The broadly discussed, but still open, issue of the chronology and effects the Theran volcanic eruption caused on the Mediterranean trade routes will be the main subject of this issue. The latest proposal states the eruption’s chronology around 1630 B.C., while the synchronisms with the Egyptian pharaonic system have not been adjusted accordingly. The merchants of the international port of Akrotiri (Thera) were acting as the intermediates between Egypt, Crete and the easternmost part of the Mediterranean basin. The depiction of the roared ships on the fresco frieze from the West House at Akrotiri gives the evidence for the Theran media used for that long sea trips, while the exported finds of that time (pottery, stone artifacts, frescoes) scattered all over the shores of the Mediterranean, come from everywhere else but Thera. Throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, the trade sea routes of the Late Bronze Age were flourishing and the imports and exports of the time fill the museums all over the world. In this framework, the lack or Theran exported artifacts in sites outside Thera raises questions on the form of the Theran trade in comparison to the contemporary markets in Crete, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus and Egypt. The catastrophic volcanic Theran eruption changed suddenly the established trade routes and there was a long time that had to pass before these routes were established safely again.

Work on archaeological sites or cultural heritage artifact usually generates a huge amount of heterogeneous information. In recent years, this information has normally been maintained in digital form. Most cultural heritage items being studied are three-dimensional artifact and cannot be easily represented with conventional data management frameworks. The strong spatial structure of data suggests that the available information should be linked to a three-dimensional model of the artifact. The association of information with different areas of the model permits relationships between the different elements to be ascertained, and allows both specialists and the layperson to more easily understand this information. Presently the software and hardware technology have matured so as to be able to assist archaeologists and Cultural heritage professional in general on this duty. The scope of this special issue is to present the state of the art of this emerging field.

There never seems to have been a time when conservation and restoration of antiquities has not been stuff of controversy.

The scope of this special issue is to present papers from important textile and book collections.

  •  To present unpublished items, historic elements and issues in preservation.

  •  To examine and document the wide component materials and manufacture techniques through scientific analytical methods.

  •  To raise awareness of the importance of textiles and books as evidence of archaeological, social and ecclesiastical history, and the need to record that significance and also the need to conserve them.

Future research into materials such as textiles and books and technologies may offer some solutions but we might also learn from the design and management of pre-industrial internal environments i.e. vernacular architecture, organic insecticides and biocides etc. This is a challenging and exciting time for preservation and undoubtedly the future enjoyment of our collections will certainly be dependent upon our finding ways of doing more with less.