Telling it Like it is - Rarely

A few speak out, while timid jobsworths stay silent

Breaking the embarrassed silence from most of the country's archaeological community (Rescue being a rare exception, there is a critical Reddit comment too), Craig Spence ‏@cgspence (Early modern historian, archaeologist, academic, from Lincoln) referring to a tweet by Duncan Wright about the Merthyr Tydfil artefact hoiker is not afraid to call a spade a spade:

Found by and trashed by a #looter - just look at the 3ft deep holes he admits digging #notploughsoil

David R. Howell @Kasuutta (lLecturer on heritage at Cardiff University) also says he spots a difference between artefact hoiking and research:

David R. Howell ‏@Kasuutta 13 godzin temu Should be a good story, but look at the last picture. #notarchaeology - Bouncer 'puts holes in' possible Roman town http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-35112978 …

He adds two hours later:

WalesOnline is also calls this metal detectorist a 'historian', others cite him as an 'amateur historian'; I fancy being an amateur surgeon.  [...] [enlarging:]  To clarify, esp for undergrad students who might be confused - picking up a metal detector does not convey the status of 'historian' on you. 

Are there undergraduates who are confused about this? And the PAS is where, precisely? Today's undergraduates come from the same public that they've been taking money for outreaching to for coming up to two decades now. What progress can they claim if such a basic issue remains unresolved?

[Lorna Richardson has for some reason I cannot fathom blocked me, so I can't tell you what she said.]

British heritage professionals (sic) seem in this regard to be operating on the basis of a "public information by osmosis" model.