Nadir

Environmental Specialists in the desert - 1, Days in the desert - 40, Beers in the desert - got battered last night and nicked a Stella glass, Kebabs consumed in the desert - ate some more when I was battered last night, fruit juices in the desert - continues to experience a hiatus, kilometres walked across the desert - the distance and speed continue to grow, dead goats/dead camels - the body count has ceased, Cars Killed - 1.

Nadir is not my new bloke.

The start of the week was a bit rough, Oskar and I were out on survey on Sunday, with temperatures hitting the mid 40's centigrade this has turned into a bit of killer. We did quite a bit of walking but it started to thunder and lighting so we decided to continue the survey in the car as we were just about the tallest things in a flat landscape... To cut a long story short, we had a bit of really, really bad luck and ran over quite a large rock, the suspension was high enough to have cleared it but for whatever freakish reason, it caught the transmission box and holed it. The hole was probably about 5-7cm across, we lost the transmission fluid and were stranded in the desert. I was, and continue to be very upset about this. I consider myself to be a careful driver in the desert, they are reg deserts so it is very rocky and, unless on sandy or silty tracks, you cannot drive quickly. I had also gone 5 weeks without a puncture and I was quite proud of this, well its true that pride comes before a fall... and boy what a fall... Anyway, the vehicle was recovered by the car rental company and has gone to be fixed. On the positive side, we didn't loose any work time on any of the 3 days we were effected by not having a car. Oskar and I continued to survey, lithics continued to be picked up.

I should add, the car wasn't even my beloved 402810, it was Oskar's car... This made me feel even worse...

We headed down to Doha on Tuesday for some data processing and a night on the pop with Howell and Richard as we thought that this would be the last time they got to see each other as Richard should have been heading to the UK for a wedding. Ultimately, Richards flight was cancelled due to the Icelandic volcano and he couldn't go. He had to leave the country cos of his visa so has gone to Abu Dhabi to see Mark Beech and go to Womad. He needs the break, a bit of time away will do him good!

I have spent the last couple of days writing up my report on the environmental material from site 141 at Wadi Debaiaan. The sequence is extremely interesting from a number of perspectives. Environmental evidence has been preserved but in terms of insect and plant remains, I think that we are out of luck. What the samples do have is an excellent sedimentological record and for this reason, we are reopening the pit so I can do some proper geoarchaeology/geomorphology on it. We have got Faslan and a group of Sri Lankans over on Monday to reopen the original hole and I will swing by to have a look on Tuesday as I will be Aerospace City on a Qatari commercial excavation from Sunday onwards.

The Aerospace City job is happening in the North, at a place just south of Al Khor, there appears to be a fishing settlement, a load of burial cairns which contain human remains and some possible agricultural features. This is the work I have been asked to stay the extra time to consult on, which is really cool.

To be honest, it looks as though very little of my last two weeks will be spent in Shamal, perhaps a couple of days this week and next. We loose no. 10 the day before I leave so it will be sad to see it shut up. It does feel like things are now coming to an end, Howell leaves on Thursday, Team Llanbed leave the following Monday and I leave 2 weeks tomorrow. It is now time to make the most of it!!!

We are in Doha for the weekend and went out and had a few too many beers last night and a couple of kebabs on the way home. Oskar has persuded us to visit Iceland with pictures of his Marmalade coloured bunny... We have also been talking about the next season, which is kind of cool. I shan't discuss this now as it makes me feel kind of sad.

Today, we are off to see some sand dunes and then head to the Souq Waqif for some ice cream. We are heading down there tomorrow as well for some tat shopping... Tonight we are possibly out for further drinks.

Despite the difficulties at the beginning of the week - the Craic remains mighty...

Desert Rat (or Mau'dib, if you are that way inclined...)

Environmental Specialists in the desert - 1, Days in the desert - 32, Beers in the desert - actually I have lost count, Kebabs consumed in the desert - off the scale, fruit juices in the desert - has stalled somewhat, kilometres walked across the desert - not as many as some but at a respectable 5-6km an hour, dead goats - 4, dead camels - 2 (2 adults and a juvenile).

Again, nine days since my last post but we are really, really busy. Since my last post, I have done quite a bit of driving about Qatar, down to Doha and stuff. The previous weekend we said bon voyage to Lesley, Andy and Alison and hello to Kit Kat (just to seperate her from other Welsh Cat). We left Doha on Friday and travelled north via one of Faisal's 'camps', we had loads of barbecued fish and I went crabbing with Faisal's twin sons, Abdullah and Khalid. My Father would have been proud of my efforts at this as three of the crabs were actually big enough to eat. The following day we went down to the Carrefour at Landmark so Kit Kat could get some supplies and had an incredible waffle piled with marshmallows, honeycomb crunch and ice cream with chocolate sauce. I felt a little bit sick afterwards. I also had a fight with a Canadian man in queue which was a bit dramatic. He was a bit of a twat.



