Die derzeitige Wirtschaftslage in der privatwirtschaftlichen Archäologie Deutschlands – DGUF-Monitoring-Report privatwirtschaftliche Archäologie 2019

Abstract

In summer 2019, approx. 30 % of the total of 120 or so excavation companies currently working in Germany participated in a survey undertaken by the authors. The data collected lead us to conclude that the number of people employed in private-sector excavation archaeology is much higher – around 1,860 to 2,850 overall – than past studies have so far suggested, and in terms of staff numbers, it is of the same order of magnitude as the specialist staff working in state-sector archaeological site conservation, museums and research combined. The excavation companies state that, in Germany on average, they had increased their staff by 27 % during the past 12 months and intended to increase their staffing further by another 6 % by summer 2020, which corresponds to a projected additional 145 new posts, approximately. The staffing level increases planned for the immediate future will be primarily in Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony. Overall, the employment market in excavation archaeology will grow by more than one third compared to mid-2018 within two years. The total annual turnover of the sector can be estimated to be around EUR 90 million. A further approx. 95 firms and service providers, such as consultants, illustrators or archaeobiologists, who participated in the survey and also form part of the market as providers of archaeological services above and beyond excavations, usually have only a small number of staff (on average 1.6), the total annual turnover in this sector is probably approaching EUR 10 million. The data from our survey indicate that a possible attitude change in those federal states which are currently still fulfilling their statutory tasks without using private-sector archaeology, would very likely – e. g. in an estimated 30 to 45 additional medium-sized excavation companies – create a further 465 to 710 jobs, including between 335 and 510 permanent posts which are subject to social insurance contributions. The 41 answers provided to two questions requiring plain text responses show that the mood overall in private-sector archaeology is pessimistic; this is in stark contrast to the growth taking place. The owners of the companies or firms particularly list the low levels of prices and earnings and the lack of practical excavation experience of those seeking employment as their main areas of concern; they would like better calls for tenders and consistent quality management.