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 Head To Head The Modern Antiquarian East Kennett Forum | Start a topic | Search |
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| For crying out loud. Even 'proper' achaeologists realise that excavation should only be used in a last ditch (sorry) effort to learn about a site in a hurry i.e. pre-destruction rescue excavations. Fair enough there MAY be something amazing in there but, as Pete has pointed out, chances are there's some bones, some bits of pottery and some other 'ritual' stuff we don't understand. Excavation and the inevitable subsequent restoration of East Kennet would create yet another toursit attration to be trashed by the increasingly disrespectful arcaeo-tourist. Any excavation would have to recoup its money from somewhere and that somewhere would likely be the TV show which would draw EVEN MORE 'passing trade'. In the years to come its likely that non-intrusive methods will be able to show us exactly what lies within thus negating the need for any excavation at all. Studies of East Kennet's position, orientation, dimensions and spatial relations to other sites can reveal as much, if not more, than digging the thing up and destroying for ever that which has lain undisturbed for thousands of years. We cannot assume that todays archaeological methods are any 'better' than those of two hundred years ago just because they are 'modern'. If the site is left untill a time that in can be fully investigated in a non-destructive way we, or our decendents, will learn just as much AND preserve one of the most important undisturbed prehistoric sites in Britain. And it aint like Time Team or whoever digging up another Roman Villa or another blast furnace or whatever. Most sites excavated by archaeologists are ALREADY RUINED! East Kennet is intact. I recently saw a TV show about how no one really knows how they built the, perfectly functioning to this day, Iron Bridge in Shropshire. Curious as they were they didn't see the need to pull it down to find out, instead they used what we would call 'experimental archaeology' to reconstruct a scale replica and hypothosise if that was how it was done. Anyway that's why I think we shouldn't excavate East Kennet. Reply | with quote |  11th November 2004ce 09:17 In reply to: Re: As one barrow closes another one opens (StoneLifter)2 replies: Re: As one barrow closes another one opens (Rhiannon) Re: As one barrow closes another one opens (Kammer) |
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