Anyway, on Sunday I excavated a further burial cairn at the Oryx farm which was entirely devoid of human remains. I then spent the remains of the day down at Rubayga talking to Daniel and Ifan about the environmental potential, this was largely as I thought I was going home ten days later ... This was all to change the following day. I travelled down to Doha on Sunday as I had to do some work at the QMA offices, on Sunday evening, Richard, Howell and I went dinner with Faisal and his brothers at one of these places the men gather at. We had a big plate of rice, some meaty stew (with gubgub) and loads of fish again, basically, we all just dug in. I quite like being in male dominated environments but I don't usually behave as well as I do at these 'camp' gatherings, my mother's turn to be proud of me, it is very difficult to find a modern word to describe Qatari men and the first one that comes to mind is gallant. I would really, really hate to cause any offence, also as there is no alcohol involved, I cannot do anything REALLY stupid I ate with my fingers and the gentleman who sat to my right kept giving me the choicest bits of fish, now you wouldn 't get a fella doing that in An'ster now, would you? I was also quite pleased I managed to constrain the mess, not known for being a tidy eater, I suspected carnage having to eat with my fingers ... Anyway, for desert we had a huge bowl of fruit and then Richard chatted to Faisal for a bit and I talked to Howell about stuff.

The following day I went into the office to sort out some samples to send back to the UK and to Beta for Radiocarbon, it is always a major faff packing stuff up to send away but this was relatively quick. I was also asked to stay to work on further aspects of the project which, I am happy to say, the management at Headland are very, very kindly allowing me to do. More about this project when it takes place. That evening we had a curry and the following day I changed my flight, did some work on the fish trap paper and then Howell and I headed north. This was actually the most fraught journey I have ever undertaken in Doha, Howell must have experienced my worst driving since I've been here and was quite probably in a world of pain. I drove him up the kerb three times and managed to get lost on the way out, I eventually managed to rectify the situation. We did some shopping at Carrefour (you can't go north without European bread) and had a dirty burger ...



The following day I did some walkover survey in the desert with Oskar, whilst Howell and Kit Kat worked on a lithics pick up at site 141 near the Oryx Farm and the environmental sampling pit. I have to say, this site is top drawer. The site lies to the north of Wadi Dhebaiaan, to the south, east and west lies a bowl of higher ground dotted with funerary (?) Cairns, the site is lower ground to north which shelves gently down to the shores of the wadi. Sedimentary evidence clearly indicates coastal / intertidal environments and there is evidence of peat-forming activity, probably an effect of negative sea-level trends. When the nature of the site was explained to me I thought 'Somerset Levels / Goldcliff East', I am even more convinced having seen it ... Very exciting indeed.



I also managed to get a bit of sunstroke, the first time on this trip so I can't whinge. Just felt fuzzy and a bit shite, I couldn't get my words out and had a blistering headache. In the end, it was Ed's electrolyte drink which sorted me out and I had to have two. Felt fine the following day.

Yesterday, Thursday - the beginning of the weekend - I finished the survey with Oskar and then we all headed back to do data crunching. Except myself, the grubby environmental specialist who processed three bulk samples in the shower tray. It worked really well and I managed not to block the system up. I got in a proper mess, I know that I am known for making a mess when undertaking this type of operation but god almighty, I've never got THAT wet before. I will get a pic next time I have a go at this procedure ...

Last night I started to watch 'My Life as a Dog' which is a work of genius but was so knackered I retired to bed at 9.45pm, I didn't wake up until 8.15am (mild chemical inducement ...) It absolutely p *** ed it down in the night, there is standing water on the tarmac, I bet every biting bugger in the desert is out to play today ... I reckon it had got to having been blowing an 8 or 9 and gusting 10 to 11 (Beaufort for the uninitiated), it was epic. It woke me up at 1.30am and I thought I was back at the top of Brock Street in North Queensferry until I realised where I was.

Today, we are off to Al Khor for lunch (burger, anyone?) And then to Jebel Al Jassasiya to see the petroglyphs. Possibly another camp this evening ...

P. S. The Craic is absolutely Feckin 'Mighty ...

Scorpions & Skeletons, Mattocks & Middens - This isn't just any archaeology, this is Qatari Archaeology...

