Presentation

The upsurge in archaeological activities across Europe has changed the status and responsibilities of professionals within the archaeological community. Such transformations have important implications in social, economic, educational and scientific terms. Three areas are relevant:

- Identifying the archaeologists of Europe - quantitative aspects. Comparable data is sought across Europe on who counts as an archaeologist in each country (institution), with what diplomas, specialisations and employments, as well as the numbers of archaeologists per surface, GDP, sites, and volume of infrastructure activities. This will provide valuable information for various analyses and recommendations.

- Identifying the archaeologists of Europe - qualitative aspects. The scientific, socio-economic and professional standing of archaeologists in Europe is researched: professional and ethical codes, definitions of good practice, responsibilities vis a vis the relevant authorities, local communities, developers and funders etc.

- Professional training. The relevance of university education to the current conditions and needs of contemporary archaeology is assessed, The 'professional' teaching proposed in Europe is appraised, strengths and experiences shared, and e-learning teaching module elaborated.

Coordinated by LaPa (CSIC-IEGPS) and INRAP, work on identifying the archaeologists of Europe will lead to a database and synthetic publication on a European-wide basis. A working on the teaching of archaeology at university level will be steered by the Institute of prehistory, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and other members of the network, who will design an E-teaching module

Production