BAJR to complain about the hotline. He wrote that it seemed to be 'divisive and slighting towards the efforts of the IFA' and risked fiagmenting support for the professional body. The IFA's Peter Minton confirmed that the unit director had spoken to him and initially he shared his concerns. However, Mr Hinton added 'I've spoken to David Connolly since then and have been reassured by his explanation of what the hotline is attempting to achieve.' The hotline number is 07876 528 498 or email m.

'No plans to close EH' says Culture Secretary

Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, has denied threatening to dismantle English Heritage (EH). An article in the Sunduy Times claimed that her department was proposing that EH'S 400 sites - including Stonehenge and Dover Castle - would be handed over to the National Trust. This would leave EH with liltle except its role of advising the government on the historic environment. The article said that the move was the result of 'bitter rows' between EH and the government.

The article prompted fury from MS Jowell. In a letter to the Chairman of EH, Sir Neil Cossons, she said 'I have no plans to close the organisation. Nor do I plan to hand control of your historic sites to the National Trust or anyone else.' She added that EH 'does superb work in promoting and protecting our historic and built environment.'

However, it is well known that the Culture Secretary believes that there are too many 'overlapping' bodies in the heritage sector. EH funding has been fi-ozen and there were proposals last summer to merge the quango with the Heritage Lottery Fund, although these came to nothing. With a general election looming and a likely ministerial reshuffle at DCMS - EH staff will be hoping the next Culture Secretary will be bound by MS Jowell's promises.

Curator hits back at Private Eye allegations

North Yorkshire County Archaeologist Neil Campling has denied allegations that he is undermining efforts to preserve the landscape around the scheduled Thornborough Henges. There has been a spirited campaign by 'The Friends of Thornborough' group to save the landscape that is threatened by gravel extraction by Tarmac.

In its 'Rotten Boroughs' section and below a cartoon of a wrecking ball knocking down trilithons, Private Eye accused Mr Campling of telling people not to sign a petition to save the henges. It was also implied there was collusion between Mr Campling and his predecessor at the county council Mike Griffiths, now Tarmac's archaeologist, in restricting trial trenching to just 2?40 of the threatened Ladybridge site when 'other archaeologists believe a sample of 8-10% would give a better idea of what may be there.'

In a threepage letter to The Digger, Mr Campling says 'I have never asked the general public or non-planning archaeologists not to sign the petition,' although he admits he did ask fellow curators in a private email group not to sign because the petition demanded 'all quauying' wound the henges stop. 'No planning archaeologist could honestly take

this stance,' he explains, because it would halt existing permitted development and prejudge applications.

'Mike Griffiths is the commissioning archaeologist for Tarmac's archaeological investigation,' Mr Campling says. 'As County Archaeologist, I am required to discuss with him the planning requirements for the case. To imply there is some sort of collusion as a result of this ongoing dialogue shows ignorance of the procedures.' In response to the 2% claim, Mr Campling says 'the evaluation at Ladybridge has involved resistivity, magnetometry, fieldwalking test pitting and trial trenching. Taking this into account means that the wider prehistoric landscape has in fact been sampled at a 50- 55% level, well above the levels recommended'.

Archaeologist killed in trench collapse

Archaeologists around the world were shocked to hear about the death of Austrian Marcus Koller, 30. He was killed last month when the 2.511 deep unshored trench he was working in collapsed. Despite being injured themselves, two women colleagues - one of whom was his fiancee - were able to dig him out but he had suffocated. They were working on a Roman f am site for Salzburg museum.

Letter Bombs #$

No action on my formal IFA compliant So Evelyn Baker blames everyone but

the F A for not removing what she calls 'dud' archaeologists from that body's membership.

A few years ago I lodged a formal complaint with the IFA about the conduct of one such 'dud' who had failed to properly record an excavation for which he was paid and over several years, despite numerous offers of help, also failed to produce a report. The case was examined by Evelyn and a colleague who saw how poor the site records were and who accepted that no report had been produced but who, in a letter to me later, said that no action could be taken against the individual. To the best of my knowledge the individual concerned remains a member of the IFA and now has several other unreported sites to his credit (or otherwise).

newsletter The The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource

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by post, by email, or on the web with (www.baljr.org). Any problems with receiving

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The Digger? Send u s your details and well sort it out. STOP PRESS: Read the full text of Neil Campling's letter on the BAJR website.

Come off it Evelyn, the blame lies squarely with you and your colleagues. The IFA is ineffectual bordering on pathetic and will not be worth joining until it develops a proper disciplinary system to deal with the few 'duds' amongst the membership.

