During the making of this special issue of Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, we were deeply sorry to learn that one of our dear colleagues working on Failaka passed away on 15 May 2020. Marta Mierzejewska (Fig. 1) participated to the conference in Kuwait City in 2019, and her energy and personality will be remembered by all archaeologists working at Failaka. Her contribution to this issue enlightens us on her expertise which will be tremendously missed. All participants shared their sadness at this unexpected and terrible news. We present here two tributes to Marta from her colleagues at the University of Warsaw.

“Marta Mierzejewska began her archaeological career in the Near East by taking part in the Polish–Syrian excavations at Tell Arbid in Syrian Jazirah exactly 15 years ago. At the time, she was a promising student of both archaeology and Assyriology. She went on to participate in many campaigns of Polish archaeological missions in the Near East, not only in Syria but also in Dubai (United Arab Emirates – UAE) and Kuwait, where the most important site to her was a late Islamic settlement at Kharaib al-Dasht on Kuwait’s Failaka Island.

Very early on, Marta decided to focus on Near Eastern ceramics, in particular the pottery of the Islamic period, which is an especially rare area of archaeological expertise in Poland. Already her master’s thesis was devoted to a selection from the ceramic assemblage of this period, uncovered during the Polish–Iraqi rescue excavations on Bijan Island in the Middle Euphrates. The complete discussion of the Islamic remains found at this site was the subject matter of her doctoral thesis. It was a very challenging task given the fact that she did not personally participate in the excavations (which took place in the early 1980s) and therefore had to rely only on documentation. Following graduation, Marta started working at the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) of the University of Warsaw. She continued her study of the material from Bijan, at the same time analysing and publishing pottery finds from Kharaib al-Dasht. Always open to new challenges, she undertook the task of analysing the Islamic assemblage collected by a Polish survey in the Upper Zab region of Iraqi Kurdistan. This study has already been submitted to the director of the project. Within her field of expertise, Marta gained recognition through her scientific papers (six have been published thus far, and several more are in print) and participation in academic conferences. She was ambitious and meticulous, at the same time as having a kind and nourishing personality.

Towards the end of the year Marta was to join the Polish archaeological mission working in Oman to study Islamic and Iron Age pottery. It was supposed to be another challenge. She had just finished her doctoral dissertation, as she informed us one week before her sudden passing. The dissertation required only a few minor editorial corrections and arranging the illustrative material before its final version could be submitted to the university committee. Marta’s efforts will not be in vain. Although the dissertation will not constitute the basis for awarding Marta a doctor’s degree, it will still be published by the Polish Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology and thus enter the academic discourse.

Marta’s untimely death happened just as new opportunities, projects and challenges had opened before her. Her colleagues and friends received the news of her death with disbelief and much grief. She was so young and energetic – we all believed that a bright future awaited her.”

Professor Piotr Bieliński

Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej im. Kazimierza Michałowskiego; Uniwersytet Warszawski; Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology; University of Warsaw, Poland.

“Everyone who knew Marta professionally thought about her as a ceramologist, a young scholar whose scientific career was just gaining momentum. We knew about her numerous scientific plans, which she will not be able to implement, and about her doctoral thesis that she did not have the time to complete. But I cannot think and write about Marta only as an archaeologist and a ceramologist. For me, she was a first-year student whom I met while teaching at the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw. It was a debut for both of us: for her as a student and for me as a teacher. Later, she was my younger colleague during excavations in Syria; and in 2013 she joined my Failaka team not only as a ceramologist but above all as a friend.

It is difficult for me to imagine the excavations at Failaka without her, not just because of her contribution to the team’s work, but also because of the friendship and the trust I had in her. Her thoroughness, attention to detail and dutifulness made us all jealous, but also commanded our respect. I was one of the beneficiaries of this set of Marta’s traits since she reminded me of various duties and practicalities I may have forgotten, but also about the upcoming birthdays of our team colleagues. Although she would never hesitate to point out any mistakes on my part and her sharp sense of humour did not spare anyone, at the same time she was an extremely protective person. She always took the trouble of bringing a set of medications to the site, and whenever someone in the team fell ill, she was at their side before we even had time to ask for her help. With time we all got so used to it that we took it for granted that Marta is and always will be there whenever we need her ….

With Marta’s death, I have surely lost an excellent ceramologist, yet I am sure that I will meet other good scholars along the way. But Marta was for me and our friends from the team so much more than just a gifted specialist, and that is why she cannot be replaced.

Thank you, Marta!

Agnes​”

Dr Agnieszka Pieńkowska

Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej im. Kazimierza Michałowskiego; Uniwersytet Warszawski; Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology; University of Warsaw, Poland.

