Ms. Creisher, originally from Maine, USA, arrived in Israel two years ago in order to pursue a Master’s degree in the department of Maritime Civilizations here at the University of Haifa. After completing the MA, she will now be continuing on as a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Dr. Deborah Cvikel and Prof. Michal Artzy. Her research focuses on re-evaluating the long-held belief that maritime trade networks in the eastern Mediterranean were drastically reduced following the transition from Byzantine to Islamic governance in c.640 CE. Through an in-depth study of the ceramics from the Ma’agan Mikhael B shipwreck and other contemporaneous sites along the Carmel coast, both terrestrial and maritime, she aims to shed new light on the true complexity of maritime activity in the region during the 7th-9th centuries CE.