There was more than a hint of mockery in his tone.

‘I thought it was more important to bring back what we already found.’

‘I figured as much when you phoned me on your mad dash to Sharm el-Sheikh Airport.’

‘Well, it’s not as if the remaining stones are going to get up and walk away.’

Mansoor frowned at Gabrielle’s levity. She should have remembered that he was an utterly humourless man, and proud of the fact.

‘We can carry on today. I put the team on standby, waiting for your decision. I’d already pulled them off their regular duties to concentrate on this find. I didn’t want to put them back on the areas they were digging because they’re all too excited about-’

‘You told them your theory?’ he blurted out in a mixture of shock and fear.

‘I didn’t tell them,’ replied Gabrielle. Then after a few seconds she added, ‘But it must have been fairly obvious.’

‘To an overenthusiastic kid, perhaps. Not to a serious scholar.’

‘I think a credible case can be made out.’ Her tone was defensive. She knew that Mansoor was always sceptical about Big Theories.

‘Let’s keep some sense of proportion. So far all we can say is that we have fragments of two stone tablets with an old, somewhat simple linear script with repeated characters engraved on them.’

‘But it is definitely two stones?’ she asked cautiously.

‘We have seven corner pieces. That suggests at least two separate stones.’

‘What’s your assessment of the writing?’

Mansoor peered at it carefully. ‘Well, the style is a bit like hieroglyphics, but only the simplest hieroglyphics. In fact, some of the symbols are quite recognizable – if we can find the right light to view them in.’

‘So it can’t be a diplomatic document or treaty.’

‘If it was, it would be written in Akkadian cuneiform.’

‘And that also rules out Hittite and Sumerian.’

‘Exactly,’ Mansoor confirmed.