News items

APPAG inquiry relating to pay and conditions in archaeology

October 2007

July 2007

The APPAG report 'The Current State of Archaeology in the United Kingdom' (2002) states:

"There is an urgent need to improve pay and conditions for employment in field archaeology so that they are commensurate with graduate entry level in allied professions such as local authority planning officers, civil engineers and university lecturers. The IFA, working with English Heritage (EH) and the other national heritage agencies and Prospect, should create a structure for training and qualifications related to career development that will set standards for best practice in archaeological work, one in which employers are obliged to support the continuing professional development of staff. Only those contractors that meet these standards should be eligible to bid for developer-funded work. In the longer term, the current fragmented commercial unit system which has resulted from competitive tendering should be replaced with a more stable regional, or more local framework of archaeological organisations."

Five years on APPAG is aware that there are initiatives under way to implement some of its recommendations and to improve the pay and conditions of archaeologists. To assess how far they have got and how fast they are being acted upon, APPAG intends to hold a short inquiry.

Initially APPAG is seeking brief written submissions from those taking an active role in seeking to improve pay and conditions, setting out what they are doing and how they intend to implement any reforms. APPAG is interested in information and comment on what is being done, not on the present position. Submissions of up to 1000 words should be sent to inquiry@appag.org.uk by 30 September 2007.

Thereafter APPAG will invite organisations or individuals to provide oral evidence at inquiry hearings during the autumn. After considering the evidence, APPAG will produce a report making targeted recommendations, and may organise debates in Parliament.

May 2006

Colonel Bogdanos lectures APPAG

Following the success of Matthew Bogdanos' talk at the Society of Antiquaries of London in February 2006, the Colonel was invited to give a talk to a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group (Advisory Group). This took place on 9 May 2006 in the Palace of Westminster and was attended by MPs and Peers on boths sides of the House.

L-R: Tim Loughton MP, Col Matthew Bogdanos, Lord Redesdale

Colonel Bodganos gave an energetic and informative talk about the situation facing the National Museum in Iraq in the weeks following the invasion. He also outlined his role tracing the antiquities that were stolen and outlined what should be done in the future.

APPAG members who missed this treat might like to buy a copy of his book ‘Thieves of Baghdad: One Marine's Passion for Ancient Civilizations and the Journey to Recover the World's Greatest Stolen Treasures’. Royalties from the book go to the National Museum, Iraq.

March 2006

Colonel Bogdanos lectures at Burlington House

The largest audience for an ordinary meeting in living memory gathered at Burlington House on 23 February, to hear US Marines Colonel and District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos describe the events that took place at the Iraq Museum in 2003 and the ‘continuing cultural catastrophe’.

Fellows, MPs, Peers and distinguished guests from the cultural heritage sector attended the first Annual APPAG Lecture, a collaborative event between the Society and the All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group. The invited audience included Neil McGregor, director of the British Museum, John Curtis, also of the British Museum, and Lords Redesdale and Montagu representing APPAG.

This was a lecture ‘from the heart, not the pen’ and the Colonel’s zeal for his subject was in no doubt as he gave probably the most passionate and dynamic lecture seen at the Society. Bogdanos dispelled some myths about the looting of the museum, explaining how much of the theft had been highly targeted and how some pieces first thought stolen, had actually been hidden away by museum staff for safety.

Bogdanos praised institutions such as the British Museum for their swift and organised response, but was less positive about organisations whose protests had not translated into action.

‘Unesco was so angry, they held six conferences in the first few months alone,’ the Colonel said to slightly nervous laughter. ‘Can you imagine how furious they were?’

An amnesty initiated by the Colonel resulted in the recovery of over a third of the stolen objects. Since then, he has continued his crusade to recover more and to expose the illicit antiquities trade which is supporting, in part, insurgency and terrorism in Iraq.

While Colonel Bogdanos’s lecture inevitably attracted differing opinons amongst Fellows at the meeting, there was clearly a consensus of admiration for his ability to enthuse and motivate. The message was clear that resources were needed to protect archaeological sites in Iraq and eradicate the international illicit antiquities trade and it was incumbent on the cultural heritage community to lobby for those measures.

July 2005

• Local children work on the Shoreditch project
• David Lammy visits the project - National Archaeology Week