A Glamour Profession

We're only in it for the Glory Bob.

Ha, and the prospect of haphazardly stumbling into something 😜

That's why we have to wear steel toecaps Bob, all that stumbling on stuff, stubbed and broken toes were a serious hazard!

Is full hi vis ppe a requirement on site at all times or can you get away with just hv-vest and shorts when it hot?

That very much depends on the site in question and the Main Contractor if there is one. Where there is, we follow their rules (like here), where there isn't, we follow our rules.

Must be a grueller when it's hot.

Certainly can be, but if you want the archaeology.....

I guess a lot of corporate work is on railway construction or building sites, so will be mandated...

Exactly that, you want to work with the Big Boys you gotta follow their rules.

I've a rucksack full of orange clobber with me know, in fact having to wear the coat, as I'm on my way for a bit of railway volunteering. Very much not one of the 'big boys', but still an active line ;-)

And better safe than sorry is not a bad maxim.

Oh, utterly. Especially in a largely volunteer staffed heritage railway situation...

🤣

I must ask... why the need for high visibility outer wear on an archeological site? Digging for unexploded ordinance!\?!

No, we do a lot of Infrastructure work, roads, railways, water, electric etc, and on all these sites there will be a Billy Big Bollocks Main Contractor and we have to abide by their site rules, which is often complete orange plus hat, goggles, gloves and steel toecaps.

Thanks, now I understand. Just appeared to be a bit cumbersome for field work. So you're involved in pre-construction archaeological surveys?

Any yes, it is a bit cumbersome, it means we have to work a lot slower, but then they pay us by the hour so that's on them, with the gear and the rest of the health and safety nonsense I reckon we do about a quarter of the work in a day that we used to, so it costs them four times as much.

Stalls off the proposed constuction as well. Sometimes, but not often, form over function works in your favor! Shoe money!!

Yep, that's all we do over here, 99.9% of archaeological work is preconstruction, and the constructor pays, the little sliver of academic, volunteer and amateur stuff doesn't really register.

Here as well, but not on your scale. Mostly in long established urban areas. When I say long established I mean all the way back to the 17th and 18th centuries... which sounds like a joke when talking to you! Sometimes in rural areas too where there are obvious signs of indigenous occupation.

Can you confirm ⬆️, @drspacejunk.bsky.social?

I can confirm!

Loitering within tent?

D-u-u-u-u-u-uncan

🤭

An Arch of Archaeologists?

Very good!

Reminded me of Parr, his ‘Bad Weather’ book

I shall take that as a compliment sir!