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The University of Naples “L’Orientale” will host the Red Sea VII conference, the latest in the successful series of conferences previously held at the British Museum, University of Southampton, University of Exeter (UK) and University of Tabuk (KSA).For over a century the University “L’Orientale” conducts research in regions outside of Europe, including those of the Red Sea and the Gulf. The first expedition that has involved the University took place in the early years of the twentieth century on the shores of the Red Sea, in present Eritrea. In the last thirty years, the activities of “L’Orientale” in the coastal regions of the Red Sea have intensified considerably seeing involved, at various levels, professors, researchers, fellows, graduate students and students. In the field of archeology should be mentioned excavations in eastern Sudan, at the Pharaonic port of Mersa Gawasis and in the Egyptian Eastern Desert, the recent collaboration with the Eritrean Government and the CeRDO for the excavations at Adulis, Eritrea, the excavations in Ethiopia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. In the field of linguistic and historical studies, “L’Orientale” conducts research projects in countries surrounding the Red Sea and beyond. The Red Sea VII conference will be titled “The Red Sea and the Gulf: Two Maritime Alternative Routes in the Development of Global Economy, from Late Prehistory to Modern Times”. The committee proposes for the first time a comparison, on a scientific level, between two sea corridors and their shores, the Red Sea and the Gulf, which are similar geographically and environmentally, complementary to each other as well as competitors in their economic and cultural interaction with the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, both in the past and in the present. The conference will be an opportunity to meet and exchange information among scholars from worldwide institutions interested in the western Indian Ocean, and also an opportunity to share new ideas and to promote innovative projects based on international collaborations.We are inviting speakers from around the world with an interest in the Red Sea and the Gulf to present on a wide range of subjects relating to the main topic of the conference. These include:Recent and ongoing researchThe Red Sea and the Gulf in the Global EconomyNaval technologies and maritime knowledge in the Red Sea and the GulfCampania, the Mediterranean and the Red SeaPeople, ideas, technologies and religions between the Red Sea and the Gulf Africa, Arabia, Persia: linguistic transitionsGreek, Roman, and Byzantine Maritime Trade to the EastThe last day of the conference will be devoted to two workshops:"Legal regulations in the Red Sea and in the closed seas from past to present""Ports and Harbors of Bronze Age Egypt" Academic posters and multimedia products for display at the conference are also welcome.Abstracts for individual papers should be 250-500 words in length and accompanied with brief cv. Proposals for themed panels should comprise four individual abstracts plus a panel proposal of 300 words.The submission deadline is 15 DECEMBER 2014Note: the selection of the papers to be presented will be made by the scientific committee. Notification of acceptance of papers will be given within two months from the deadline of due submissions.The proceedings of previous Red Sea conferences have been regularly published. The committee intends to continue this tradition. CommitteesThe organising and coordinating committee includes Rodolfo Fattovich, Andrea Manzo and Chiara Zazzaro with the collaboration of Romolo Loreto and Luisa Sernicola. The local scientific committee comprises Giorgio Banti, Giuseppe Camodeca, Giuseppe Cataldi, Riccardo Contini, Ersilia Francesca, Bruno Genito, Roberta Giunta, Romolo Loreto, Andrea Manzo, Adriano Rossi, Luisa Sernicola, Roberto Tottoli, Chiara Zazzaro.The international scientific committee comprises Ali al-Ghabban (Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, KSA), Abdelrahman Ali Mohamed Rahma (National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, Sudan), Dionisius Agius (University of Exeter, UK), Kathryn A. Bard (Boston University, US), Lucy Blue (University of Southampton), Rodolfo Fattovich (Università “L’Orientale”, Italy), Steven E. Sidebotham (University of Delaware, US), Janet Starkey (British Foundation for the Study of Arabia, UK), Maurizio Tosi (Università di Bologna, Italy).ContactsFor further information, please contact the organising committee: The Red Sea VII Organising Committee Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”Piazza S. Domenico Maggiore, 1280134 NapoliItaliaEmail: redsea7@unior.itTel.: +39 – 0816909614/716 or 0816909616/741Or alternatively contact :Dr. Andrea Manzo amanzo@unior.itDr. Chiara Zazzaro czazzaro@unior.it