Excavations in Iraq: The Ray Jazirah Project, first report

Abstract

This article is the first in a series that aims to present the results of Iraqi excavations from the Ray Jazirah Project (RJP) that took place between 1987 and 1994. An Iraqi archaeologist involved in the RJP, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has recently provided all the primary data used in this and future reports. Gratitude to my Iraqi colleague, who continues to work in difficult circumstances, must be given for contributions to, and involvement in, our collaboration. I wish to thank this colleague, and other Iraqi archaeologists involved in the RJP, for granting permission to publish their work in English prior to publication in Arabic journals. Several colleagues from Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage have also made this project possible, and my colleague and I would like to thank them for granting permission for this publication project. We would also like to thank the American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII) for making this joint project possible through their generous funding. Professor McGuire Gibson (President of TAARII) first suggested this project and gave his encouragement; Dr Stephanie Platz (Executive Director of TAARII) and Dr Hala Fattah (Resident Director of TAARII) made many of the necessary arrangements to facilitate this effort from its inception. Special thanks are also due to Dr Rafi Altaweel for his tireless work in cleaning and improving the image quality of figures in this and forthcoming publications: many of the figures derive from drawings and photographs that were stored in less than ideal circumstances for almost two decades.