The Joint Kuwaiti-British Archaeological Expedition to As-Sabiyah

The joint project involves the British team (BAEK) working in the field with a team from the National Museum of Kuwait. Over the years, member of the two teams have become good friends, and both sides of the project have learnt much from each other.

The British Team

Dr Harriet Crawford (Institute of Archaeology, University College London): Director

Harriet has had a long and distinguished career in Western Asian archaeology, having written numerous articles and books. She has a long-standing love of the Sumerians and their civilization. Prior to initiating the British Archaeological Expedition to Kuwait, she was a director of the successful London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition, which excavated at Saar. She is currently an Honorary Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, and a Fellow of the McDonald Institute, Cambridge.

E-mail:  h.crawford@ucl.ac.uk 
web: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/staff/profiles/crawford.htm

Dr Robert Carter (Institute of Archaeology, University College London): Field Director, Co-Director, Pottery Specialist

 Rob is currently the G.A. Wainwright Research Fellow in Near Eastern Archaeology. He has worked all round the Gulf, in Kuwait, Bahrain, Ra's al-Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Qatar, on sites and archaeological collections ranging in date from the Neolithic through to the Late Islamic Period. His research interests include ancient trade, the Bronze Age, ceramics and pearling.

Direct telephone:  +44 (0)20 7679 1493
E-mail:  racbahr@hotmail.com

Dr Mark Beech (Department of Archaeology, University of York): Environmental Specialist

Mark is the Senior Resident Archaeologist for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey. He has undertaken archaeological fieldwork and research in the UK, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Kuwait, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. To find out more about Mark's research visit his website by clicking here.
E-mail:mjb117@york.ac.uk 

Web: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~mjb117

Dr Heiko Kallweit (Albert-Ludwigs-University at Freiburg): Lithics Specialist

Heiko studied prehistory at the Albert-Ludwigs-University at Freiburg, southern Germany. He has worked in Jordan, the Emirates, Yemen and Kuwait. His main scientific interests are concentrated on the Neolithic period on the Arabian Peninsula and the Bronze Age in Southwestern Arabia as well as the economy of nomadic groups. His PhD thesis may be found on the web-site at www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/volltexte/270/

Web:  http://www.liwa-oasen.de

Mr Gwilym Williams: Senior Archaeologist and Finds Photographer

Gwilym has worked mainly in France, England and Sweden since 1989, for a number of contracting units.  He has worked on sites dating from the Mesolithic through to modern.  His research interests extend from the British Late Bronze Age to 19th century sewerage systems, amongst other delights of industrial archaeology.

Miss Paula Wallace: Senior Archaeologist and Finds Registrar

Paula has worked in Syria, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, among other countries. Her original interest was in Assyriology. She speaks Arabic but occasionally slips into Akkadian. Despite recently taking up a position at the British Museum, Paula is more interested in stratigraphy than treasure, so the finds are safe with her.

Mr Charles Morse: Archaeologist

After limited success as an extra in Magnum PI, Chaz worked as an archaeologist in Syria, Sudan, Kuwait, Palestine, Greece and England. He has particular interests in the pastoral nomadic economies of the Middle East, both ancient and modern. This interest also extends to other mobile economies, and Chaz has recently been working for Amnesty International, researching the rights of Roma populations in modern day Greece.     

Miss Natasha Mulder: Archaeologist and Finds Illustrator

Natasha has excavated in the UK, Egypt and Kuwait, also enjoying her time spent as an illustrator and  photographer of picturesque Kuwait. She has worked for English Heritage in the Scientific dating department, she hopes to continue her expeditions abroad where she can soak up the rays.

Mr Jed Stevenson: Archaeologist

Although he boasts of experience in Greece and Turkey, Jed was invited back to Kuwait for a second season on the grounds that, having found a model boat last year, he might continue to bring the project good luck.  So far however, the rest of the fleet has failed to materialise. Jed is often to be seen scuttling around the site with a video camera. When asked what he's doing, he says he wants to "document the convoluted relationships among team members and the pasts they're trying to get at."

Mr Rupert Barclay: Archaeologist and GIS specialist

Rupert is interested in the archaeology of both the Middle East and North Africa, and this extends to a wider interest in the history and anthropology of these regions. He is at present particularly interested in nomadic groups and the spatial dynamics of archaeological landscapes.

Ms Kirsty Norman: Conservator

Kirsty has worked as a conservator in Kuwait for many years. Formerly of the British Museum, she has worked in several countries in the Arabian Gulf, in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Ra's al-Khaimah. Among her many triumphs was the conservation of Bronze Age bitumen baskets from Saar, in Bahrain. We therefore count ourselves very lucky to have her working on our own bitumen artefacts.

