Professional Versus Amateur Archaeologists

Following the signing of the Valetta Convention, some professional archaeologists called for legislation to define who could undertake excavations-should archaeologists be licenced by government?

Introduction

The Valetta Convention (1992) was a series of conventions that sought the protection of culture heritage from a European perspective but eventually covered those in non-European areas. The documents were produced within the Valetta Convention which allowed each government to set particular ways of legally protecting their archaeological heritage. Some of the key parts of the Convention is to establish cooperation between archaeologists and project developers, which has been key in the field of commercial development. However, one area that has been seen to cause contentions is Article 3: aims to promote high standards for all archaeological work which should be carried out by suitable qualified people and should be authorised before anyone is allowed to excavate. In this essay I will be looking at the potential contentions with Article 3 and how the Valetta Convention may have led to an even bigger dispute between those who consider archaeology to be a commercial or professional activity and those of the amateur archaeologist.

Key points that need to be covered

·         Does the Valetta Convention have a purpose and how practical is the demands of Article 3 in UK archaeology?

·         Is archaeology a business and should become a business model with a…