Saruq al-Hadid Archaeological Research Project (SHARP): Interim Report 1

Executive Summary

Conservation

• Steady progress has been made on the conservation programme, with a variety of stabilisation treatments and selective, investigative and display conservation being performed on a range of artefacts in different materials.
• The conservation programme will show an increase in productivity in Project Year 2 when issues surrounding the provision of equipment and consumables are resolved and collections management issues regarding access to materials in storage are resolved.
• Improved provision of equipment and supplies will particularly improve the capacity of the team to undertake preventive conservation and stabilisation of many artefacts simultaneously.

Fieldwork

• Palaeoenvironmental studies at the site are ongoing, with key OSL dating samples currently under analysis. This research programme should be broadened in Year 2.
• Excavations targeted at geophysical anomalies did not reveal any structural remains at the site. Broader excavations in 21 trenches enhanced our understanding of the depositional sequence and the distribution of artefacts across the site.
• Several anomalies have been identified in recent geophysical survey at the site, which will be examined in the next seasons of excavation.