Archaeology - should the government invest more money into investigating the past?

Question

maybe we could learn from our mistakes

I totally agree with you Ironmanman! Im an archaeologist and I research the pact because it facinates me. I just think that the gment could use its money more wisely...to fund arch research for example. I could tell you a thimg or two :)

it also seems I can't type properly. soz!

hey monkey...maybe there is another sutton hoo! But not too many people that are facinated by the whole shebang (sp?) I'll put my mail on avaiable for 10 mins so mail me)

Answer 1

I think it is a criminal waste how little money is spent on this. Also it is increasingly easy for listed buildings and historical sites to be destroyed by paying enough money to the local authorities. If my house was grade 2 listed I would have to pay £10,000 to repair a broken window because it would damage the character of the house to use different grade glass, but by the same token if I was really wealthy I could just pay the council a few million and I would then have the right to demolish the building and put up some new flats where it was.
I studied archaeology at University but can not get a job in the field because the pay is so poor (usually minimum wage) and because of this I would not be able to cover the travel costs.
The biggest shame of all is that if the government did invest the money in these projects in the long term the extra money raised through tourist interest in these sites would make a big improvement to the local and national economy.
If I was in the government I would cut militrary spending by 2% and use these millions towards the preservation of historic sites and archaeological investiagation. I bet there is another Sutton Hoo out there somewhere waiting to be excavated and studied.

Answer 2

Yes the government should invest more, particularly where there are situations like in Northamptonshire where there is no longer a county archaeologist or a place to store archives. Our company has archives going back several years that should have been deposited in Northants but there is nowhere accepting them.

I also think that we should get rid of all this competitive tendering, which means cutting corners wherever possible to get the work. The developers need to understand that if they want to destroy our past then they have to pay for it to be recorded properly first.

I think that the government would be more useful investing in research projects and in outreach programmes so that people know about the archaeology of their area as it happens rather than years later when a few nice finds might go into the local museum.

Answer 3

If you actually look at the amount of money spent on space exploration as a % of world GDP it is an incredibly small amount. The amount spent world wide on militarty equipment to kill each other with is probably 10,000 times greater. But do not forget that international communications including a great deal of internet traffic, is only possible because of space exploration, which has resulted in satelites which assist not only with communications but also weather forcasts etc. Without them we probably would find it difficult to measure global warming. Then there are all the materials that we now think of as common place but were originally developed for space exploration. The point is we learn important knowledge by probing the unknown. If we only think about what we already know, we can't discover new knowledge or new ideas. So advances in medical science are not isolated from those of physics or chemistry. Space exploration adds to the total human knowledge and understanding of who we are, where we are ,where we came from and how nature works. If non of that is of interest to you, then perhaps you should throw out your computer, cell phone, digital anything etc and live a nice primitive lifestyle. There is a vitalness about doing uninhibited free range research, not constrained by immediate or near term gains. Because who can tell where the next big idea is going to come from. No one foresaw that the development of cryogenic super conductors would eventually result in very effective medical imaging tools such as MRI scanners. The whole biotechnology programme, which offers the best hope of curing deseases like HIV & AIDS is founded on some long term impressive pure research. Space exploration is just another research area which has already more than paid its way in spin off benifits. It has untold potential in the long term, but if we don't start, we will not see the benifits. Currently it is space exploration which has the potential to find some real answers to global warming for instance. We can observe how other planets climate systems operate and so come to a better understanding of our planets climate. We can learn more about the little patch of our cosmos and so understand the likelyhood of sizeable asteroid collisions, a lot more probable than thought just a few years ago for instance. We understand very little of the way our solar system works and space exploration is a very big eye opener. We have learnt more in the last 50 yrs than in the previous 5000. Our grasp on reality has thus improved. Nothinng like a pic of earth from space for instance to remind you that we live on a tiny fragile ball far from any where else, so we better look after it. Cut so called defense spending world wide by 20% and we could double research in space and do all of what you wanted as well and have money left over, if everyone co-operated that is.

Answer 4

Governments should invest into archaeology more.

Also, some sponsorship possibilities must not be ignored. Private companies should be encouraged to sponsor archaeological researches.

In the beginning of this century, most of the countries invested into archaeology very much because they were in need of evidencing that their nation existed many times before. These days, many countries are not in need of finding a "national history". That's why, the money resources of archaeology being decreased. But we need archaeology and we must find some more money for it. If it is not the government, there should be another kinds of sources.

Answer 5

There is alot of Archeology going on in the US that many do not even know about. My Brother is an Archaeologist in WY for the University there. Many Universities through out or country employee these people and have digs on going for many years.

Answer 6

That would be a very poetic fix all. but first the government needs to invest more money to help the people whose pasts they have ruined. like the vets they just took funding from. or pay off the enormous debt they have with the rest of the world before they start investing money into other subjects to take the focus away from the here and now things they already ignore come election time

Answer 7

I study Scottish History and eventually want to get my Ph.D in that subject and go into historical research. I would love to see more money being used towards discovering more of the past - it would enable more students and universities to get funding and learn more about our culture. There are still so many things to discover!!

Answer 8

I don't think it should. We learn from our mistakes quicker then that without trolling into thousands of years ago. Those times just are not relevant to todays problems. Everything has changed so much.

Answer 9

what ever happened to learning and discovering for the sake of learning and discovering? we are human, its what we do. yes, i believe the government should invest more in archeology, but it shouldnt have to be glittered with a reason such as learning from our mistakes. yes we learn from past mistakes, but i would rather learn about the past because im interested in it, not to prevent mistakes! :)

Answer 10

I think this government would probably prefer to forget the past - especially the last 10 years.