ABSTRACT
The dissemination of data, ideas and interpretations and the production of knowledge based on the printed page have been at the core of academic endeavour for many centuries (O’Donnell 1998). Long-established conventions within the print culture are now being adopted and adapted digitally to produce an emerging electronic culture with its own strengths and weaknesses. These are fundamental changes that are affecting many aspects of social discourse from international communications, government and commerce to education and academia. Like any other discipline archaeology has not been immune to these changes41 and Aldenderfer (1999) provides a thoughtful assessment of their impact on the subject. As he shows, the archaeological response to electronic publication has been determined by existing publication peculiarities, such as the excavation report which is expensive to produce yet aimed at a small specialist market. Despite various wild claims, however, it is unlikely that electronic publication will ever replace the book, which is mobile, convenient and serves the purpose for which it was designed superbly well. Even so, there are now strong arguments in favour of various methods of electronic publication being more suitable than paper for certain types of archaeological publication.
