Archaeologist, NSW

He might not be quite as flamboyant as Indiana Jones but Steve Brown’s career as an archaeologist has seen its fair share of adventure. Take, for instance, dropping into an archaeological site from a helicopter and navigating a wild river to see ancient cave paintings. These days, however, Brown prefers a quieter life helping to conserve historical sites in Australia.

Brown has been involved in many digs both nationally and internationally. He cites his visit to Lascaux Cave in France as one of the highlights of his career.
“It’s a limestone cave in the Dordorgne region of France, famous for the large paintings of bulls painted about 15,000 years ago,” he says. “The cave was discovered in the 1940s by four boys playing in the forest. I visited the cave in 1988 and the tour guide was one of the men who had discovered the cave.

“Only four people per day can visit the site, as tourism was introducing algae into the cave, which was destroying the paintings.

“I was particularly struck by the long history of creativity of human beings. To me, the art of Lascaux stands as equal to the work of Picasso or any contemporary artist.”

Asia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are also some of his favourite places to work. But closer to home, Brown has an interest in the heritage of Australian and Aboriginal culture.

Brown now works in the public sector. He has worked in cultural heritage research and conserved and managed a variety of sites.
His role as an archaeologist with the Department of Environment and Conservation is to look after historical land sites.

Brown says that part of his job is designed to help people gain a better understanding of our history and our ancestors through research into significant historical places.

“With national parks this might include pastoral properties, lighthouses, places that might have evidence of forestry and defence, right through to Aboriginal story places and rock carvings,” he says.

Daily duties can include such jobs as lighthouse roof repairs, or helping to stabilise walls within historical building ruins. Fieldwork, however, is only a small part of Brown’s job. Often he is at his computer developing projects, such as conservation management plans for national parks in NSW.

Aside from work in cultural heritage management, Brown says there are two other major areas archaeologists in Australia can find employment. Many end up teaching and conducting research in tertiary institutions, he says.
Many archaeologists also find work in consulting. “In Australia, this mainly covers areas of both Aboriginal and historic archaeology, in the context of environmental impact assessment,” he says.

How to be … an archaeologist
You need a university degree with a major in archaeology or history, then a postgraduate qualification in archaeology or heritage studies. Contact the Australian Archaeological Association by visiting their site at http://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/