From the Editors

Welcome Readers!

On behalf of the editors and editorial board of the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, we are excited to present you, our readers, with this inaugural issue. Our goal for the journal is to make it accessible, wide-ranging, inclusive, and informative— and to cover the eastern Mediterranean past and the cultures influenced by the eastern Mediterranean in a way that has not been done before. The submissions for this first issue, we believe, will show that this admittedly ambitious agenda is an achievable one.

Our initial Forum section features a discussion by experts in the field of publishing online and in print on a provocative topic of great interest to scholars—open access. In addition, you will find on the following pages a unique and timely discussion about the progress being made in preserving the Temple of the Winged Lions at the legendary site of Petra in Jordan; an exploration of the Nabataean Incense Road; an insightful examination of the significance of Khirbat al-Mafjar for the Palestinian past; and an illustrated narrative about the use of archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean as backdrops for visits by political leaders. Finally, a thorough and enlightening review article about the latest volume on the Tall Jawa excavations introduces our Book Review section.

For those of you who work in this region as archaeologists, cultural heritage specialists, or in any other field that explores its past, we hope that you believe, as we do, that a multi-disciplinary journal devoted to encouraging dialogue and cooperation in this region is long overdue—and we also hope that you will consider submitting articles to us in the future. Enjoy this stimulating prologue to what we hope will be a continuing relationship and please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions about the journal with us.