During 1983 and 1984 the focus of archaeological research in Iraq shifted to the north of the country, with teams from Iraq and abroad participating in the Saddam Dam Salvage Project (previously known as the Eski Mosul Dam). In addition work continued on some sites in the Qadisiyeh Dam Salvage Project (formerly the Haditha Dam Salvage Project) and on research excavations in the south of the country.

We are indebted to Dr. Mu'ayyad Sa'id, President of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage, for permission to publish these reports in Iraq. We would also like to thank Dr. Behnam Abu as-Soof, Dr. Muhammad Baqir al-Husseini, Dr. Abd-as-Sittar al-‘Azzawi and Sd. Abd-ul-Qadir Hassan, the Directors-General of the four regions, for the considerable assistance they have rendered. Our greatest debt is to the excavators of the various sites who have freely given the information about their discoveries. We apologize for any errors we may have made in summarizing their results.

The reports from the Saddam Dam Project have been collected by Robert Killick and those from other areas by Jeremy Black, from information supplied by the excavators, amplified by personal visits, conference reports, etc.