You're quite right and it's a fair point. I seem to recall having two concerns at the time this was originally proposed. I don't think I was alone in having concerns buy I also thought there was some real merit, subject to these concerns:
1. Concern about the rigour and robustness of the surveying work being done by untrained amateurs. I remember saying at the time that surveying is technical and needs more than enthusiasm. I hope though that this fear was unfounded and that good instructions and advice were provided.
2. That this was a worrying example of the government wanting something done on the cheap without being prepared to invest in archaeology and heritage bodies. I still have that concern and in fact it has got worse in the subsequent years. I did admit at the time though that it was extremely unlikely that heritage bodies would be able to carry out a national survey of this scale without volunteers to assist. But examples at a regional scale such as the exhaustive Welsh Uplands Survey show what can be done with the right backing.
All that said, I applaud the efforts of everyone concerned and I am looking forward to spending time on the site. Like TMA, any online archaeo resource is a welcome addition. Any apparent negativity on my part was borne from those concerns and I'm certainly sorry if it came across as anything else.