在阿拉伯考古学和金石学这期特刊的制作过程中，我们深感遗憾地获悉，我们在法拉卡工作的一位亲爱的同事于 2020 年 5 月 15 日去世。 Marta Mierzejewska（图 1）参加了在科威特市举行的会议。 2019 年，在法拉卡工作的所有考古学家都将铭记她的活力和个性。她对这个问题的贡献启发了我们她的专业知识，这将是我们非常想念的。所有参与者都对这个意外而可怕的消息感到悲伤。我们在此展示华沙大学同事对 Marta 的两篇致敬。

“Marta Mierzejewska 于 15 年前在叙利亚 Jazirah 的 Tell Arbid 参加了波兰-叙利亚的考古发掘，从而开始了她在近东的考古生涯。当时，她是考古学和亚述学的有前途的学生。她继续参加波兰在近东的许多考古任务，不仅在叙利亚，而且在迪拜（阿拉伯联合酋长国 - 阿联酋）和科威特，对她来说最重要的地点是 Kharaib al 的晚期伊斯兰定居点- 在科威特的法拉卡岛上冲刺。

很早就，玛尔塔决定专注于近东陶瓷，特别是伊斯兰时期的陶器，这是波兰考古专业领域中特别罕见的领域。她的硕士论文已经专门选择了这一时期的陶瓷组合，这些陶瓷组合是在幼发拉底河中部比扬岛上的波兰-伊拉克救援发掘中发现的。关于在该地点发现的伊斯兰遗迹的完整讨论是她博士论文的主题。鉴于她没有亲自参与挖掘（发生在 1980 年代初期），因此只能依靠文件，这是一项非常具有挑战性的任务。毕业后，Marta 开始在华沙大学的波兰地中海考古中心 (PCMA) 工作。她继续研究 Bijan 的材料，同时分析和出版 Kharaib al-Dasht 的陶器发现。她总是乐于迎接新的挑战，承担了分析伊拉克库尔德斯坦上扎布地区波兰调查收集的伊斯兰群体的任务。这项研究已经提交给项目负责人。在她的专业领域内，Marta 通过她的科学论文（迄今已发表六篇，还有几篇正在印刷）和参加学术会议而获得认可。她雄心勃勃，一丝不苟，同时拥有善良和滋养的个性。她承担了分析伊拉克库尔德斯坦上扎布地区波兰调查收集的伊斯兰群体的任务。这项研究已经提交给项目负责人。在她的专业领域内，Marta 通过她的科学论文（迄今已发表六篇，还有几篇正在印刷）和参加学术会议而获得认可。她雄心勃勃，一丝不苟，同时拥有善良和滋养的个性。她承担了分析伊拉克库尔德斯坦上扎布地区波兰调查收集的伊斯兰群体的任务。这项研究已经提交给项目负责人。在她的专业领域内，Marta 通过她的科学论文（迄今已发表六篇，还有几篇正在印刷）和参加学术会议而获得认可。她雄心勃勃，一丝不苟，同时拥有善良和滋养的个性。

临近年底，Marta 将加入在阿曼工作的波兰考古团，研究伊斯兰和铁器时代的陶器。这应该是另一个挑战。她刚刚完成博士论文，在她突然去世前一周通知我们。这篇论文只需要在其最终版本提交给大学委员会之前，只需要进行一些小的编辑修改并安排说明性材料。玛尔塔的努力不会白费。尽管该论文不会构成授予 Marta 博士学位的基础，但它仍将由波兰地中海考古中心出版，从而进入学术讨论。

玛尔塔的英年早逝就在她面前出现了新的机会、项目和挑战的时候发生了。她的同事和朋友们在难以置信和悲痛中得知她去世的消息。她是如此年轻而充满活力——我们都相信，等待着她的是光明的未来。”

Piotr Bieliński 教授

Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej im。Kazimierza Michałowskiego；华沙大学；波兰地中海考古中心；波兰华沙大学。

“每个认识 Marta 的专业人士都认为她是一位陶瓷学家，一位科学事业刚刚起步的年轻学者。我们知道她将无法实施的众多科学计划，以及她没有时间完成的博士论文。但我不能仅以考古学家和陶艺家的身份来思考和撰写玛尔塔。对我来说，她是我在华沙大学考古研究所任教时认识的一年级学生。这对我们俩来说都是首次亮相：对于她作为学生和作为老师的我。后来，她是我在叙利亚挖掘时的年轻同事；2013 年，她加入了我的法拉卡团队，不仅是作为陶瓷学家，更重要的是作为朋友。

我很难想象没有她在法拉卡的挖掘工作，这不仅是因为她对团队工作的贡献，还因为我对她的友谊和信任。她的彻底、对细节的关注和尽职尽责让我们都嫉妒，但也赢得了我们的尊重。我是 Marta 这套特质的受益者之一，因为她让我想起了我可能已经忘记的各种职责和实用性，还有我们团队同事即将到来的生日。虽然她会毫不犹豫地指出我的任何错误，她敏锐的幽默感也没有放过任何人，但同时她也是一个非常保护的人。她总是不厌其烦地把一套药物带到现场，每当团队中有人生病时，在我们甚至有时间寻求她的帮助之前，她就在他们身边。随着时间的推移，我们都习惯了它，以至于我们理所当然地认为，只要我们需要她，Marta 就在那里，而且永远都在那里……

随着玛尔塔的去世，我肯定失去了一位优秀的陶艺家，但我相信在此过程中我会遇到其他优秀的学者。但是对于我和我们团队的朋友来说，Marta 不仅仅是一位有天赋的专家，这就是她无法被取代的原因。

谢谢你，玛尔塔！

艾格尼丝

Agnieszka Pieńkowska 博士

Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej im。Kazimierza Michałowskiego；华沙大学；波兰地中海考古中心；波兰华沙大学。