of art and a delicate understanding of form and beauty,
which will save them from ham-handed restoration, then
museums would fall over one another to secure him.
Masefield; How do you feel the archaeologist fits into
the modern world, what has he to contribute to modern life?
Harley: I shy away from this question with some alarm.
I can't go along with those who say that by studying the
past we become better equipped to deal with the material
problems of the present. I think this is too facile a
justification. It may have been true as long as the way of
life was not greatly different over the centuries. I can
well believe that a general of the time of Waterloo might
profit from a study of the stratagems at the battle of
Agincourt and even, with minor modifications, of the tactics
employed. But for today, I can't believe this to have any
validity at all, when you can drop an atom bomb. Nor can a
modern heating engineer get any practical value from a study
of the Roman hypocaust system, subtle and ingenious as it
was 2000 years ago. But all this is to suppose that the only
valuable contribution of the archaeologist is material. I
should like to say, and say emphatically, that it is in
presenting an ever clearer picture of the past on an ever
grander and impressive scale that he contributes to the
aesthetic appreciation of the world where we live. For
those who see no value in this, archaeology is purposeless
and the archaeologist is wasting time and money. But this
limited outlook is incompatible with all that a cultured
civilisation stands for. So the answer to this question is,
I think, - materially archaeologists have no more to yield
than a great artist, but aesthetically there is a great
contribution he can and does make, and it is one contribution
which can only be neglected at the peril of civilisation.
Masefield: Could you recommend three books that you
think should be on everybody's shelves?
Harley: It all depends on whether you have a general
interest in the past, and that's a pretty wide field, or
feel drawn to some special aspect of archaeology. You have
suggested this is to be reading for pleasure, not for
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