Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Ella Egberts from VUB conducted a field trip to Iraq in November and December 2024 as part of a pilot project to identify archaeological surface materials.
The objective of this research is to enhance understanding of the geomorphological history of the Iraqi Western Desert, specifically in the Al-Shabakah area, and to assess the potential for preserving archaeological sites containing Old and Middle Paleolithic artifacts, dating back to the early and middle Stone Age. The campaign yielded successful results, prompting Egberts to plan further research efforts in this region on behalf of VUB.
“The fieldwork was a huge success,” confirms Egberts. “Our targeted fieldwork resulted in the discovery of seven Paleolithic sites in an area of 10 by 20 km. One location was selected for a systematic study to determine the spatial distribution of the Paleolithic material and to conduct preliminary technological and typological analyses.”
The prospecting campaign concentrated on a region that, during the Pleistocene epoch, contained a large lake that has since dried up. This area is characterized by ancient wadis or dry riverbeds. Egberts gathered over 850 artifacts from the surface, including hand axes from the Early or Old Paleolithic period and Levallois reduction flakes from the Middle Paleolithic period. It is suggested that other sites in this region also warrant detailed systematic investigation, which is likely to produce similar amounts of lithic material.
“Based on the distribution of the sites and the advancing understanding of the region’s geomorphological history, there are emerging clues of early human landscape use. In the future, I hope to expand my research to a larger area, systematically sample all the sites, and conduct in-depth technological and typological artifact analysis.
The new insights we bring from Iraq will then be integrated into the broader understanding of human evolution and behavior on the Arabian Peninsula.”
Egberts’ work in Iraq also has an educational aspect: “An essential part of the fieldwork was training Iraqi archaeology students in geo-archaeology and Paleolithic archaeology. Three students accompanied us in the field, and through a workshop at Al-Qadisiyah University after the fieldwork, we inspired many more students and academics about the Paleolithic of Iraq.
At a conference in Karbala, we shared our findings with a multidisciplinary academic audience interested in the history of the Western Desert. At the Writers’ Union in Najaf, we presented our results to the general public and the press. And it was wonderful to teach local elementary school children about prehistoric flint discoveries.”
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The work in Iraq, a country most people remember as one large powder keg, has been, according to Egberts, much smoother than expected. “Apart from the presence of numerous checkpoints, we were able to carry out our work without any problems. The people are friendly, and it’s actually very nice to work in Iraq. Initially, earlier last year, we did have to postpone our expedition due to a security warning. That was probably related to the war in Gaza…”
“The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage appreciates our work and encourages us to continue,” says Egberts in a press release. She will now continue her research at VUB. “The next step will be to secure funding, with which I hope to reconstruct Pleistocene environmental changes and early human presence and behavior in the Western Desert.”
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
