Pocketing Called 'Archaeology' and 'Survey'.

The artefact hunters calling themselves 'Priscan Archaeology' that I have discussed here earlier are out in the fields again. The adjective 'priscan' means 'primitive' (with which it is probably cognate) but even so a group of artefact hunters engaged in Collection-Driven Exploitation of archaeological sites in order to pocket collectables are stretching the point calling what they do 'archaeology ('primitive' or not). What they are doing is simply trashing the archaeological record they are selectively pocketing. Their logo therefore seems appropriate, showing as it does the dynamic fragmentation of the archaeological record they are damaging.

In a video posted yesterday three guys trailing spades are seen ambling across a field pulling out ancient collectables and pocketing them. They say they are 'Surveying a Potential Roman Villa' and call this episode of pocketing 'the beginning'. Yet while these guys are encumbered by all sorts of equipment, webbing, straps, extra pockets - not a single piece of survey equipment is in sight. Not even 'primitive' survey equipment like steel tapes and survey pegs. Nothing seems to be being recorded. What kind of a 'survey' is this? What the video shows looks more like a looting foray, not a survey. What the video shows looks more like unmethodical knowledge theft than anything that could be called archaeology. Just what do these folk think they are doing? They call the site a 'villa' because there are 'tesserae' and 'ceramic building material' - yet show none of the latter (let alone a plan showing the extent and distribution) in the video 'documenting' their 'survey'. Is it not rather pathetic that these three guys are fooling  themselves into thinking that they are 'doing archaeology', most viewers of that video will see nothing wrong with such a definition of the discipline and most archaeologists in the UK, the PAS included will stay utterly silent and not attempt to set the record straight. Pathetic. This is where twenty years of PAS 'outreach' has got us.

Hat tip, Nigel Swift