We are David and Sue Richardson, independent UK-based researchers specialising in Khorezm, the isolated region watered by the lower reaches of the Amu Darya lying just to the south of the Aral Sea. We have travelled to all of the museums outside of Karakalpakstan which hold major Karakalpak collections, especially those in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. We have extensively studied the large body of Russian references dealing with Khorezm and the Karakalpaks, always trying to go back to the original and earliest sources of information wherever possible. Of course much of the early work on Karakalpakstan was undertaken by Soviet-trained researchers with a Marxist mindset, operating within a fairly closed academic environment. We believe that we have looked at the history and culture of the Karakalpaks with fresh eyes and open minds. This website was launched in the autumn of 2005 and will continue to expand and be updated as we summarise the enormous volume of information that we have accumulated during our researches.