Trench Phil-osophy

Phil talks trenches as well as other archaeological wisdoms.

[@jasminarnold2922]

I could listen to Phil talking about archaeology for hours

[@smiffy1071]

Gotta love prof Mick Aston lurking in the background in his trademark stripy sweater! Bless him....

[@Chaplain_GM]

3:47

[@drumknott]

I'm always inspired by how sharp Phil's observations are.

[@susansouthard]

Phi, your an archaeologists because you’re a storyteller, and a damn fine storyteller too!

[@L_Jan_Turner]

Very interesting, and satisfyingly explained in a concise manner. Well done, Phil

[@bobschenkel7921]

Phil giving good, solid, practical advice to anyone who will listen. He is a man with a PASSION.

[@therealcryss]

This man really loves what he is doing. Great guy!

[@jennyk544]

Phil, you are amazing!

[@picardsflute5849]

Never met him, but god I love him. Been watching Time Team since I was a kid.

[@darcycartlidge8946]

Thanks Phil, verify informative.

[@lifesforliving4929]

Phil can do no wrong, top man.

[@kurtbogle2973]

That was better than gold!

[@landrecce]

A brilliant man!

[@starwarsphan]

If you saw Phil sitting on a step you would probably give him a quid, but he is a very wise, intelligent and passionate man.

[@boneytony5041]

He’d probably take it and date it.

[@paulcombs-bomuse6172]

As someone who feel born to be a musician, I can certainly relate to Phil’s feelings about archaeology.

[@DeborahParham-ve1vp]

Phil is also a musician. He loves the Blues.

[@scottwilson2691]

I want to hear Phil to tell me how to drink a beer. I wish I could drink it with him : (:o}

[@DeborahParham-ve1vp]

He could also teach you how to make beer and the barrels to store it in. A very talented and special man is our Phil.

[@dec0mposing]

I love Phil so much

[@earlymorningtwilight9119]

Wonderful teacher

[@donnal.oglesby4806]

I totally agree 100% with everything that Phil stated, and I truly understand his views... it is NOT just a hole in the ground, you are responsible for all of it, while you are there:-)

[@grammardad]

Amen.

[@Becca2334]

❤

[@jonathancook4022]

Next time ill be sure to take some antibacterial spray and some microfibre clothes with me into a hole!

[@bertjesklotepino]

Phil, i am willing to bet i can fool you with a flint

[@DeborahParham-ve1vp]

Not bloody likely.

[@bertjesklotepino]

@@DeborahParham-ve1vp is it possible to date flint?

[@andyweb7779]

Can you carbon date soil?

[@MelissaThompson432]

Short answer: sort of, with difficulty. large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/lin2/

[@silverdollarswede151]

I tried carbon dating once, In the end, all I got was a handshake.

[@kurtbogle2973]

Phil, your trying to find your past self.

[@DeborahParham-ve1vp]

He doesn't have to. Phil was born knowing who he is and what he was always meant to be.

[@JETWTF]

Phil's wisdom fails a bit here, today you need to have some college/university education before they will let you scrape some soil with a trowel much less control the trench. Someone that's passionate and self taught wont have a chance to practice even if they are 100k X better than the best college/university student when they apply for the team. Phil got into the trade when it allowed him to and today with all his knowledge if he was 18 he wouldn't be trusted to make coffee on a weekend at the dig site. Progress I guess where someone that's actually good at the trade gets ignored because they don't have the proper degree if by progress you mean fail.

[@barbmcconnaughey3070]

JETWTF Watch the Hadrian’s Well episode for a good example of practical, hands-on experience vs. strictly academic, three decimal places engineering, losing sight of what the original point of the exercise, how to get water from point a to point b..

[@JETWTF]

@@barbmcconnaughey3070 Time Team Special 12 (2003)... Yeah that is an episode that gets a wholehearted agreement with Mick and Phil from me, way overengineered. That's way overcomplicated compared to what artisans and craftsmen would make for the same function. In Roman times it was artisans and craftsmen designing and making everything so they wanted everything they made to be simpler than an engineer would design because they had to make it too. Engineers design and others make so they are free to be as complicated as they desire and when they get paid more for complicated designs... they get complicated. But funny Mick suggested adding water and they said no... then add water and it worked correct hours later. I once worked a job putting on an HVAC system onto the roof of a 10 story building. Every single pad of the frame the HVAC sat on had a different bolt pattern and were at different heights even though the roof was level and the platform was level and the base of the HVAC unit was flat... complete nightmare to put it together but the engineer that designed it claimed it was important that the bolt patterns be different and at different heights. so there were 8 bolts per pad doing the job of four except for one of the 16 pads. Hint "It wasn't.", he got paid more for adding more detail and doubling the cost to install. Next project looked at the plans... same BS. I quit right then and there.

[@barbmcconnaughey3070]

JETWTF I hear you, I’m an electrician and some of the plans I’ve seen...🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@barbmcconnaughey3070]

JETWTF I guess my point originally was that you need hands-on experience as well as advanced study. Makes no sense to say you have to have your PhD before you’re allowed to stick a shovel in the ground.

[@JETWTF]

@@barbmcconnaughey3070 I think you need both hands on and taught advanced study to be considered an expert. In the case of engineering anything at all hands on experience creating it should be mandatory. Many lessons to learn doing the work that engineers miss. But that's all off topic, my OP was about the fact that college/Uni is needed to get into doing archeology on a "professional" level. Pro being the base meaning, as in getting paid for it. This day and age even fast food is wanting college/uni on the job app. Ditch digging archeology? That's a few dozen steps up from flipping burgers out of a drive through window and the requirements to enter the field has increased at the same rate. Today if Phil was 18 years old and wanted to do the trench digging side of archeology he would only experience it at a DigNation community event. Otherwise wait for an intern opening or get a minor degree. There are positions for people like Phil that are not going to be easily filled and those that fill them? How many are going to be as passionate about the subject matter when they are only filing it until their degree is obtained? Phil loves being in the trench, that's his thing. He wants to find things and let others figure out the meaning. Today you must be educated through a college/uni before anything as mundane as calculating change at a drive through window is allowed much less the ever careful ability to remove hardened soil from around a 2k year old a skull. Yes full on college/uni education is needed. But skill and experience should never take a backseat to it. Should be considered better. Anyone with an engineering degree though should have a mandatory 4 years working in the field on making what the engineers create. I would up that to 8 because of bias but 4 should work.