Three millennia of cross-Mediterranean bonds are revealed by the 18 expert summaries in this book-from the dawn of the Bronze Age to the budding of Hellenization. An international team of acclaimed specialists in their fields-archaeologists, historians, geomorphologists, and metallurgists-shed light on a plethora of aspects associated with travelling this age-old sea and its periphery: environmental factors; the formation of harbors; gateways; commodities; the crucial role of metals; cultural impact; and the way to interpret the agents such as Canaanites, "e;Sea Peoples,"e; Phoenicians, and pirates. The book will engage any student of the Old World in the 3000 years before the Common Era.