ABSTRACT
The summer is the time for archaeological excavations. Every year, thousands of excavations are taking place all over Europe and beyond. A very large proportion of them is rescue archaeology, i.e. projects that aim at rescuing information from ancient sites before they get destroyed through development. In most Western countries, developers are required by law to pay for the costs of these excavations. Professional archaeology has until recently been a field that defined itself nearly exclusively in relatively narrow academic terms. But now that both states and many businesses are in difficult economic situations, professional archaeologists feel an increasing need to justify what they are doing for society. Is it still right that tax-payers and consumers should be paying for research concerning the distant past? Do archaeologists have social responsibilities and duties beyond contributing to academic enlightenment?
