to the Acting Provincial Directors forCulture and Tourism of Gaziantep -first Salih Efiloğlu, then Mehmet Aykanat, and Ergün Özuslu -to the Gaziantep Museum Directors -first Ahmet Denizhanoğulları, then Asuman Aslan and Yusuf Altın -and to the Director of the Gaziantep Regional Committee for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Asuman Aslan, all of whom helped us in every possible way.During those same three years, in Gaziantep, first and foremost we are grateful to the Metropolitan Mayors, first Asım Güzelbey and then Fatma Şahin, who constantly strove to meet our needs, provided facilities and promoted the construction of the Archaeological Research Centre in the village of Türkyurdu near Karkamış: their cooperation in preparing the site in order for it to become an archaeological park has been invaluable. We are also indebted to the then Governor of Gaziantep, Erdal Ata, and to the Mayor of Şahinbey, Mehmet Tahmazoğlu, for the attention with which they have been following the progress of our excavations. The then Rector of Gaziantep University, Yavuz Coşkun, deserves a special mention for his personal, as well as institutional, engagement. The former Secretary General of Gaziantep Special Provincial Administration, Ömer Özcan, has been instrumental in starting the external works for the park. The enthusiasm of the owner of Gaziantep Sabah newspaper, Aykut Tuzcu, and of its editor-in-chief, Nurgün Balcıoğlu, has been contagious.In Karkamış, the Mayor, Nuh Kocaslan, and the then Local Governor, Mustafa Gül, constantly helped the Expedition during its stay together with the Head of Türkyurdu village, Hüseyn Aksoy. Our workers from the villages of the Karkamış province deserve much praise for their commitment and good humour. Our relations vii with the Turkish Military were by necessity very close. The fact that our work could be smoothly carried out depended, among other things, on the sympathy which the local commanding officers always showed us. Although we are not allowed to mention them by name, they are the commanders of the 5 th Armoured Brigade and of the Border Regiment in Gaziantep, and those of the Battalion in Oğuzeli and the border posts in Soylu and Karkamış.