Issue 7: September 2007

Editorial

The seventh issue of BMSAES (British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan) consists of a paper from the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan’s International Egyptological Colloquium Egypt's great oases: the archaeology of Kharga, Dakhla and the roads of the West, which took place in July 2006.

This paper embodies some of the key advantages of online publication, particularly the lack of constraints as to the number of colour photographs which can be included. Here that advantage is particularly effective in conveying the landscape along the Abu Ballas trail, crucial in any understanding of the ancient use of this route.

Readers may have noticed that the low-resolution versions of articles in previous issues have not been available since May 2007. This is a consequence of the redesign of the British Museum website. However, in light of increased access to higher-speed connections, noticeable even in small internet cafés in rural Egypt, there may no longer be a need for the smaller size of files. Comments on this matter are welcome.

Finally, the new British Museum website has pages dedicated to current research projects. These pages will provide a further forum for electronic publication, as already evident from the pages relating to Tell el-Balamun. 

Neal Spencer

Contents

With donkeys, jars and water bags into the Libyan Desert: the Abu Ballas Trail in the late Old Kingdom/ First Intermediate Period
Frank Förster