Mendacious IFA passing the buck Several points in reply to the letter in

the last issue by Evelyn Baker. It is no surprise that only 28% of diggers under thirty are members of this mendacious and pointless organisation. Evelyn begins by complaining that the IFA has investigated one unit, which has 'cost the IFA dearly'. The IFA claims to enforce standards in archaeology, and would have us believe that it deserves to be a chartered institute responsible in a statutory capacity for enforcing its own standards. Can we really have faith in its suitability for such a role, when one investigation elicits such complaint from the organisation? If it really is intent on enforcing standards, it must accept that its investigations will cost money - and, indeed, some will be fruitless.

'Site visits7 are made (apparently), as well as other procedures, to investigate units and 'remove cowboys from the RA0 list'. But how many people realise that the infringements closest to most diggers hearts and pockets - wages and conditions - are not considered to be important enough to remove an RAO! A company can pay less than the IFAs pitihl minima with impunity! It is clear that the IFA, with its major membership base being senior members of units, makes the rules to suit itself.

A typical passing of the buck from the IFA: If cowboy units still exist, 'it is because you, the diggers, won't use your communal strength to cry foul and get them out'. So, in addition to being the lowest paid professional workers in Britain, we shoulder the blame for the piss-poor standards in archaeology. Then what the hell is the IFA for? Could it be that, as we all suspect, it exists solely to protect the interests of management? The IFA has nothing to offer diggers - join if you must ('IFA membership preferred7), but for heaven's sake don't conhse them for an organisation with diggers' best interests at heart. Spend less money more wisely and join Prospect.

Curator not surprised by IFA response &l I wish I could be surprised by the FA'S response to the complaints by the low paid, temporary contract staff about

existing entirely

the conduct of a unit. Dismissing these as 'moans in the pub' in this extremely insulting manner only justifies the view hat the IFA is only interested in presenting itself as a functioning self-regulatory body :ather than actually taking action.

f i e letter from the ex Vice Chair for Standards notes that the F A are 'encouraging more participation from wchaeological planning officers.' Well ;hanks for that, because it's not as if :urators aren't already doing so. In the end he IFA is a confused organisation with no :eeth and, it appears, little understanding of what planning archaeologists do. Every day .eports are returned deemed unacceptable, rites are monitored, context sheets, plan md sections are examined by curators all without the 'encouragement' of the FA. It is clear that the IFA are only interested in 3 e perception of themselves as an effective xganisation rather than being one.

3ne way of 'encouraging' curators wouldd perhaps be to support them when they make complaints about organisations instead of discounting any problems as 'moans'. 1 have attended planning appeals where IFA archaeologists l?om RAOs have wgued not to evaluate sites in advance of jesignating them as development areas despite the potential for significant remains. Is this raising standards? Is this mcouraging curators? No! Clearly the IFA represents client based units and favours a market lead archaeological response rather than one based on the best practice of management of archaeological remains. l'he idea that we need to stand up and be counted is laughable! 1 for one have no compunction to make a complaint, be dragged through the mud by unit managers, dismissed by the F A as a 'moaner' ano then find my career compromised.

My message to the IFA is simple: stop being an organisation where units pay to appear professional by having the IFA stamp and use your h d i n g to ensure they behave professionally. - From a planning archaeologist

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APPAG puts a brave face on slow progress

It is two years since the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group produced its report The Current State oj Archaeology in the United Kingdom, and now the MPS and peers have compiled a review into how many of their key recommendations have been implemented.

Current responsibility for archaeology is scattered across many government departments, to the detriment of the industry. The review found there has been

apparent progress' on the recommendation that the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) should give heritage a higher priority and establish a committee chaired by a minister to co- ordinate archaeology policy. Indeed, things have gone backwards. The review points out: 'English Heritage [EH] and the Heritage Lottery Fund would appear to have an uncertain hture. The funding to the sector in real terms has been cut dramatically in recent years'. Alarmingly, 'since February 2004 there has been no one in DCMS with specific archaeological expertise. '

APPAG recommended improved training for field archaeologists who should be paid as much as other graduate entry level professions, such as local authority , ining officers, civil engineers and university lecturers. The review says: 'The IFA, the Standing Conference of Archaeological Unit Managers (SCAUM) and Prospect are currently discussing a national collective pay bargaining mechanism for archaeological units,' although there are no details about how far these discussions have progressed.

