Excuse me FourWinds but you should never feel guilty about what you've done. You have meticulously recorded all those thousands of sites in Ireland and they are the heritage of every person in Ireland, bourgeois or whoever. I think getting that information onto the internet is a very valuable thing to do. You're making it accessible to anyone in the world, and you're raising its profile. I think 'roots' are important to everyone. Your spare cash could make a tiny difference to world poverty. But what you've done with your website, it's not as though it's a major selfish capitalist venture, and it's created something where nothing existed before. You ought to be proud I think. Ok so you get some pleasure out of it but so do many other people who enjoy the site you've made. It's not entirely selfish! You can eschew all worldly goods and join Mother Theresa's nuns if you like but there's no need to beat yourself up if you don't go quite that far.
Besides. I'm sure there are plenty of people of the 'working class' who enjoy visiting prehistoric sites (not everyone here can be an accountant) - though maybe the internet is a pretty middle class thing in itself.

Hi FW,

Personally I'm happy for you to feel guilty if you want. It's your prerogative (after all, when in Rome...).

;-)#

Regarding the whole guilt thing, you're on a slippery slope (as my Dad used to say). We all have the option of selling our cars, Macintosh computers and other unnecessary trappings to save lives. All power to anyone who has a big garage sale and gives their cash to the poor, but most of us make the selfish decision not to.

> Which one would you choose if those three were on the table
> (and let's face it they are always on the table)?

I'm not advocating that we deprive children of housing in favour of re-erecting stones, but nobody (no really... nobody!) is going to offer me that choice. If I had the choice obviously I'd favour saving lives, but I don't have the choice. Even when I vote I don't have that choice because money rules our pitiful little island(s). I can vote for a wide selection of money orientated bafoons. Ain't democracy great!

Cash is routinely spent in vast quantities on much more stupid things than archaeology. Who's going to question the merits of re-erecting old stones when killing women and children in a foreign country is considered 'a pretty good idea' by those in government. Now, if we could persuade the powers that be that Avebury was built on the site of an oil field we'd have no lack of interest in digging etc.

And another thing (he said, now teetering on his mahogany soap box), there's nothing wrong with something being Middle Class. The middle class are the fastest growing social group in the UK, making up a pretty hefty part of the population. Speaking as a Middle Class person I think we spend far too much time trying to be something we're not ("I'm really working class because my father's father started life as a pit pony etc etc").

I need more coffee!

K x

"I could easily choose to donate the money I spend on doing this to truly worthy causes, but I don't. To be honest sometimes I feel pretty shit about that "

I am slightly baffled by this

In social terms, archaeology is obviously a 'luxury' afforded by an excess of resources (in terms of just the means neccesary for survival) but as part of our cultural development it is surely not only pleasurable but educational (unless you are a follower of Chairman Mao).

The discovery of early human remains (for instance) served the lie to a lot of brutal early racist claims.

Isn't it a false opposition to hypothetically ask the question 're-erect this stone' or 'feed this starving person'?

Your point about the re-distribution of funds to more needy cases within the possible range of archaelogical sites is much more convincing.

These threads are amazing - they (un)cover a lot of ground no?

If I told you I was upper class - that would automatically make me a twat right? - or arrogant? - or out of touch and irrelevant? Who cares anymore?!

Lord T.