No, not a sentiment you’ll see often on this blog, but I am talking historically. In the Twenties, I’ve learnt from a biography of the palaeontologist Dorothea Bate (of which more soon), it financed “to the tune of some “thousands of pounds” (rather a lot then) the archaeological excavation of the Roman fortress and ampitheatre at Caerleon in Wales.
Of course the pay-off was exclusive news, but as a promotional method it makes a nice change from free CDs, DVDs and other dross now falling, it seems, out of every newspaper in the land. They’re one of the reasons I’m switching over to entirely web-based newspaper reading – such a horrible waste of resources, when they go straight from the shop to the bin, without even emerging from the plastic wrapper.
Perhaps someone could revive this as a promotional method? (I say in hope rather than expectation – would no doubt be considered far too high-brow.)
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