There also seems to have been little progress on training. 'The Archaeological Training Fonun is continuing to take the lead on a number of initiatives to embed skills development within the sector and thereby encourage high standards,' the review says. 'The IFA is undertaking a number of relevant projects looking at training, CPD [Continuing Personal Development], etc on behalf of the Forum.' If any digger has had the benefit of their "skills development" being "embedded within the sector", please write in - we'd

love to hear about it. As for CPD, this has been an idea kicking around for years, with minimal impact on the lives of ordinary archaeologists.

APPAG recommended that a fianchise- based system replace the present system of competitive tendering. The review says: 'Feedback has demonstrated much scepticism of the value of this approach within the archaeological community, although others have argued that a more detailed study by a competition expert would be beneficial to assess the options.'

This assessment effectively kills the fianchise idea. In fact, there is unlikely to be any change in the near future since 'the consultation on the new Planning Policy Statement which covers the PPG 15 and 16 guidance notes is now deferred for 2-3 years until completion of EH pilot projects.'

The postponed change to PPG16 also means that developers still will not have to contribute towards the costs of the long- term storage of archaeological archives in museums.

APPAG's recommendation that organisations like the lnstitute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) and the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) merge was met with incredulity at the time, and the review says that amalgamation 'is not appropriate.' The organisations are 'working together closely' through the Historic Environment Forum which together with Heritage Link lobbies for heritage interests.

On the plus side, the Portable Antiquities Scheme is one success highlighted by the review. Another is that the government has accepted that Sites and Monuments Records (SMRs) should be made statutory, although the review concedes that 'it is difficult to see how this is to be achieved in a climate of Local Authority resource constraints.' The changes will cost at least &8m.

The APPAG report marked a step forward in detailing the serious problems within UK archaeology and made a valuable contribution to the debate about possible solutions. But why has progress been so slow? Archaeologists deserve an answer.

Bath Archaeology closes

Bath Archaeological Trust has closed its excavation unit. A statement on its website says: 'Bath Archaeology has decided to cease providing professional archaeological services to the conslruction industry and related spheres,' although it will continue charitable and educational work. BAT was formed in 1977 and has worked as a professional unit in south and west England for the past twenty years. One of its largest recent jobs was the Bath Spa project for Bath and North East Somerset Council that started in 1998. It was hoped to publish the site in 2005, and a review of funding for the project was taking place late last year.

BAT never recovered fiom a loss of £130,000 four years ago compounded by a further loss of £100,000 over the following two years. The past five years saw annual income halve from £460,000 to £220,000. Many archaeologists have worked for BAT and there were five permanent staff. Peter Davenport, the former Director of Excavations, is now at Oxford Archaeology.

The Company Secretary Stephen Bird told The Digger: "BAT found itself poorly positioned between the big units with large critical mass and economies of scale and the very small or individual operators with very low overheads. The Trustees took the decision, in consultation with staff, to withdraw from commercial archaeology."

Out-of-court settlement for Welsh trust

Newport council has settled the two-year legal dispute with the archaeological trust that excavated Newport's medieval ship. The unexpected nature of the discovery in June 2002 meant that site work on the unique 15th century vessel took five weeks longer than planned. The council alleged that the extra work had not been properly agreed and refused to pay the £118,438 that Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (GGAT) claimed it was owed. Before the case reached court earlier this year, however, the council agreed to settle.

Bob Trett, chairman of GGAT when the dispute started, said: "For a small

charitable trust it's a lot of money. It's the difference between solvency and going under. As a result of this dispute, four people were made redundant, though one has since been re-employed. It needn't have happened." Newport council declined to comment.

English Heritage to strike

EH staff have voted to strike on 21 June in protest at an imposed below-inflation pay award that averages 1.5%. The action by 500 Prospect members will affect EH'S London headquarters at Saville Row, as well as regional offices and tourist attractions like Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall. The union says this latest low pay settlement is indicative of the financial crisis facing the heritage body, which has already resulted in job losses.

End for Bournemouth HND

Bournemouth University is closing its HND in Practical Archaeology. The well- respected two-year course was a stepping stone to BA's and BSc's for many archaeologists who did not have formal academic qualifications. John Gale, who works at the university, told The Digger: 'The HND has now been replaced by a Foundation degree (FdSc Field Archaeology) which was designed in association with colleagues from the profession.' There will be a reunion for past students in August. Contact brussell@,bmth.ac.uk or jgale@,bmth.ac.uk for details.

Meanwhile, the University of Exeter is cutting all Archaeology and E,vtology Distance Learning studies at the end of the next academic year. In a letter dated I June 2005 Head of Department John Blewitt advises students to transfer to the Open University. The OU does not offer courses in archaeology or Egyptology.

