There are very real historical reasons for that
Back between 1800-1850 or so, antiquaries were fighting public opinion; seen
as ridiculous dilettantes, they tried to get away from the excesses of bad
philology, folklore studies, etc., and try to reform as a "science" based on
"facts", eventually hitching a ride on "uniformitarianism" & evolution & the
3-age system (derived from art history)
So we still tend to say excavation is somehow better (more macho?) than
theory, or reanalysis of materials held in archives/museums, or
non-destructive survey methods, ethnoarchaeology, etc.

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ron May
Sent: March 27, 2007 23:16
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Oak Island

A funny thing about archaeologists is their swift willingness to dismiss
folklore as fantasy.