The ARCHAEOLOGIST - English Late-Medieval timber-framed ...

LETTERS
LETTERS
Dear Editor,
I agree with Andy Howard that the English
Heritage Geoarchaeology guidelines are an excellent
addition to the series but I think his review raises an
important question. How much do we expect the
professional archaeologist to know about the soil
Many excavation staff tell me they know too little
about the soil they dig. This isn’t good for
archaeology. In particular it means that sites are
recorded too mechanically, without sufficient
interrogation of deposits and with too little insight
into the processes by which they form. The result is
that our records are less rich and informative than
they should be. It also weakens the rest of the
profession. A knowledge of geoarchaeology
provides a key context for other disciplines, from
pollen analysis and artefact conservation to
geophysics and air-photo interpretation. Almost
every archaeological specialist has reasons to know
about the soil. Some professional units employ
specialist geoarchaeologists, to very good effect, but
this isn’t a gap that such specialists alone can hope
to fill. While geoarchaeologists can pass on their
knowledge in the field there are still far too few of
them to make much difference. There is so much
soil and so little time.
not become a substitute for real skills and
experience. Until every archaeologist is armed with
a working knowledge of our landscape and its soils
our records will remain impoverished. The national
agencies, IFA, CBA and universities have a duty to
raise our expectations and promote the professional
training which this will require every excavator to
receive.
David Jordan MSc MIFA FGS
Terra Nova Limited
Llwynfedwen, Libanus
Brecon LD3 8NN
I’ve been concerned about this for many years so
last autumn I contacted the departments teaching
single honours archaeology and asked how many
hours of geoarchaeology teaching their
undergraduates attend. Of the sixteen I managed to
get hold of four teach none at all,six teach two hours
or less, four teach up to six hours and only two
substantially more. Some departments provide
longer courses for those who choose but these are a
small minority. Thus nearly all our graduates – the
core of our profession – have less than a day to be
taught about the intricacies of landscapes and soil
which many will then be expected to spend years
trying to unravel. No wonder they feel ill prepared.
EH geoarchaeological guidelines:
an excellent addition to the series,
but no substitute to full
understanding
I have no doubt that every specialist will consider
inadequate the amount that undergraduates learn
about their own discipline – but the soil is
everybody’s business and a few hours looking in a
lecture theatre is hardly preparation for a working
life spent immersed in the stuff.
So I agree with Andy that the EH guidelines must
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The Archaeologist