SOMA 2010

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev Ukraine 23-25 April 2010. The fourteenth annual meeting of the Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology (SOMA) was held in Kiev, Ukraine at the National University and General Association of Mediterranean Archaeology in April 2010. This event continues to provide an important opportunity for younger scholars and researchers to come together and discuss their works in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The range of papers expands every time due to the increased importance of scientific areas of expertise. Since prehistoric times the Mediterranean has acted as a focus for interaction between groups inhabiting regions that are now studied mainly within the different sub-fields of ancient studies. In recent years 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 (the Iberian Peninsula) to the East (Anatolia and the Levant), from the North (Europe and the Black Sea Coast) to the South (Maghreb and Egypt). These proceedings of SOMA 14 contain papers relating to the above-mentioned topics and feature themes such maritime, trade and colonization using archaeological data collected within contexts located within the Mediterranean basin and the Ancient Near East area, chronologically ranging from Prehistoric to Medieval periods.