Invisible Diggers speak

Paul EverillS 'Invisible Diggers' project ends this month. Paul's PhD examines the profession through the eyes of ordinary archaeologists. We published his interim results in Digger 35, but here are some of your quotes he has published on his website, reprinted with permission.

"In the summer it's the best job in the world, in winter you feel like you've been sent to a ~ u s s i & Gulag, but out of the

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many and varied jobs I've done in my time, nothing comes close to the camaraderie and the large amount of cool broad-minded people you meet digging and it is a low stress job unlike many other professions. Instead the stress is when you have got home filthy, haven't got to the bank, have Pck all money and have just got a postcard kom your mates with 'proper jobs' who are living it up somewhere hot on full pay."

"The diggers are always the last to know about anything, including where they will befiom day to day. Organisation is not a strong point in any unit that I have ever worked for and there seems to be an overwhelming lack of communication throughout the profession. "

"A horde of 'experts' accompanied by management suddenly drop onto your trench, totally ignore the excavators, and loudly make pronouncements regarding the work people are in the process of completing. Usually no input is requested kom the excavation staff, obviously because we are some lower species of pond life."

"Over the years I have found loaih of sites and archaeological material during monitoring. I hove written reports on said sites and material. My name appears nowhere!! How frustrating. "

"We need to squeeze out the cheapskates who pay low wages: ultimately their activities harm individuals and are responsible for the appalling loss of talent which haemorrhages out of the archaeological world every year."

"There are many dtfSerent opinions as to the problems inherent in the current commercial archaeology system and many diflerent solutions. The main problem I see is apathy; archaeologists are not the most 'go-getting' bunch of people. They complain, a lot, but no one seems to do avhing . A complete lack of organised rebellion has led to the continuing poor pay and conditions. "

"We need to be professionally organised- more people in the union, better training and wages. There are people I know who still get laid off over Christmas and go kom week to week on weekly contracts - we are a disorganised bunch fi-om top to bottom and no wonder developers and architects run rings round us and don't take us seriously. The price of an archaeological condition on a developer's budget is

measly and we are still scraping around doing things in ever-tighter budgets to that . 'fixed price.' "

"What do I hate most about commercial archaeology: the fact that prices in competitive tendering are pared down to such a degree that it is impossible to do a decent job on the archaeology without putting in unpaid time (something I do Pequentlyl and that there is no-one who ensures good standards are maintained. And the fact that so many managers appear to have no idea what an excavation involves and have no interest in the archaeologv. "

"It's fast becoming a parody of itself. I feel we are reaching a stage when the skills needed to close a project quickly and profitably are far more important than the ability to excavate and record a site properly ." Go to www.invisiblediggers.net to re' more and take part in the survey yourself:

@' Letter Bombs C;"

Stop whingeing! I don't suppose it would be possible for

us to have some good news occasionally instead of this endless whingeing. I'm as broke as everybody else but I like my job, I've had some good bosses (and maybe recognising the good units rather than making obscure sideways comments about the bad ones might help), some brilliant colleagues, and some jolly good times. Otherwise I would quit and go and do something more interesting instead. In the same way as local news bulletins have the one ' h n y ' at the end of each show we could have tips on best handcream, artefi of the month, anything except this endless doom and gloom. I happen to agree with The Digger's politics but at the moment no one who doesn't already agree will ever be tempted to read it and (perhaps) change their mind.

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The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by email, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.org). Check it. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details and we'll sort it out.

'Save our course!'

Students and lecturers at the University of Wales, Newport, have appealed to the wider archaeological community to help save their department.

Third year undergraduate Amy Haskins posted a message on the CBA's Britarch email list revealing that university authorities plan to axe the archaeology course by 2007. 'We need your help!' she wrote. 'They have taken away our archaeology building, which means that we now have to fit into whatever fiee space t : is on campus, we have lost a lecturer an3 our lecture time has been cut by almost 50%.'

'This will be a great loss for archaeology in South Wales,' said lecturer Adrian Chadwick. The department is active in research with an enviable publication record. It has strong links with local heritage groups, includiug the Friends of the Newport Ship.

The decision to close the department was taken in August on financial grounds. Students who had been accepted at the university have now been told to reapply elsewhere. As well as considering legal action the 30 current undergraduates organised a demonstration that was reported on the BBC and in the local press ar' resulted in the university restoring s~-.e modules.

Students and staff are particularly angy about the way they learned of the decision. 'The head of Archaeology at Newport, Professor Stephen Aldhouse-Green, only found this out by accident when he overheard a conversation between two members of Estates staff in a corridor!' said Mr Chadwick. University bosses intend redeveloping the Archaeology Centre as a space for Art, Media and Design.