Mr John Martin: Environmental Assistant

Although he unconvincingly maintains that he is a retired engineer, John has been working on archaeological sites for longer than almost everyone else in the team, including the Field Director. He has worked with numerous projects in the Arabian Gulf, as well as India.

The Kuwaiti Team

Mr Shehab Abdul Hamid Shehab: Director of the Department of Antiquities and Museums, Kuwait

In 1983, Shehab graduated in Ancient History from Kuwait University. He has conducted a broad range of archaeological research and has participated on excavations in Bahrain, France, Kuwait, Tunisia, UK and the United Arab Emirates.  He has lectured in Bahrain, Tunisia and Yemen, and is a member of the Committee of the Al-Fenoun Magazine, as well as being a member of ICROM.  Presently, he is the Head of the Arabian Archaeologists Conference.
 

Mr Sultan Al Duwish (National Museum of Kuwait) Excavation Director

Sultan is an archaeology major graduate from King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His specialization is the prehistory of Arabia. During the past fourteen years Sultan has carried out archaeological research in Kuwait. He has also worked in Bahrain, France, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UK.
 

Mr Ahmed Alshemari (National Museum of Kuwait) Archaeologist

Ahmed is a graduate of West Virginia University, USA, in Ancient Civilisations and the History of Science. He has worked on archaeological sites in both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Mr Hamed M. Al Mutairy (National Museum of Kuwait): Archaeologist

Hamed has recently graduated from the Department of History at Kuwait University. He has worked for archaeological excavation teams at Failaka and Sabiyah in Kuwait.

Mr Mohammed Al Ghanim (National Museum of Kuwait) Archaeological Surveyor

Mohammad is a graduate of Kuwait University in Chemistry, specialized in inorganic chemistry. He has worked on archaeological excavations in both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Mr Khalid Al Ali (National Museum of Kuwait): Illustrator

Khaled studied fine arts in the USA. He has worked for archaeological excavation teams at Failaka and Sabiyah in Kuwait. His dedication to and skill in negotiating the intricacies of visa procurement for the team is very much appreciated.

Mr Mohamed Al Azmi (National Museum of Kuwait): Excavator, local guide

Mohammed works in Jahra for the National Museum. He has worked on a number of archaeological excavations in Kuwait, including Akaz, Failaka and Sabiyah. His tribe are the original inhabitants of this part of Kuwait. His local knowledge and practical assistance has proved invaluable to the project.

Honorary Mentions

Dr Ken Taylor: General Manager, Shell in Kuwait

Ken has a long-standing interest in archaeology, going back to the 1970's, when he helped out at sites in the UK while following postgraduate research in engineering. Since then, he has been involved in Holland during the 1990's. Fortunately for us, Ken's personal interest is in harmony with Shell's policy of investing in people and societies where they have business. As a result, Shell is our major sponsor, and we have a friend and supporter who provides home comforts and a swimming pool whenever we visit Kuwait City.

Email: k.l.taylor@kuwait.shell.com or contact Kuwait Shell's External Affairs Coordinator, Reem Ali al-Sabah, on  r.al-sabah@kuwait.shell.com

Dr Fahad al-Wohaibi (Department of Antiquities and Museums, National Museum of Kuwait): Former Director

Dr Fahad was the Director of the National Museum for the first three seasons of the project. It was he who identified H3 as an Ubaid site, and who initially invited Harriet Crawford to visit it, with a view to initiating a new expedition. His enormous enthusiasm for and knowledge of archaeology has inspired both teams.

Mr Hadi al-Ameer (National Museum of Kuwait): Surveyor

Hadi worked with the project for the first three seasons, and even though he is currently busy excavating on Failaka, we still consider him a member of the team. He has worked in Akaz, Sabiyah and Failaka, and in many countries in the Arab world. He is a man of many and varied talents.

Richard Cuttler (Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit): Surveyor and Senior Archaeologist, 2001 Season

Richard works for the Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit (BUFAU), who kindly allowed us to employ him in 2001. He is included here partly because of his invaluable contribution to the 2001 season, and partly because he is a fine archaeologist and a good chap.

The Workmen

Over the years we have had many excellent Indian, Arab and Bengali workmen, who sieve the spoil, pick out the finds and maintain the camp. Their hard work, patience and good humour are essential to the project.

The Cooks

Finally, acknowledgement must be made of our two Egyptian cooks, Mahmud and Ali, and recognition must be given to their achievements in taking the art of frying to new and unconventional heights.