Sands of time reveal Lawrence campsite

Susan Daniels is part of a team of archaeologists and volunteers who have been working in Jordan for the past four years on a project researching the Great Arab Revolt between 1916 and 1918.

Experts had assumed the Arab forces would remain

archaeologically "invisible", with the guerrilla fighters leaving few, if any, traces. But the remains of a huge military encampment have been discovered near Ma'an.

A button from a British Army uniform has been unearthed, along with lids from tobacco tins which would have belonged to a British officer.

For Miss Daniels, whose day job is as a business manager in English Heritage's York offices, the dig has an even greater resonance. Her father, Senior Warrant Officer Leslie Daniels, met Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence during his own military career with the RAF. Miss Daniels, 53, who lives in York, said: "Up until now the remains which have been discovered were left by the Ottoman army.

"This is the first time we have found something linked to the Arab forces, so it will hopefully give us a clearer understanding of their efforts during the revolt."

Lawrence was held up as an almost mythical figure by the Arab forces when he fought alongside them against the Ottoman Empire, a German ally.