Wadi Bashing, Bedouin Feast, Jamelia Camel and other stories

Environmental Specialists in the desert - 1, Days in the desert - 6, Beers consumed in the desert - 3, Kebabs consumed in the desert - 7, fruit juices in the desert - 5, Dead camels in the desert 1


Hello! Hope you are all well, been of the grid for a couple of days, largely because things have got a bit exciting...

Well, had a quiet weekend, carried on catching up with Daniel and familiarising myself with driving in Qatar. Dan was a great help, we drove down to one of the deserted villages and then on to the site where Dan was working last year. We then went down to the fort at Zubara where a further estuary chum, Gareth Rees, had been working. Sadly just missed him, he travelled back to Doha they day I travelled up. some interesting people, had a funny turn (I think it was a heat related thing) and got invited to a party. Top!



Even better, was the desert barbecue hosted by Faisal that evening in the desert, drove across the desert in the dark, which was epic and was treated to a genuine Bedouin feast under the stars and with a bonfire... Quite Lawrence of Arabia-esque. If anyone would have told me on the 19th March 1990 I would be doing this on the same date 20 years later, I would have probably said something quite rude. You truly never know what life will throw at you.

I also won £20 at Cheltenham on Imperial Commander...

Sunday, Paul and I went forth to look at fish traps and explore my great archaeological and geographical love, the intertidal zone. We had an entertaining afternoon rounded off by a non alcoholic beer, these things are quite I then went off for dinner with Team Llanbedd (the University of Wales, Lampeter Crew), they are a very entertaining and friendly bunch, came home and did some more brainstorming with Paul and Oskar.

Today, Alison and I went to have a look at prospective sites for both Paul and I. I We have found a Wadi I am interested in, this is associated with a previous find of relatively deep peat, possibly intertidal, and a Palaeolithic flint scatter. I would like to do some serious coring across the Wadi, to test the theory that between 28000 and 8000 years ago, the Arabian Gulf was a refugia. If we could just find some really deep organic rich sediment or intertidal deposits, I reckon we could have a really good project. I would be an interesting mini-project just to establish the stratigraphy and see what it bottoms out onto/into. Went round and had a look at some fish traps and I also went up to the Copenhagen site at Old Zubara and saw the most amazing midden. We also had a bit of an unexpected find in the form of Jamelia the Camel. Alison and I were off, heading towards the coast for further fish trap fun when I spotted a scatter of bones which turned out to be a dead camel. I think it is a she and she was certainly 15+ years old, obviously without comparative material, I cannot make any firm assumptions.

I have also had great fun off roading, it is mentally challenging but good fun, I have a great vehicle, a Nissan X-Terra, I don't think we have them in the UK, largely due to the 4 litre engine, mind you, unleaded here is only 14p a litre... It only costs £10 to fill the damn thing up...

The Craic is currently mighty, more work on fish traps tomorrow and I really hope I am becoming aclimatised. I have felt really quite ill in the afternoon the past couple of days but felt much better this evening. You just have to make sure you eat properly and drink plenty of water. I have lost loads of weight and not had a drink for 5 days, it would be nice to have a beer of glass of cold Sauvignon Blanc when you finish but believe it or not, I don't crave it.