The closure adds to the growing crisis in archaeology teaching in the UK. Even though the subject has never had a higher profile, applications for BA Archaeology degrees have fallen almost every year since 2000. The good university guide published in the Times in May revealed that of 61 subjects ranked by graduates' starting salary, archaeology came last at about

£13,300 pa. Starting salaries were better for graduates of drama, hospitality and theology. The guide also said: 'Prospects are poor: 11 per cent of [archaeology] graduates are unemployed and 30 per cent are in non-graduate jobs.'

Mr Chadwick said: 'I would urge anyone who cares about the provision of academic archaeology in Britain, and about archaeology in South Wales, to write to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales, Newport, and to the new Dean of Health and Social Science. It would be particularly good to have the support of leading academics from other archaeology departments in Britain, and from the Council for British Archaeology [CBA], RESCUE and the Institute of Field Archaeologists.'

Row rages over damaged Roman wall

A row over damage to a Scheduled Ancient Monument is threatening to overshadow a local council's plans for a Heritage Park.

The scheduled Roman wall - part of the defences of the town of Irchester, east of Wellingborough - was exposed without archaeological supervision last year during construction of a new access road to the A45. An article on the damage by the pressure group RESCUE drew an angy response from Northants County Council (NCC).

Ln a letter published in the current edition of Rescue News Bob Colenutt, the Head of Sustainable Development for NCC, said: 'The exposure of part of the Roman defences in November 2004 was a result of works by a sub-contractor in advance of the agreed development programme. As the works were unprogrammed and the main construction contractor was unaware of their taking place, excavation started without the programmed archaeological supervision and control. However, this was identified by the archaeologist on site within hours of the works starting and the main contractor immediately ensured that the unauthorised work stopped.'

He denied that there was any 'failure of process' and said that the allegation of a communications breakdown in the Rescue

article was 'an afiont to the professionalism of all the organisations involved.' He added that 'communication between the developers ProLogis Ltd], the contractor, Northamptonshire Archaeology, NCC's curatorial archaeologists and English Heritage pH] was excellent.'

However, in a letter in the same edition of Rescze News Glyn Coppack, EH'S local Inspector of Ancient Monuments, said: 'I was assured that Northamptonshire Heritage had the matter in hand, and I understood fiom Northamptonshire Archaeology that they wcre dealing with the archaeology. What nobody told me was that the masonry had been exposed by the contractor, and EH advice on how best to deal with the masonry was not sougbt. I would at least have offered the services of our Civil Engineers.' A concrete revetment was built against the 25m length of wall that was exposed. This 'is separated from the Roman masonry by a sheet of polythene and can be removed without further damage,' he said.

Ironically, the council has just bought part of the Roman town with money fiom the government and plans to turn the area into a Heritage Park. The row over the damaged wall threatens to eclipse both this and the good working relationship between archaeologists and developers on the site. Cooperation over the last decade has resulted in the excavation of an Iron Age enclosure and the discovery of previously unknown Roman stone buildings.

The row also highlights problems with the way Scheduled Ancient Monuments are designated. A large part of the monument contains no archaeological deposits while an archaeologically-sensitive area nearby is not scheduled. '1 will be asking our designation team to look at the whole of the site as a matter of urgency,' Mr Coppack said.

Policy changes at the IFA

At its AGM held last month in London, the Institute of Field Archaeologists (FA) adopted a new Disciplinary code. The change was prompted by revelations in the Digger about the unprofessional practices of ab IFA-registered unit in the south of

England. The LFA also voted to change its regulations for Registered Archaeological Organisations (RAOs). Hertford-based Archaeological Solutions, foimerly Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust, lost its R A 0 status earlier this year after providing false information in support of an application for registration. The new policies can be read on the F A website.

SAMs destroyed

More bad news for Scheduled Ancient Monuments: drainage in the Somerset levels has destroyed internationally- important sites. In work h d e d by EH, the Environment Agency and Somerset County Council, small trenches were opened to check waterlogged sites where well- preserved organic remains had previously been identified. The stakes, wicker fiames, fish traps, village sites and plank surfaces of a network of tracks across boggy ground illustrated how prehistoric people lived and hunted.

However, most of the sites examined have been seriously damaged and two scheduled trackways have disintegrated completely. The internationally famous Iron Age lake village at Meare was so damaged 'that the only remaining organic components were shrivelled and contorted wood fragments.' The only sites in good condition are par1 of the Sweet Track, a main road built around 5,800 years ago, in a nature reserve where the original water level is maintained, and the Glastonbury Lake Village which is owned by a trust. The report, published in November's British Archaeology, blames the use of more powerful pumps since the second world war for the destruction.

