Chapter 1 Introduction
MARGARET RULE
Maritime Archaeologist; Archaeological Director, Mary RoseProject 1967–1994;
Archaeological Consultant 1995–
1 CULTURAL HERITAGE: THE ARCHAEOLOGIST,
THE CONSERVATOR AND THE PUBLIC – AN ESSENTIAL
COALITION
The recent growth of public interest in archaeology and their enthusiasm for
the past is reflected by the astonishing success of ‘heritage’ programmes on
television. A stranger to British television is often surprised at the number of
cookery, gardening and archaeology programmes offered for entertainment
every day and their success may reflect a growing wish to escape from the
stresses of modern living and a desire to understand our past. All three subjects
can be related to our heritage and the wonderful legacy left by our ancestors.
The better archaeological programmes often demonstrate the application
of technology to solve the problems of dating, identifying and conserving
cultural material, and the range of periods, sites and cultures investigated is
wide and diverse. Usually, these techniques are not new as many were origin-
ally developed for commercial or military use, but their application to archae-
ology is new, and the public, through good television presentation, is able to
understand both the technique and the problem.
One evening, we joined the architectural historians as they solve the problems
of how a building developed as its use changed over the years, and the con-
sultants discussed how best to interpret and preserve it for the future. The next
evening, we joined a group of students of garden history who explained the
importance of soil analysis and remote prospection using ground-penetrating
radar or a magnetometer to enable the researcher to present an accurate recreation
of a lost 18th-century garden. In the realm of the Field Archaeologist, we are