The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
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Chapter One<br />
British archaeology since the end<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Second World War<br />
Ian Ralston and John Hunter<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
As with so many subjects, archaeology, and in particular British archaeology, has been the subject<br />
<strong>of</strong> greater involvement and awareness than was the <strong>ca</strong>se in the years around 1950. University<br />
departments teaching archaeology have grown <strong>from</strong> a mere handful to nearly thirty today, the<br />
subject itself has developed <strong>from</strong> a traditionally histori<strong>ca</strong>l or Classi<strong>ca</strong>l base to include natural,<br />
physi<strong>ca</strong>l and computing sciences, and its scope has expanded to embrace, for example, standing<br />
buildings, underwater remains and whole lands<strong>ca</strong>pes. By way <strong>of</strong> a measure, British Archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l<br />
Abstracts, first published in 1968, noted fewer than 300 articles that year, while its successor,<br />
British Archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l Bibliography, abstracted nearly five times as many in 1996. Furthermore, longestablished,<br />
county-based archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l societies—the mainstay <strong>of</strong> the amateur involvement in<br />
which British archaeology has its roots—have been joined by an increasing range <strong>of</strong> specialinterest<br />
groups; these are recorded in the annual reviews published by Current <strong>Archaeology</strong>. This<br />
amateur involvement be<strong>ca</strong>me radi<strong>ca</strong>lly ‘pr<strong>of</strong>essionalized’ with the appearance <strong>of</strong> whole new sectors<br />
<strong>of</strong> archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l endeavour both in lo<strong>ca</strong>l authorities and, most notably, in archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l units.<br />
<strong>The</strong> latter bodies first conducted ‘rescue’ fieldwork on behalf <strong>of</strong> state agencies, but now, together<br />
with archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l companies and consultants, fulfil the needs <strong>of</strong> a wide range <strong>of</strong> developers.<br />
This is a product <strong>of</strong> legislative and planning changes by which developers have been required by<br />
government to conduct archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l investigations within the framework <strong>of</strong> the ‘polluter pays’<br />
principle.<br />
<strong>The</strong> same awareness <strong>of</strong> ‘heritage’ has also seen archaeology’s remit widening in both scope<br />
and detail; its chronologi<strong>ca</strong>l interests lap up against the present, with industrial archaeology (its<br />
history is sketched in Chapter 16) now including redundant plant <strong>of</strong> all kinds reflecting the<br />
quantum leaps <strong>of</strong> twentieth-century technology in methods <strong>of</strong> energy generation, transportation<br />
and bulk processing. A new field <strong>of</strong> enquiry susceptible to archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l approaches comprises,<br />
for instance, the surviving concrete and other military defences <strong>of</strong> twentieth-century <strong>Britain</strong> (e.g.<br />
Brown et al. 1995). Thus the remaining tank-traps and other defensive installations on the beaches<br />
around which today’s mid-<strong>ca</strong>reer archaeologists played as children are now a focus <strong>of</strong> attention<br />
(Figure 1.1). Some are Scheduled <strong>An</strong>cient Monuments. In sum, archaeology is defined more<br />
broadly, and the archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l community that researches, manages and monitors this resource<br />
is substantially larger and more diverse than it was a generation ago. Even though many<br />
archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l jobs remain pre<strong>ca</strong>rious, far more individuals earn their living <strong>from</strong> British<br />
archaeology in one <strong>of</strong> its many guises than was the <strong>ca</strong>se in 1950.