"Actually, I was quite taken aback by TR's very strong comment about Atkinson (first time I've heard it said publicly in such a way) and wondered if it was his own idea or something he'd got from discussions with the archeos."

The dehabilitation of Atkinson has been a deliberate process, and traceable over time. Nothing was said for decades - I presume because half the blame was down to EH's predecessors who should have controlled him. Then a few years ago four people in EH let rip in an article in British Archaeology and the poor sod was finally openly demonised, not without reason but late.

Did you know when he'd done at Silbury he left the blokes to fill it and didn't go back to supervise them? Apparently they didn't give a damn how they filled it, and partly didn't, and on cold days they ripped down the timber that had been put to line the walls and made bonfires in there? And no-one checked.