43past horizons A selection of digging opportunities from around the world for 2009 Tasmania - Archaeology Alive: 11- 21 January 2009 An annual summer archaeology programme at Port Arthur, inviting participation from volunteers with diverse backgrounds in field and laboratory- based work. Web: http:// www. portarthur. org. au/ pashow. php? ACTION= Public& menu_ code= 500.100 ? Bulgaria - Avgusta Traiana- Beroe- Borui: 19 July - 16 August 2009 The field school project relates to rescue excavations covering Roman to Late Antique periods. Lectures, workshops and field training will be given. Web: http:// www. bhfieldschool. org/ bh2007. atbb. html ? Western Sahara - Western Sahara Project: October - November 2009 Focuses on the identification of new archaeological sites and sampling of environmental materials for scientific dating, in order to improve understanding of past climatic and environmental changes. Web: http:// www. cru. uea. ac. uk/~ e118/ WS/ WSahara- volunteers. htm ? Belgium - Protohistoric Olloy- sur- Viroin: July 2009 Training excavations at a protohistoric fortification and necropolis. The courses are organised by Les Forges St. Roch, in collaboration with the University Libre de Bruxelles. Web: http:// www. archeostage. com/ stages_ uk. htm ? Australia - Applied Heritage Management Field School: 19 January - 14 February 2009 Workshops and practical experience in archaeology, cultural awareness, ecology, geomorphology and land management. Web: http:// www. naturalheritage. org. au/ Field_ School. html ? Cyprus - Early Christian Basilica: October - December 2009 The eight week placement presents an exciting opportunity for up to six archaeology graduates from the UK to gain experience of archaeological excavation in Cyprus. Web: http:// www. grampusheritage. co. uk/ GrEASE% 20Cyprus. htm ? Israel - Tel Dor: July - August 2009 Devoted to investigating one of the largest coastal cities in ancient Israel. Participants will be engaged in all facets of state- of- the- art field archaeology. Web: http:// dor. huji. ac. il/ registration_ Liz. html ? These are just a small selection of opportunities around the world. To see more go to: http:// www. pasthorizons. com/ WorldProjects ? Transylvania - Dacian Fortress - 5 July - 8 August 2009 Excavation of a fortified acropolis where human skeletons and weapons, both Dacian and Roman have been found inside the burned houses destroyed by Emperor Trajan's legions during the Daco- Roman wars. Web: http:// www. archaeotek. org/ home ?

past horizons44 by david connolly David Connolly is the director of British Archaeological Jobs and Resources Website ( BAJR) www. bajr. org ? David Connolly Often we look at the buildings that make up our visible past, as dead or old fashioned, as ' things' to enjoy, but not to utilise in the present. Perhaps now, given the fears relating to water, energy and food production, it is time to affect a change in policy and look at how those buildings could lead the way to a new, more sustainable, future. For example, how many old mills with water wheels and lades are lying deserted and unloved because we have decided we have no use of them any more? Over the past few years in my role as a development control archaeologist for a local council I was dismayed that several such mills were closed or demolished to make way for new housing. It seemed a logical step to utilise the power that flowed beside and beneath these structures to provide power for the new houses, but this requires investment that few people as yet seem prepared to take on. Another good example, a local visitor attraction close to my house is constantly struggling to break even. It actually has a working mill lade system and waterwheel, but rather than turning this into an asset that could both power the building and produce stoneground flour, it is left as a relic of a bygone age. It could so easily be a centre that attracts people to show how the past was powered and how this could be applied to the present. The wealthier a nation gets the less likely it is to produce its own food, preferring to import it from other countries. Many of our old estates with their walled gardens and orchards which once sustained micro economies have been left to fall apart, the glass houses smashed, the walls collapsing. It is heart- breaking to see this happening, but we are told that it would cost too much to reinstate. Yet, how much does it cost to import the very produce that we are capable of growing ourselves? Every apple may not be a uniform size ( like the supermarkets tell us they have to be), but we would have the satisfaction of knowing that they got to our plate from just down the road and didn't travel to us from the other side of the world on ships, planes and lorries. Maybe in the future we will look back and think how absurd this all was when munching on our ' heritage apple'. Water management is also of great importance to the world today, and it is no coincidence that many of the driest places used to be fertile. Managed properly, the Roman hinterland of Lybia, and the complex systems of irrigation tunnels and cisterns that once supplied the Merv oasis in Turkmenistan, used the available water to produce sustainable farmlands. In the case of Merv, this system supported over a million inhabitants. With proper management and forward planning there would be no need to pump out the great quantities of ' fossil water', a precious resource that can take 15,000 years to replenish, if the existing water could be utilised in a way that has already been proven to work. The past should not just be seen as a dusty relic. The technologies applied were, in many instances, much more sustainable than the ones we employ today. Archaeology can play its part in the understanding and recording of these systems in order to inform modern engineering. Indeed, heritage organisations can also play their part by creating workable plans for properties in their care, making them a sustainable role model for the future. For more on the Qanat ( underground water channels) www. qanat. info/ en/ introduction. php ? A look at how to retain the essence of a historic building while utilising renewable energy has already been undertaken by English Heritage www. britarch. ac. uk/ conserve/ clrenewable. html ?