While there have been many surveys of archaeologists in the UK (for example – Aitchison 1997; Aitchison and Edwards 2003; Aitchison and Edwards 2008, Aitchison and Rocks-Macqueen 2013) and indeed in many other countries (see DISCO projects for examples of from dozens of European countries www.discovering-archaeologists.eu/) there have been limited surveys into what archaeologists’ views are on public engagement. There was one survey of ‘Attitudes and Values in Archaeological Practice’ (Zimmer et al. 1995) that asked some questions on the topic and another survey that specifically targeted the views of archaeologists in New Mexico (Rocks-Macqueen 2012). There was Hilary Orange’s 2013 survey in the United Kingdom, which has been partially published (Organge 2013, Orange and Perring 2017). These aside, there is a significant gap in our understanding of how archaeologists perceive their engagement with the public.
This Paper aims to help bridge that gap and provide data on how public engagement is perceived by archaeologists in the UK.
