Foreword

HASBonline – Hefte zur Archäologie des Mittelmeerraumes aus Bern is a new journal that makes a contribution to the growing importance of the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in form of a digital open access publication. The free access to its contents has arisen from the conviction that scholarly research should be made available to all and thus directly promote the scholarly exchange among specialists around the world.

The expeditious publication online, however, may not lead to a reduction in standards or in the quality of the articles. This is the reason why HASBonline will only publish articles that have successfully passed the  double blind peer review process.

HASBonline has as its focus the archaeology of the Mediterranean region and its contact areas and is open to various methodological approaches that are essential to its research and exploration.

The journal and its supplements were published in printed form from 1975 to 2009 under the title “HASB”. These past issues have been digitized and can be viewed and downloaded online at http://retro.seals.ch/digbib/vollist?UID=has-001.

This issue contains the first contributions to the new online journal; they demonstrate broad methodological and chronological perimeters. It is our intention to broaden these perimeters with the addition of current research from English, Italian and French-speaking scholarly communities, a goal that we will be able to attain with your support.

Prof. Dr. E. Mango