The Society for Arabian Studies (www.societyforarabianstudies.org) was founded in 1987 to support and encourage research in the Arabian Peninsula in the fields of archaeology, history, culture and the environment. The Society publishes an annual Bulletin, organizes regular lectures, and supports publications on and field projects in the region.

On Oct. 27-28, in cooperation with the British Museum, the Society for Arabian Studies is organizing its third, two day event in the Red Sea Project series titled “Red Sea III: Cultural Connections of the Red Sea,” (www.dur.ac.uk/red.sea/). According to Janet Starkey, speaking on behalf of the organizers, sessions in the third phase of the Red Sea Project are based on “culture” and “connections” of the Red Sea in order to bring together historical, ethnographic, ecological and archaeological sources.

Session topics include:

*Maritime Networks: commercial connections, traditions and industries — particularly the cultural roles of harbors, boats, boat building and navigation.

*Natural Resources and ecological connections of the Red Sea — the natural distribution of plants, crops, fish, mammals, and birds, which have, at some time, influenced local “culture.”

*Spiritual and religious connections within the Red Sea region and beyond.

Proceedings from the first two phases of the project have been published by Archaeopress and will be available for sale at the Red Sea III conference. The titles are:

*P. Lunde and A. Porter (eds), “Trade and Travel in the Red Sea Region,” (Society for Arabian Studies, Monographs No. 2) BAR International Series 1269 (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2004).

*J.C.M. Starkey (ed), “People of the Red Sea,” (Society for Arabian Studies, Monographs No. 3) BAR International Series 1395 (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2005).

There will also be an exhibition associated with the event called, “Sketches from the North Red Sea,” that will focus on David Martin’s encounter with the Red Sea in June 2006, as part of a longer journey, traveling across land, from Cairo to Central Europe.

This project was the result of Martin winning the prestigious Alastair Salvesen Travel Scholarship from the Royal Scottish Academy, and involved working in sketchbooks as he traveled looking at themes of cultural and personal change and transformation.

The sketches are works in progress and will be developed into paintings forming an exhibition in the RSA in Edinburgh in March 2007.