Iraqi archsseo8o@stsY anger over new constitution

The new Iraqi constitution has been criticized by Iraqi archaeologists who say a federal lraq will leave the country's ancient past at the mercy of regional administrations rather than under central government control. The Head of the Antiquities Department of the Iraq Museum Dr Donny George led a demonstration against the constitution this month and said: 'Our national wealth of archaeological riches will be divided among these regions and subject to the whims of their governors and administrations.' He added that this would be a heavy blow to Iraq's heritage.

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The archaeologists have sent a statement to the National Assembly lambasting the constitution's failure 'to mention in any of its articles that the utilization of Iraq's ancient civilizations, archaeological sites, heritage and archaeological riches is a prerogative of the central government.'

June Digger

Due to a glitch in our distribution system some readers did not receive their paper copies of the last Digger. We apologise for this error which has now been rectified. Distribution of the email and web versions of the newsletter was not affected.

ei Letter Bombs G' In Digger 37 a reader complained about 'endless whingeing: Here are some oj your responses:

We're being screwed I read, with a sense of incredulity, the

sentiments expressed in the letter. I suppose the person who wrote this expects people to suffer crap pay and conditions just because the job happens to be interesting. This is the attitude that some archaeology fums rely upon in order to justify their unprofessional treatment of fellow archaeologists. After all, why bother to treat people with common decency when evely year you have a fresh intake of eager young graduates who are desperate to get their foot on the first rung of a career and are willing to put up with anything. They hope that as their career advances (irony intended), things will improve for them. Unforhmately, as many of us who live in the real world know, what actually happens is that they eventually become disillusioned, leave archaeology for a "real job" and their places in the ranks are taken up by the aforementioned new intake.

I just wish that everyone involved in the profession would own up to the unpalatable truth; the majority of us who are on the circuit are being screwed by our fellow archaeologists. Our pay and conditions are pathetic because the prime motivation of these people is not a love of archaeology or a commitment to carrying out the job professionally; it is ensuring that they secure their own semi-permanent contracts and careers. That's why tenders are priced so low, so they ensure a continuity of work (for themselves) and that's why our pay is so poor. - Ken Denham

I'll carry on whingeing So your correspondent doesn't like the

whingeing. Ahh, bless. Well, there's a lot to whinge about in archaeology - bad practice, shXt pay, poor working conditions, snobbery, elitism and downright corruption.

We could have some cartoons in the newsletter and yes, I like the 'artifact of the month' idea. What would you suggest? How about the director's head on a stick, or a photo of Oxford Archaeology buildings going up in smoke - I'd like that.

Having spent 4 years at college, getting skint, now owing for my course and still taking home less than £300 a week, I think I've got every right to whinge. As for middle class shXts who stroll through their degrees, amble through their MA's and then swan into supervisor jobs just because units are terrified of employing people who may have 20 years experience (better thar most directors, in my opinion), they too make me want to whinge.

Did I mention sexism, racism (how many black, Asian or other ethnic groups do you see working on digs, let alone in post-ex or office jobs?), I get a little tired of being told I've a chip on my shoulder.

There is no investigation at any meaningfd level of crap units, nor is there any real discussion of the real issues underlying the decline of development archaeology, which is becoming an adjunct to the planning process and is being subsumed by the glow of technology and 'market forces'. That's why the Bath unit is closing down -

underbid by bigger units.

1 see no hope in UK archaeology - pay will continue to drop in real terms, condition haven't got better in the time I've been

L

working and the big units continue to drive down wages and standards.

So, I'U carry on whingeing, if that's all right with you.

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tter existing entirely on donations. W donations welcome, make cheques payable to The Digger'. Any contributions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by email, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.org). Check it. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Diggerbut do, send us your details and well sort it out.

Freed archaeologist denies wanting to return to Iraq

Susanne Osthoff, the 43-year-old archaeologist and aid worker who was abducted and then k d in lraq recently, has denied she said she wanted to return to the war zone. Her reported comments had angered the German government who many believe paid a hefty ransom to her captors.

MS Osthoff was kidnapped on 25 November in Baghdad. She was intending to travel north, but instead her driver took I to a house in the capital where three

bundled her into the boot of a car. She was driven to a place near the border where she was held for three weeks.

The German government has denied that its release of a Hizbollah member jailed for the murder of a U.S. Navy diver was linked to MS Osthoffs freedom days later. A ransom is widely believed to have been paid.

