In 2011 the Barakat Trust gave a grant to Marwan bu Khalaf to help him manage the technical work on the material cultures found in Khirbar Shwaykeh, Palestine in 2009-2010. This find was made more significant by the fact this part of Palestine had been under an economic embargo for a while which meant a significant amount of these material cultures had accumulated. Marwan was assisted by Al-Quds university in Jerusalem.
The purpose of the offered grant was to document and analyse the material cultures discovered on the site. To achieve this task help was needed from Al-Quds university, the largest in the area, which employs many specialists in different fields. Marwan’s main role was to cover several types of the cultures in terms of classification and documentation. The work was done often in conjunction with study and lab analysis. All the architectural remains were drawn and analysed, then classified according to stone types and structural techniques. Also maps and plans were all computerised.
In terms of pottery the chosen pieces were firstly classified then drawn and documented. The clay of these pottery samples were then chemically analysed. This provided a clear and concise reading about the quality of the structure. Around 250 coins were photographed, cleaned then documented. Other work was also done on animal remains, snails, and fossils.
