UK Commercial Archaeology
UK Commercial Archaeology has an old and storied past, developing out of a heavy volunteer tradition in the 80s and 90s it is still in its early stages of professionalization. The UK likely has the most advanced archaeological sector because of its policy and regulation requiring archaeology to be conducted and funded by developer-led or polluter-pays projects. Although it is likely the most advanced, it is still 20-30 years behind in its adoption or adaptation of technology to improve the efficiency of our work.
The legacy of “making do” with what you have still lingers. Despite being a multi-million-pound industry at the heart of development, much of the work is still carried out with outdated tools, fragmented systems, and minimal technological integration. It’s a sector that’s expected to move fast, deliver results, and yet operate with minimal support.
What’s worse is that very little of this is visible to the public. Often, the public has no idea that commercial archaeology even exists or what we commercial archaeologists do. Most of the information we have on our section is informal, shared experiences, or the rare State of the Market or Profiling the Profession Surveys.
These surveys show that anywhere from 85-95% of archaeologists work in the commercial sector or the adjacent sectors that allow commercial archaeology to work effectively. It is a steady growing sector with an 11% increase in archaeologists working in the commercial sector, constantly being pushed forward by infrastructure development, led by residential development in the UK.
Educating a Machine
A very surprising but harsh reality of archaeology is that it is a sector that requires advanced degrees for what is often considered entry level positions. 97% of archaeologists (as of 2020) have a bachelor’s Degree while 69% have a master’s, and just shy of 25% of the field have a PhD. Our field is increasing in degree saturation and trends suggest that upwards of 80% of archaeologists might hold a master’s degree as of 2025. This is bolstered by ‘standards’ organizations like the Register of Professional Archaeologists (based on the Secretary of the Interior Standards) or Chartered Institute for Archaeologists that require higher degrees to obtain qualifications.
On paper, this looks like a highly skilled workforce. In practice, those skills are rarely used. Despite all the academic effort it takes to break into the field, many archaeologists are stuck doing repetitive, mechanical tasks, jobs that either shouldn’t be done by humans or don’t need to be done at all. Data entry. Reformatting forms. Cross-referencing sheets. Watching samples dry.
Human or Robot
In our next post, we’ll break down the full process of a commercial excavation in the UK but for now we want to focus on the frustration faced by many archaeologists.
Yes, many of us love digging, it’s the part of the job that keeps us grounded (literally and figuratively). But it’s everything that comes after the trench that can feel soul-crushing. You spend years learning to identify ceramics, interpret stratigraphy, or reconstruct cultural narratives… only to be handed a clipboard and told to consolidate forms for eight hours a day. The real intellectual work, the kind you trained for, is often reserved for someone further up the chain, or worse, left undone entirely because there just isn’t time (or money).
Even worse, what you learn in school is often made obsolete the moment you enter the field. Every company uses different forms, terminology, systems, and standards. There is no unified language, no shared infrastructure.
Want to switch jobs? Be prepared to relearn everything from scratch. In a field with such a high barrier to entry, the lack of standardization creates a paradox: it’s hard to get in, but once you’re in, you’re treated like a robot.
