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While the damagingly huge number of artefact groups currently being pulled out of their archaeological contexts in the UK may be difficult for some in British government and British Museum bosses to understand, a sotto voce remark of a senior figure from an English heritage organisation suggests the reason is perfectly clear to those in the heritage profession. What actually is there to stop said person actually saying out loud and clear his thoughts which are kept whispered between the chair backs of a conference room? That actually is not a rhetorical question.
It strikes me that in all the fifteen years of operation of "liaison" and "partnering" the British archaeological milieu, with artefact hunting and hoiking going on on a massive scale under their noses, has not ONCE actually produced a text explaining explicitly "why this is not looting" without dodging the issue. It seems to me that it is high time they did.
Vignette: Ed Vaizey confused.
While the damagingly huge number of artefact groups currently being pulled out of their archaeological contexts in the UK may be difficult for some in British government and British Museum bosses to understand, a sotto voce remark of a senior figure from an English heritage organisation suggests the reason is perfectly clear to those in the heritage profession. What actually is there to stop said person actually saying out loud and clear his thoughts which are kept whispered between the chair backs of a conference room? That actually is not a rhetorical question. It strikes me that in all the fifteen years of operation of "liaison" and "partnering" the British archaeological milieu, with artefact hunting and hoiking going on on a massive scale under their noses, has not ONCE actually produced a text explaining explicitly "why this is not looting" without dodging the issue. It seems to me that it is high time they did.
Vignette: Ed Vaizey confused.
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