Chocolate: not as Relaxing as You Thought

Archaeology works hard to be inclusive.  Participation involves responsibility, but there are always people on hand to advise. Why then has a well-known company apparently chosen to dive in without forethought?

It can’t have been the Spring Publicity campaign that Cadbury planned. On the face of it, the idea: to encourage families into exploring the outdoors and engaging with heritage, was such a good one. How could it all go so horribly wrong?

Not only have they been encouraging illegal behaviour (the ransacking of archaeological sites is covered by legislation in each of the countries of the United Kingdom), it is also irresponsible. I doubt that they would suggest that kids go out and collect birds’ eggs from nests. So why was it deemed acceptable to Continue reading Chocolate: not as Relaxing as You Thought

New Publication: At Home on the Waves

I’ve a chapter in a new book. And, though I blow my own trumpet, it is a brilliant book. Not only does it cover a theme that is interesting to me: the relationship between people and the sea, but it combines an unusual mix of anthropology and archaeology so that you have papers on cruise ship crews from the Philippines sitting alongside papers on Neolithic archaeology. It makes for fascinating reading.

The publication started out as a session at a conference held in Bristol many years ago. Now, the editing of conference volumes is a thankless and demanding task so my heartfelt thanks must go to Gary and Tanya who took on the job for this one! I am sure that at times they despaired of ever getting everything together – editing took place across the continents just to add to the fun of it! Anyway, at last the book is out and everyone can relax.

As you will see, you do need a second mortgage in order to buy a print copy. In addition to the cheaper e-book, there is a 50% discount with the code KIN420 on print copies ordered through the Berghahn website UNTIL 30th April 2019. They are encouraging us to spread the word.

Planning problems

The island of Rum
The island of Rum off the west coast of Scotland, from the coast of Morar. Much of my work in the 1980s took place here, all funded by Historic Buildings and Monuments (Scottish Development Department). It was a happy time.

Autumn is the time when you start to think about your plans for the forthcoming year. Many of us have become accustomed to putting together research projects and considering the finance applications that we will need to make in order to run them. I’ve been very lucky, for much of my career I have been able to work Continue reading Planning problems