Dave Muirhead, Head of the School of Geosciences, and Kate Britton, Head of the Department of Archaeology, have written to the Vice Chancellor and Executive Board of the University of Sheffield, following the news that it intends to close its archaeology department.
Dear Vice Chancellor and Executive Board,
We are deeply concerned that following a very brief review, the University of Sheffield is proposing to close its Department of Archaeology. We in the School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen – representing the Departments of Archaeology, Geography and Geology – write in solidarity and support for our colleagues in Sheffield, and appeal to your management team to reconsider this decision.
We are acutely aware that in recent years, educational institutions – like many parts of the wider archaeology and heritage sector – have been badly affected by a number of external factors, for example, the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we are struggling to contemplate how the University of Sheffield can consider the closure of one of the most influential institutions of archaeology globally. Indeed, Sheffield consistently places with a handful of other elite archaeology institutions in national and global rankings.
In 2007, University of Aberdeen made the bold choice to establish a brand new Department of Archaeology, recognising the importance of the field to education, professional training and to wider society. Your institution has the long-running history of archaeological research and education – and influence – we are currently striving for. Sheffield has been key to educating archaeologists who have gone on to work in a wide range of institutions (including Aberdeen), as well as commercial archaeology and the wider heritage sector. Indeed, over the last 50 years Sheffield helped produce some of the greatest archaeological thinkers and practitioners the world has known.
We understand that you plan to salvage certain components of the current Department – including Cultural Heritage and Osteoarchaeology. We in Aberdeen have also enjoyed recent success in student recruitment in these fields, but also recognise that these programmes and centres of expertise can only thrive within a supportive (and supported) wider Archaeology community.
We appreciate the challenging environment you are working in but ask that you reconsider the future of your exceptional archaeology department. For decades it has delivered an outstanding service for your university and for archaeology the world over. It would be a huge loss to the whole sector if the talented individuals working in your department, and their valuable work, was lost.
Sincerely,
Dave MuirheadHead of School of Geosciences
Kate BrittonHead of Department of Archaeology