Nick and Simon,
To answer Simon's question first: On the basis of what Nick explained,
I don't think it unfair that as a consultant I may be charged, wheras a
member of the public I can get that service for free, because I am not
charged as a consultant, but depending on who my client is, the client
is charged through me. As a consultant, though, I need to check the
fee issue before I do a costing for my client, so that I don't end up
paying the fee out of my own pocket.
What I was more concerned about when this discussion started, was
the concept of "commercial archaeology". Sometimes I have to resist
the temptation of walking into a meeting for a client with my "university
employee" hat on, because I find that in my role as an employed
archaeologist, the image is that of an academic who does it all for the
greater good of archaeology, whereas as a consultant my image is that
of someone making money with archaeology. In both cases I make a
living as an archaeologist, but the consultant's hat weakens my
position when my role is to raise money for an archaeological project,
or to protect archaeology from commercial interests.
Best wishes,
Birte
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