Abstract
The paper is mapping trade routes and economical situation in the Egyptian Western Desert and Mediterranean region during the Late Roman Age. It traces ancient caravan routes in the Western Desert (among Western desert oases – Bahariyah, Dakhla, Kharga, Siwa, Farafra – and between oases and Nile Valley, Libya, Sudan and Mediterranean shores).
Its goal is to evaluate the relationships among regions and their character. The possibility to study ancient trade communications is enabled by the collections of Ancient Greek authors, 19th and 20th centuries archeologists, recent and contemporary archaeological expeditions, epigraphical and written data sources together with modern investigation in the field of transport amphorae – their traffic in Mediterranean is important for contacts estimation comprising Egyptian Western Desert, Nile Valley, Roman Empire and Northern African shore.
The project would also contribute to deciphering patterns of trade politics in the Late Roman age and the Ancient world.