Environmental Specialists in the desert - 1, Days in the desert - 23, Beers consumed in the desert - actually I have lost count, Kebabs consumed in the desert - likewise, fruit juices in the desert - indeed I have also lost count, skeletons - 1, middens - lots and lots and lots and lots, scorpions - see left...



It has been really, really manic up here Ruwais/Shamal, I am currently working my way around the archaeology of the North and I have been working both Team Birmingham and Team Llanbed's... The other great news is, I have found a dish I like at the Hinese... more on this later.



In terms of archaeology, I really have been working like a demon. I was seconded on to the Welsh site a Rubayga to have a look at their middens, taboons and occupation horizons. The middens are great, there are about 9 or 10 of them and they are enormous, I started with the biggest, of course, and hacked a section through it with the assistance of my new Sri Lankan friend, Faslan - a fellow cricket enthusiast - and the ubiquitous Daniel Jones... Anyway, the idea is that we compare the midden deposits to known floor and taboon (a type of oven, a bit like a really small tandoor oven)and try and establish where the midden fills came from - COOL!!! This is probably going to be a bit of an ongoing thing as my presence is required elsewhere... Also, there have been access issues so today (Wednesday 7th)is my first day back on site since Maundy Thursday. I've recorded the strat and sampled the middens, all I need now is some floor and taboon deposits... It is really, really very interesting but just at the moment, I cannot post any images of it... Managed to sieve most of the midden samples (took a total of six) there are some obvious differences and others less so... I will go into this in more detail in later blogs, I aim to keep up with myself a bit more...



The Birmingham stuff is really ace, even better - dare I say - than Team Llanbed. We have been working on a series of prehistoric cairns to the south of the site at Rubayga, it has been a real challenge in the heat (was 40C today) excavating them but they have been very interesting and I have learnt a lot about (very) dryland archaeology, including the art of mattocking... We started one off on top of the ridge and then I got sent down to work with Howell and Richard. Richard and Howell have been great teachers (both exceedingly patient with someone as hamfisted as I). We started one off on top of the ridge and then I got sent down to work with Howell and Richard on a second one which has proved less interesting. The first throwing everyone into a frenzy by producing a crouched burial which we excavated, I have just finished packaging it up. It really, really has exciting. I suspect that the individual was a juvenile, possibly early to mid teens and very, very tentatively female. The bones are exceedingly gracile and by and large, the ends of all of the long bones (the state of preservation was pretty shonky) are absent.



More entertainment is afoot at a place on the east coast at Al Khor where we have more burial cairns and fishing structures and other exciting bits and pieces to look at.

On a personal level, it has been equally entertaining, however, any real archaeologist knows that it is a bit of a challenge to split the two... Went into to Doha with Daniel at the weekend, for a bit of treat and my new mate James, the cameraman. Had a good drive down to the city, which can be a little intimidating to drive around to say the least. Went to the Irish Bar in the Sheraton on Friday night which was a bit on the rough side and had two pints of Stella and a dirty burger. Woke up feeling majorly sick (after two pints, Wuss!), had a swim in the pool at Cuttler Mansions and then hit Villagio for a late lunch and some shopping. We then headed to the Souq Waqif for a bit of tourist tat - I saw THE most dishy bloke at the Hagen Daaz, he was GORGEOUS... Anyway, I digress... We then dropped James off at the airport, got changed and hit The W for a night of excess - went into the poolside Wahm Bar and The Crystal Lounge - both full of Doha's beautiful people... Next day we lived it large again, went to the Gold Souq to look for a gift for my prospective God-daughter, Charlotte Evelyn and then we went for lunch at The W, which was AMAZING, I had Calamari, Parmesan crusted chicken with asparagus and mango tart - Yummy - Cheers Dan :-) X (I should quantify this, Dan is like my youngest brother, nothing else, I have known him since he was 19). On the way back we stopped off at Carrefour and picked up some goodies and treats, got back to Shamal and went to the Hinese with Team Llanbed - finally found a dish I like, the vegetable fried rice...



All is currently in a state of flux at the moment, a couple of new people, very good friends of Richard have been up here (Lesley and Andy) and they have been great fun. Sadly, they are going home tomorrow, as is Alison, we only have one new replacement, called Kat who arrives this evening. I shall return to my old room with the balcony, smaller and more cosy, I also like my bed the way it was facing... We are off back down to Doha tomorrow for a party and to pick her up, don't know if I'm back on Friday or Saturday yet...

I have also fallen totally in love with my V6, 4l Nissan X Terra, registration number 402810...

Anyway, working hard at the moment would just about sum it up at the moment but bloody hell, it is great fun - the Craic is Feckin Mighty...