The possible influence of the ancient Mesopotamia cultures on the development of Ancient Egypt has been the subject of archaeological debate for most of this century. Whilst the fact that there was contact between the two regions has now largely been accepted, the means by which that contact occurred has been neglected.

By plotting the respective distributions of their artefacts, motifs and raw materials, this book reconstructs the seaborne trade routes that were the means of contact between the two great early centres of human civilization, Egypt and Mesopotamia.