tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post1600498036515163469..comments2024-03-27T04:46:33.198-07:00Comments on Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: UK Heritage Professional, "Raising Conservation Concerns = Bullying"Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-57366787585830038882018-03-14T11:36:12.993-07:002018-03-14T11:36:12.993-07:00Benjamin Westwood wrote (on Facebook):
Benjamin We...<br />Benjamin Westwood wrote (on Facebook):<br />Benjamin Westwood: "I’ve ‘ummed’ and ‘ahhed’ about whether to respond to you or not, since whatever I say is just more grist to your mill, and will inevitably end up on your blog. I was actually quite happy to respond straight way when I saw your original FB comment, until I saw you’d already blogged without giving me chance to respond. <br /><br />But, I feel your ‘blog’ contains a number of inaccuracies and unnecessary implications, that in essence question my professional reputation and dedication to archaeology. Consequently, I have decided, belatedly, to respond.<br /><br />‘Better than nothing minimalism’ and ‘lack of concern’: I’m not sure how you read that into my original post. Perhaps I can clarify: The work we do as heritage professional is always a compromise (just as in the rest of life). Whether you work in development led archaeology, museums, research/academia (and yes, even the PAS) we always have to compromise, working within budgets, time-constraints, person-power available, limits of our knowledge etc., and of course the legal framework we have. Does this mean we accept the status quo? Not necessarily, and advocating for improvement and change is a positive thing. Nevertheless, the job at hand has to be done: you may be heartbroken that the early-med pit in front of you will be trashed by a 360 come next Monday morning, but the fact remains that if you don’t dig and record it, it will be gone. Forever. With no record that it was ever there. Whilst in my heart I may be an ideologue, in my head I’m a pragmatists: what I care most about is the preservation of archaeology and the resulting advancement of archaeological knowledge; where preservation is simply not possible or practical, then the preservation of the archaeological data is the next best tool we have. I haven’t met many archaeologists who simply do ‘mere minimum required by law’, and it’s quite a stretch to imply that is what I meant. Most of us are just doing the best we can, putting in extra time and hours, often for relatively poor pay (compared to the level of qualifications and experience most have). <br /><br />As to the rest of your blog post: a bit of back and forth on twitter, even a robust discussion of ethics is, of course, all fine. When it turns into multiple posts, across various platforms (with ‘updates’), questioning an individual’s professionalism, cutting out peoples ‘smiles’ to make a cheap point, then yes, in my very humble opinion it’s crossed the line into online bullying. Polemical and overly combative attitudes when discussing issues with fellow heritage professionals really help no one.<br /><br />One final point if I may. I’ve no particular fondness for vases, Greek or otherwise. Quite why you chose to pick that out as such an important issue is mystifying. It’s simply an image I googled of Europa after the travesty of the EU ref (although, I think you’re the first person to pick up on it, so well done you). <br /><br />I’d say I'm looking forward to your response on your blog, but I’m not really, since I suspect that whatever I write will not really make any difference". Paul Barfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.com