The 2004 season ran from January 8 to 28. This season's work included: surveying and recording the sites of Ain Tarakwa and Ain Dabashiya; geophysical work at the sites of Ain Tarakwa and Muhammed Tuleib; a continuation of the exploration of the Darb Ain Amur, the caravan route between Umm el-Dabadib and Ain Amur.
The main focus of the site of Ain Tarakwa is a small temple that has long been covered with sand, surrounded by a rectangular enclosure wall packed with mud brick buildings. The outline of the temple was established and its layout studied in detail (E. Cruz-Euribe assisted by N. Lazarides and H. Onishi), and right in front of it the survey discovered the remains of a church (N. Warner), previously unknown. The area directly to the south of the temple enclosure appears to have contained some large buildings. The magnetometry survey that was carried out in the area (T. Herbich) showed a series of long walls and a few rooms, probably belonging to one of the main areas of settlement.
Further south of the temple enclosure lie a series of tombs that are dug into the desert tafla and then lined with mudbrick and covered with vaults. All the visible remains have been studied in detail (S. Ikram assisted by K. Bandy and L. Warden) and included in the theodolite survey of the area around the main group of archaeological remains (carried out by R. Knisely-Marpole and A. Knisely-Marpole assisted by the survey team). The entire area was explored and mapped with a combination of GPS and theodolite survey (C. Rossi). Several new sites were located to the north of Tarakwa as well as to the north-west and the north-east (C. Rossi and S. Ikram). These sites are unnamed locally, but have been temporarily designated Tarakwa East A, B, C, D, E, and F.
The site of the temple, tombs, and buildings surrounding the Ain Dabashiya area was mapped (C. Rossi) and surveyed by theodolite (R. Knisely-Marpole and A. Knisely-Marpole assisted by the survey team). The temple and the modern settlement that has grown around it have been surveyed in detail (N. Warner). The extensive field system surrounding the main mudbrick temple complex was also mapped, as was the well-preserved square pigeon tower to the north (N. Warner). The survey also revealed an administrative centre and grain processing facility to the north-east, outbuildings to the south, and an extensive cemetery to the west and north-west. A cemetery devoted to sacred/votive dogs was also located north-west of the pigeon tower (S. Ikram assisted by K. Bandy and L. Warden).
Although Muhammed Tuleib had undergone a preliminary study in NKOS's 2001 season, some further work was carried out this season. The most significant event was the discovery of traces of an early temple that was later incorporated into the Roman fort (E. Cruz-Euribe assisted by N. Lazarides and H. Onishi). Part of the work at this site consisted of the magnetometry survey which yielded the sites of several kilns (T. Herbich). A large cemetery, to the east, and most probably associated with the site was also identified (S. Ikram).
Four days were dedicated to the exploration of a portion of the ancient caravan routes that linked Umm el-Dabadib with Ain Amur (C. Rossi and S. Ikram with the support of Pan Arab). Petroglyphs from the prehistoric period were the most common finds; however, ceramic evidence shows that some rocks also were areas that had served as shelters for travellers from the earliest periods through the Ottoman period, if not more recently. The most important find was located on a sandstone massif some 10-12 kilometres south-west of Umm el-Dabadib. The eastern face of this rock was inscribed with an early dynastic serekh containing a previously unrecorded royal name surmounted by a falcon. The animals found on this and other rocks included giraffes, antelopes of different types, canids, and even a few fish. In addition to the above mentioned sites, a few other sites with pottery scatters were located on the route between Ain Amur and Umm el-Dabadib.
