By Laerke Recht, Associate Editor for Zooarchaeology
The big and rather disturbing news in zooarchaeology these last few months is the imminent threat of closure of one of the best places in the world to do study and research – the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield. After a University Executive Board review of the whole department (the process of which is being questioned due to its lack of transparency and apparently contravening ethical standards), staff was on 26 May informed of the board’s recommendation to close the department, only possibly keeping some selected areas (cultural heritage and osteoarchaeology) by moving them to other departments.
This is despite the department’s overall highly recognised international reputation (it was 29 in the QS World Rankings in archaeology in 2020), especially (but not only) in zooarchaeology.
Established in 1976, the department has long benefitted from well-known scholars such as Paul Halstead, Umberto Albarella, John Barrett, John Bennet and Susan Sherratt. Ironically, recent recognition of the excellency of archaeological research and teaching has occurred in the form the Umberto Albarella being awarded full professor, and the Head Of Department, Caroline Jackson, achieving a Wellbeing Award from the university.
When the announcement of the possible closure became public, it rightly created quite an uproar in the academic community, including on listservs and social media (with the hashtag #SaveSheffieldArchaeology), but also made it into mainstream media, as for example on BBC and in the Guardian. This led to a petition with over 45,000 signatures and thousands of emails sent to the Vice-Chancellor protesting the suggested closure. The reply from the VC is has been labelled both standardised and misleading by the department staff, and in a shared letter, they point to some of the misleading points.
The closure of this department would be an immense loss to the field of zooarchaeology, and to archaeology more broadly. Sadly, it appears to be part of a wider trend in the UK and Europe, with archaeology and related departments in for example Chester, Leicester and Halle facing similar threats of closure or downsizing. The fate of the department is now in the hands of the University Senate, who meets on the 12 July to make a final decision.
The staff in Sheffield are bravely and passionately campaigning against the closure, supported by colleagues around the world. I really hope it is a fight they will win, and encourage anyone who has not yet signed the petition to do so now (see also the thread on 4 ways you can help).
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