The fundamental mandate of an excavation project is not so much to excavate, but to excavate with a view to translate the amorphous into a form. The amorphous is the mass of material found in the ground. The new form is the embodiment that this mass takes when disengaged from the ground and published as “understood.”
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It has been the concern of the Cotsen Family Foundation, and especially of Mr. Lloyd Cotsen, to meet the needs of archaeological publishing – or, we might say, the problem of archaeological non-publishing. His support over the years has aimed especially at supporting our effort in this regard, and this effort comes to its full fruition with the Urkesh Global Record published in this website. As succinct as he is eloquent, he has been wondering what will happen to the archaeoloy when the archaeologist becomes … absent. Our answer is as convincing, we hope, as the question is cogent.
We have also been fortunate to have him come for a field visit in which he served as a photographer. Several of his photos are incorporated in our website, like the two below, showing the Expedition House and the early phase of protection of the Palace walls – in the Winter of 1995.
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