I've got the front door wide open, and Islay is asleep on the front step. It's sunny! It's warm! Amazing!

I've also got the July/August edition of British Archaeology, partly because I once was an archaeologist and I like to pretend now and then that I'm still involved, and partly because there's a big article on Timbuktu, which also mentions the recent twinning with Hay-on-Wye. It's written by Timothy Insoll, one of the few archaeologists to have worked there. Most of the finds from his trial excavations come from the 18thC or later though Timbuktu has a history stretching back much further than that - the city had a university as early as the 13thC. Due to the nature of the climate there, it seems that earlier deposits may be buried under many metres of sand from sandstorms, and flood deposits from the River Niger.
There's also a note warning prospective purchasers against buying Malian antiquities. There's been a lot of looting of archaeological sites there, for things like terracotta statuettes and beads. The Malian authorities are doing what they can to stop this, but the best way is for there to be no demand for the product of the looting.