SYMPOSIUM AIMS AND GOALS
The seventeenth annual
meeting of the Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology (SOMA) will
be held in Moscow-Russia on 25-27 April 2013. As it has been in
the past, this symposium will continue to provide an important
opportunity for scholars and researchers to come together and
discuss their works in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Our
spectrum is growing wider due to the increased importance and
knowledge of interdisciplinary works in today’s scientific era.
Since prehistoric times the Mediterranean has been acting as a
locale for interaction between groups inhabiting regions that are
now studied mainly within the different sub-fields of ancient
studies. In recent years, however, the development of research
techniques and analytical models of archaeological evidence have
identified similar historical paths that are similar if not, in
some cases, common to these different areas of the ancient world
from the West (Iberian peninsula) to the East (Anatolia and
Levant) from the North (Europe, Black Sea Coast) to the South
(Maghreb and Egypt). The 17th SOMA meeting welcomes presentations
related to the above-mentioned topics and also arguments like sea,
trade, colonization and piracy using archaeological data collected
within contexts located within the Mediterranean basin and the
Ancient Near Eastern area, chronologically ranging from
Prehistoric to Medieval periods.
The theme for this year’s symposium is “Management of Cultural
Heritage in the Coastal Zone.” The Coastal Zone is an area rich
archaeology, but unfortunately highly vulnerable to
industrialization, some tourism activities, and also several other
reasons of the coast. It is for this reason that the Coastal Zone
is now a focus of UNESCO efforts to protect and preserve this
delicate Cultural Heritage.