#PhilipWeek Some future insights

Today for #PhilipWeek we asked Philip if he had any advice for aspiring archaeologists of the future, and how archaeology as a profession has changed in the 53 years he’s been director here at CAT.

What’s changed in archaeology in the last 50 years?

Archaeology used to depend solely on volunteers unless you were a ‘workman’ working for the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works. (That’s going back a bit!) Volunteers were not paid but given a daily allowance. When I started, volunteers (I was one in the late sixties) were typically paid about £1.50 a day, the equivalent of seven or eight pints of beer a day at that time!

Archaeology has changed a lot since then. Archaeologists are a bit better paid now, are expected these days to have a degree in archaeology, and to strive early on to become an accredited member of CIfA (Chartered Institute for Archaeologists). So it’s got a lot more serious. Archaeologists have to abide by the CIfA code of conduct and pay due attention to such things as various Health and Safety rules.

You still won’t get rich being an archaeologist but, on the whole, it can very varied and interesting, you’ll meet a lot of people over the years, and you’ll find a lot of interesting things. Not your normal nine to five job!

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into archaeology today?

Go and volunteer on a dig as soon and for as long as you can and see if you like it. But it’s not all about digging. Far from it. You need to be computer literate and capable of writing good descriptive English if you want to get beyond the digging stage.