This issue of Iraq is the first we have produced for many years without the help of Lamia al-Gailani Werr. Her death was a great shock to us all, coming completely out of the blue while she was in the middle of undertaking her usual strenuous and energetic schedule of travel associated with work. A number of us from the editorial board were just beginning projects with her, or continuing long-term collaborations and frequently in contact. An obituary for her is naturally contained in these pages.

The same goes for Geoffrey Turner, whose connection to the journal lies slightly further back. His work on Layard and the early excavations at Nineveh was foundational to a thread of research that is now becoming a veritable production line, with articles re-visiting the beginnings of our field on the basis of documentary evidence being frequently submitted, including on Layard. Here we also publish the second in a series based on investigations in the Ottoman archives, including what is thought to be the first ever official permit for an excavation on Mesopotamian soil. Further articles in this issue are also follow-on contributions to ones that have appeared in previous issues of Iraq.

As befits the journal of the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, articles on Neo-Assyrian reliefs, frequently those currently found in the British Museum, continue to be well represented, as is the publication of tablets from the British Museum collections. The theme of the perception of ethnicity in empire is popular, and it is also very pleasing to present articles that deal with periods earlier and later than the first and second millennia B.C. We are very proud to host articles that describe new research on both northern and southern Iraq's landscape and archaeology, using cutting edge interdisciplinary approaches. Our thanks are due to Saadi al-Timmi for preparing the Arabic versions of the abstracts, to Craig Baxter at CUP for his patience with our submissions during the production process, as well as to all our anonymous and named reviewers, who generously give their time for free. The editorial board said farewell this year to Sarah Savant, who is also to be thanked for her service. We are also very grateful to our subscribers, whose enthusiasm for the past cultures of Iraq make it possible for us to produce the journal.