THE UK made history by leaving the European Union. Now Brexit threatens the archaeology work that links us to our past as experts are blocked by red tape, it is claimed.
Until January, Scottish commercial archaeology firms routinely recruited experts from the EU to work on excavations and other projects.
Now red tape has made it too hard for many firms to bring in overseas talent.
And, with the closure announced this week of one leading UK university archaeology department, it’s feared that the sector’s recruitment problems are about to get worse.
The University of Sheffield plans to shutter its archaeology school and merge some of its activities with other departments. Many of its graduates are now in senior positions in Scotland and its work includes the excavation of Sheffield Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was once held, and at Cladh Hallan in South Uist, where Bronze Age mummies and ruins give tantalising clues about our ancient past.
The Sheffield University news sparked outrage and more than 40,000 people have signed a petition seeking a u-turn. Meanwhile, provision at Chester University is also under review.
And in the archaeology sector, there’s growing concern that losing skilled graduates from domestic courses will only add to growing headaches over the recruitment of specialist staff – something leaders fear could derail development projects and limit public understanding about our shared history.
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According to the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), there are currently 6300 archaeologists in the UK. That number’s low enough that the UK Government placed these professionals on the official shortage occupation list, which allows lower-earning specialists to duck under salary barriers put in place to limit immigration after Brexit.
Skilled workers must earn £25,600 a year to qualify under new visa rules, but the going rate for archaeology graduates is around £20,400 and management-level posts are around £10,000 higher.
But commercial firms say the extra time and costs around filling in are so “onerous” it’s now too hard to accept European applicants.
And with notice of only weeks given before some commercial contracts begin, they say they don’t have time for the process.
The problem, it is feared, could see even simple developments take far longer or even compromise the extent of work done. There are further concerns that it could limit the scope of the public engagement work that connects many of us to the past.
“This is all of our heritage, it’s all of our archaeology and we have got to all work together to make sure everyone has access to it and, frankly, we have enough archaeologists to keep maintaining that knowledge development cycle and keep sharing our knowledge and our passion,” says Cara Jones, CIfA’s senior professional development and practice coordinator for Scotland.”
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Jones says there’s anecdotal evidence that some EU specialists are no longer applying for UK posts as a result of Brexit changes. “We are a very vibrant sector and everyone really enjoys working in a vibrant and diverse staff and colleagues,” she says. “It’s a great shame that this is potentially going to be reduced because of the visa process.
“As companies can no longer rely on easily getting staff from Europe it’s really important to make sure that we have got a healthy system of developing the archaeologists of the now and of the future.”
At Guard Archaeology in Edinburgh, commercial director Ronan Toolis (above left) is trying to find a mix of 10 graduates and experienced excavators and the Spanish and French specialists he’d often hire before are no longer in the mix.
“There aren’t many experienced excavators out there who aren’t already working,” he says. “They don’t grow on trees.
“Before Brexit we took a lot of archaeologists from Europe and that’s completely stopped now. Unless they are living in the UK, the bureaucracy is too onerous to take on any new staff. We are not alone in that.
“We are struggling to find enough staff for projects because we are extremely busy but at the same time a big source of archaeologists has been cut off.
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“Most discoveries these days are done by commercial archaeologists working in advance of developments. It’s not just private developers building houses but also public infrastructure – a lot of road jobs have archaeology as part of them.
“We have several large excavations and we need a big team. We’re doing lots of work, digging prehistoric settlements, medieval settlements. One of our big projects is for Edinburgh Trams. But it’s an industry-wide issue.”
Around 80% of archaeologists in the UK work within construction, according to CIfA, as what lies beneath future housing schemes, office blocks and roadways is checked and tested for fragments of lives gone by before the foundations can be laid. Guard’s team uncovered the remains of a lost village as part of M74 improvement works, with pottery, gaming pieces, an iron dagger and the remainders of four houses now documented and analysed.
THE creation of the HS2 rail project is so massive that it’s become the biggest archaeology project in Europe, while major infrastructure plans in Scotland include the dualling of the A9, something that’s due to require a significant amount of archaeology as the ground is prepared.
HS2 is “going to soak up a lot of archaeologists”, Jones says, “We need to make sure the supply of graduates is there.
“Sheffield is known for amazing graduates who do high-quality in work. In South Uist, that work includes developing virtual digital models to encourage tourism. When we are talking about outputs in archaeology, it’s not just about data and research, it’s also about that economic opportunity for local communities.”
CIfA is working on a range of measures to mitigate staffing issues, including efforts to upskill those already in the sector and explore staff-sharing schemes with Scottish firms, as well as developing case studies on how to deal with immigration paperwork to allow businesses to learn from each other.
“It’s a new and dynamic situation for archaeology managers to deal with,” Jones says, “both financially and with the capacity required to sort out.
“The immigration system doesn’t stop people from working in the UK, but it does provide extra barriers to overseas recruitment.
“However, it does potentially represent an opportunity to focus our efforts on improving domestic training, including degree courses, and seeking improvements to salaries and working conditions.”
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