By Marta Di Donfrancesco
ROME (Reuters) - Archaeologists are in high demand in Italy thanks largely to a construction boom fueled by EU post-COVID recovery funds, the head of the country's National Association of Archaeologists (ANA) said on Wednesday.
ANA had previously complained about chronic low pay and job insecurity in a sector of crucial importance given Italy's rich archaeological history, as witnessed by its record number of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
"The request for archaeologists has become higher than the supply, growing so much that clients sometimes complain that it is difficult to find professionals," ANA President Marcella Giorgio told Reuters.
"I don't think anyone expected such a boom, partly because 10 years ago it was not possible to foresee the arrival of EU COVID recovery funds," she added.
Italy is the largest recipient of the EU's more than 800-billion-euro ($889.36 billion) post-pandemic fund, with a share worth almost 200 billion euros.
Of the 45.6 billion euros Italy had spent by end-2023, 59% went into the construction sector, industry group Federcostruzioni said.
The disbursement of EU COVID recovery funds ends in 2026.
Archaeologists are often required on construction sites for so-called preventive archeology, meaning that they have to study locations and monitor work on them is case historical discoveries are made.
Giorgio did not give details on the higher demand in the sector, but ANA is due to present a report on the subject in November based on a survey of more than 1,000 archaeologists operating in Italy, out of an estimated total of 5-6,000.
Valentina Colagrossi, an activist from Mi Riconosci?, an advocacy group for workers in the culture sector, warned the boom for archaeologists may be short-lived, and the profession would need a more solid base to prosper in the future.
"There is still job insecurity and low pay ... especially widespread for construction site archaeology where quite a few companies often pay less than 100 euros gross per day," Colagrossi said.
"EU COVID recovery funds certainly led to an increase in the number of jobs. Unfortunately, this is not always matched by an increase in the quality of work," she added.
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