Running is risky…

The rainy weather here in Vienna strengthens the impression that the summer is almost over – at least the holidays are gone. Back at my desk in Vienna, not exactly in best shape (running is risky, obviously especially in Berlin…), but very happy about the progress Giulia is making in the lab with her petrographic studies and about the advancement in digitalizing our files and data thanks to Daniela and Elke! The selected samples for Neutron Activation Analysis were successfully submitted to the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics last week, so we’re eagerly waiting for first results in September.

Meeting so many of my team members in Berlin was just great – many thanks to Jördis, Nicole and Sebastian for taking some time to talk about SAV1 East, firedogs and more! I am furthermore keeping my fingers crossed that Julia Preisigke, like Nicole one of my indispensable pottery assistants at Abydos, will join us as planned in 2014 on Sai Island. There is quite a number of similarities between the 18^th Dynasty pottery deposited at Umm el-Qaab and the ceramics we are finding at Sai – parallels which have to be investigated further!

These nice prospects of both upcoming scientific analysis and future fieldwork make it much easier to deal with the paperwork here at my desk!