German Muslim leaders, former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were among those who called for the archaeologist's release. A petition organised by BAJR was signed by over l000 people.

Speaking publicly for the first time, MS Osthoff told the Arabic-language Al- .. ;era satellite channel that her captors dad treated her well. They weren't hying to get money, she said, but were demanding that schools and hospitals be built in Sunni Arab areas.

She was also reported to have said that she may return to Iraq, which drew fierce criticism in Germany. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinrneier said, "I would have little sympathy if Frau Osthoff puts herself again in danger considering the intensive efforts made by many people to secure her release."

Ruprecht Polenz, the chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Afiirs Comttee added, "In the event of a second kidnapping one would have to discuss who should foot the bill."

MS Osthoff is believed cwrently to be in Jordan with her 12 year old daughter.

Heritage inquiry wants your views

The Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee has announced a wide- ranging inquuy into the heritage sector and wants you to help identify priorities for the forthcoming Heritage White Paper.

The committee is particularly interested in evidence about:

how effectively the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), English Heritage (EH) and other heritage organisations represent heritage interests to the government,

funding for EH and museums and how lottery money should be shared out,

the responsibilities of EH, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), local authorities and museums in looking after UK heritage and

the balance . between heritage and development in planning policy.

The inquiry will touch on a number of controversial issues. The past year has been particularly bad For EH. There were job losses and a strike coupled with cuts in funding and rumours that the government would close the heritage quango because of 'bitter rows.'

DCMS has also been criticised by MPS for not giving heritage a higher priority. Current responsibility for archaeology is scattered across many government departments and there is no one at DCMS with specific archaeological expertise.

The HLF itself has an uncertain future and there is widespread concern that HLF money will be diverted kom heritage funding to sport, especially with the 2012 Olympics on the horizon.

Local authorities are shutting down their archaeological units and shifting the responsibility of recording and excavating sites to the private sector.

Written submissions with your name and address should be sent by 19 January to the Clerk of the Committee at 7 Millbank, London SWlP 3JA. The committee will take oral evidence during February and March.

Norfolk privatizes its unit as councils cut jobs

Norfolk County Council is planning to privatize its archaeology unit. NAU will be taken over by NPS Property Consultants Ltd - the authority's private trading company that ploughs its profits back into council coffers. A report by the district auditor prompted the move.

Vanessa Trevelyan, head of Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, said that NAU was in a strong position to expand and tender for work across the UKWyndham Northam, cabinet member for commercial services, said: ''At the present time, they tend to work in Norfolk, but as NPS has offices around the country this will give them an opportunity to spread their wings. It's a win-win for both."

After a decade amassing debts of nearly &Im, NAU now makes a £75,000 surplus on an annual turnover of £1.3~1. The couosil has said the jobs of NP.W's 32 staff are not threatened.

Other local authorities with archaeological units will be watching the takeover closely and may follow Norfolk's lead if privatization cuts costs and boosts income. Norfolk is a government-designated 'Beacon council' that already contracts out 65% of its services.

Neighbouring Essex County Council, whose own Field Archaeology Unit has had problems in the past, also contracts some services to NPS.

Elsewhere, Northamptonshire County Council intends axing its Built and Natural Environment service that runs the local Sites and Monuments Record. Northants Archaeology Society, which is campaigning against the plans, says that the service's archaeological advice on development proposals will be vital for the county that will undergo 'enormous expansion in the next two to three decades.'

The society has called for protest emails to be sent to the council's Chief Executive.

Three jobs are also under threat at York's Leisure and heritage department as the city council cuts spending before the new financial year.

WM8 trowels bite the dust?

Ping! It's become a sound familiar on sites up and down the country, usually followed by the indignant shout of an angry digger. Ping! The noise of the blade of another WHS trowel snapping in half.

We never thought it would come to this. LWIS trowels used to be indestructible. You could lever out slabs of masonry, scrape clean acres of cobbles and then throw your trowel under the JCB and it would still be good as new. Indispensable too. Short of a fishslice for your Friday night fiy-up? WHS to the rescue.

Recently the design changed. The new trowel looked good at first - with its knuckle protection and flash red handle. But the blade is thinner and can't stand up to the punishment of an archaeological site. Ping!

It's got so bad that one major unit has already given up on W I S in favour of its US rival. Duncan Waltham, Logistics Manager at Oxford Archaeology, told The Digger that the new WHS trowels are inferior to the old type. 'The problem seems to be that the metal used in the construction of the new trowel is much harder and therefore more brittle. The blade tends to snap rather than flex. The Marshalltown Trowel is one of the types we have tried and at the moment seems to be the favourite.' Manufacturers Neill Tools have also changed their supply policy, making their trowels more difficult for OAU to obtain.

