The Origins, Development and Practice of Economic and Social Strategies in the Middle East from Earliest Times to the Modern Day

We returned in spring 2009 to continue excavating the 40 × 15 m trench we opened in 2008. The team of 20 professional archaeologists was almost exactly the same as that in 2008, and this year Mohammad al-Najjar was able to be on site almost full-time, which allowed a fl ying start to the season. Our new representative from the DoA, Ashraf al-Khresheh, had little previous experience of prehistoric archaeology, but was an enthusiastic hard worker. There must have been something infectious about the team’s good spirit as our team of 25 Rashaydah, ‘Azazma and Sa‘idiyyin workmen, who normally fi nd the rather slow and fi ddly work on a prehistoric site increasingly tedious, all played an extremely positive and active role in the season. We were also very fortunate in the group of 16 students who joined us for the Easter vacation part of the season, who not only learned something of Neolithic archaeology, but also about Bedouin culture; sadly, although the humour translates very well it is not really suitable for putting into print. Friendships made in the fi eld are now easily maintained by mobile phone and SMS message, but it still surprises me to fi nd a group of Bedouin in Faynan roaring in laughter at a cryptic reference to one of their jokes being transmitted to them from a muddy archaeological trench in the UK.