Our Place: Our Place in the World: A Life for Prehistoric Archaeology in the Ancient Near East

By a tragic coincidence, this issue of the Newsletter was in final preparation when we heard the tragic news of the sudden death of Klaus Schmidt. In addition to the deep shock and sense of loss that we are personally suffering, there are huge consequences for the Göbekli Tepe project, and, down the line, for our Our Place in the World research programme.

he situation of the Göbekli Tepe project demands the immediate engagement of an additional scientific support of the project team. here is the autumn field season that is scheduled to complete the archaeological clearance so that the construction of the canopies can proceed, as planned, in 2015. Additionally, the process of architectural and engineering planning and tendering for the permanent canopies is at a critical stage, requiring continual specialist input. Prof. Eichmann has asked Dr. Lee Clare to step forward and take on these responsibilities for an interim period with immediate effect (and for an as yet unknown length of time). Fortunately, it was already planned that Dr. Jörg Becker would take part in the forthcoming fieldwork season (beginning in mid- September) in order to complete the collection of samples for radiocarbon dating for the dating series that is part of the Our Place in the World programme.