William Hunt & Sons (WHS) of Brades Steel Works was founded in 1793. The company was acquired by Brades Nash Industries in 195 1 and then by Spear & Jackson eleven years later. Neill Tools inherited the WHS name when it bought Spear & Jackson in 1985. In the building trade, the WHS initials are affectionately referred to as 'Work Hard or Starve,' or if you're an archaeologist 'Work Hard and Starve.'

The 4-inch pointing trowel, or the 'London handle type standard heel width pattern number 11 1 part number 11 104L IOOrnrn (47 one-piece solid roll forged pointing trowel,' to give it its full designation, has been used by archaeologists for decades. WHS boasts that 'all trowels are manufactured in Sheffield from top quality carbon steel and each one is guaranteed - against defective materials and

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workmanship.' It is an icon, a design classic.

We contacted Neill Tools to see wbat they had to say. Marketing Director Derek Thomas told us: 'I can confirm that the design has indeed been amended, this followed consultations with our construction customers (as this is where the majority of our sales go). Their requests for lighter more flexible bricklaying and pointing trowels were considered and balanced with the needs of our other customers such as yourselves. I am sure you appreciate the difficulties in balancing two or more sets of requirements with just one product, and it would appear £torn your comments and those of your readers that we haven't got it quite right.' So what was he going to do? 'I would be pleased to re- introduce the previous 'indestructible' 4" trowel. '

So there you are. Result! Get your orders in quick before they change their mind!

Foam- and fake-henee

Can you picture his face? Your site director turns up to work on Monday to find Stonehenge has appeared on his site. There were only a few muddy pits and postholes before, but now he's dwarfed by trilithons, he's slmounded by bluestones and there's a heelstone on the horizon. Try describing that on a context sheet.

Channel 5 reconstructed Stonehenge out of polystyrene for a programme broadcast at the summer solstice last year. Now the life- size replica is looking for a new home. Could your site oblige?

Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology and the Stonehenge expert who took part in the programme, told The Digger that the replica 'is still in storage with the haulage contractor who took it £tom the site after the broadcasts.' The production company Darlow Smithson tried to sell it on eBay, but no one met the reserve price. North Wiltshire District Council wanted to put it up in the grounds of a local college, but baulked at the cost of hiring a fleet of 14 articulated lorries to transport the thing.

So why not? Have a whip-round. Raid the tea kitty. It'll be worth it just to see the reaction.

Meanwhile, Daventry's District Council has approved plans for its own fake 'Stonehenge' to be built on top of Cracks

tter existing entirely on donations. AU donz

Hill, an historic landmark in South Northants.

This one will be made of carboniferous limestone rather than polystyrene with four 10-tonne stones at compass points near the top of the hill and a fifth stone at the summit. The planning committee was told that army Cbhook helicopters could be drafted in to airlift the stones into position. Ironically this fake monument may actually destroy some real archaeology on the site. Never fear, though - the council says that Northants Heritage will be notified seven days in advance of any work taking place.

Cf' Letter Bombs

Irchester Roman wall The bit of wall that has caused aU the

h s s is not m fact part of the scheduled monument. The boundary of the SAM is the northern boundary of the A45 roa-' corridor. Works were done within the SA. - to my satisfaction under scheduled monument consent. Glyn Coppack, EH Inspector of Ancient Monuments

MA no guarantee of job I feel I ought to correct the

misapprehension that a masters degree means you'll automatically get a job in archaeoiogy. I've got one and strangely enough, I've left the profession because I couldn't get a job. My husband also has a masters. He does have a supervisor job, but it took him two and a half years to get it and I suspect that the promotion actually relied more upon his ten years digging experience than his masters. Oh, and he takes home less than £270 a week after tax.

So by accepting promotion, he has becon lower middle class (Cl) rather than skilled' working class (C2). Does this mean that he is now a working class traitor? And what about all the other people that I know that have masters degrees but poorly paid jobs?

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Thanks to those who have contributed!

ions welcome, make cheques payable to le - - - 'The ~ & e r ' . Any con&butions of material positively encouraged. The Digger is available by post, by email, or on the web with photos and discussion areas courtesy of the British Archaeological Jobs Resource (www.bajr.org). Check it. If you want to receive The Digger but don't, or you don't want to receive The Digger but do, send us your details and well sort it out.