TEA 34 - European Association of Archaeologists

On the whole we would agree with the museum’s decisions, as the archaeological service is
not something that can be done on the cheap, but we still have to make some arrangement
so that archaeological work and research can continue in Sheffield and the surrounding
regions until such time as a new appointment can be made and Museums Sheffield can
resume its full functions. One thing we have decided to do is to set up an archaeological
network encompassing all the archaeological groups working in the area, which includes the
two universities, departments in the local government and the Peak National Park, local
societies and community groups involved in archaeology, as well as representatives of
national organizations such as English Heritage. In addition we are also liaising with, and
informing other national and international organizations such as the Council for British
Archaeology and EAA which helps to impress on local and national politicians that this is not
just a local matter which can be ignored. The network has been set up under the local Hunter
Archaeological Society (www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/hunter/index.html), in part because it is
one of the longest established organizations (it will soon celebrate its centenary) and it is not
subject to the vagaries of funding of more official organizations. It is also the meeting place of
both amateur and professional archaeologists, and also can transcend administrative
boundaries. A trained archaeologist acts as secretary for our network meetings.
Fig. 3: One of two Early Bronze Age jet necklaces from Cow Low, Derbyshire. Bateman Collection.
We do not have a formal committee, and meetings will be set up as needed, to be attended
by those who are involved in the matter to be discussed (we will not only be considering
museum matters). We have divided members of the network into three categories: those who
will certainly want to be represented at meetings; those who will want to be fully informed
though not attend, and who will receive the full minutes of any meetings; and thirdly
organizations such as the EAA to whom we will send a brief update, perhaps once a year, or
which may want reports such as this one which it can pass on to anyone across Europe who
may have similar problems.
In the last category we will also included local members of Parliament, one of whom, Nick
Clegg, is Deputy Prime Minister, but he also studied Archaeology and Anthropology at
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The European Archaeologist, Issue no. 34: Winter 2010