We are now in the final stages of preparations for the 2014 excavations at Tell Khaiber, which are due to start at the beginning of January. This year we have doubled the size of the team and will be working for twice as long. Our programme of scientific analysis will also be advancing, so we will be taking a portable X-ray defraction machine, a binocular microscope, a total station (purchased with a grant from the British Council), and more computers. With a large team, the logistics are more complicated. Accommodation at the Ur dig house, kindly provided by the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage, has been supplemented by the provision of four containerised housing units. These have been donated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and transported from Baghdad to Ur by SKA, who have also generously promised ... Read More »