The Society for Medieval Archaeology

Women, Status and Power in Medieval Society

The Annual Conference of the Society for Medieval Archaeology takes place in Lincoln on June 30th and July 1st, 2017. This conference, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Society, is entitled Women, Status and Power in Medieval Society and will bring together specialists from a range of disciplines to explore the status of women in medieval society, the extent to which they could wield power – personal, administrative, political or ideological – over their own lives, over others and in times of conflict, and how evidence for this might be lost or found in the archaeological record.

Further details about the conference programme and links to the conference registration site may be found on our Annual Conference page or may be downloaded in PDF format.

The agenda for the 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Society for Medieval Archaeology is now available. The meeting will be held at Rewley House,  1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA at 19:30 on Friday December 2nd 2016.

Follow this link to access the 2016 AGM Agenda

The SMA Student Colloquium will be held in Brussels on Nov.3rd – 5th, 2016, and the organisers welcome papers and posters that address the medieval period (5th-16th centuries) from all geographical areas. Papers and posters with no direct link to archaeology, but with a broader medieval significance will also be considered.

Topics that will be covered are:

• Cross-sea interactions and connections
• The archaeology of medieval landscapes
• New methods and approaches in medieval archaeology
• Urban fabric and identity
• Commemoration in the Middle Ages
• Artefacts, crafts and society

We are pleased to announce that the keynote lecture on Thursday 3rd November will be presented by Dr Anton Ervynck (Flanders Heritage Agency – Brussels), and is entitled ‘The food that mattered’ on changing food consumption patterns in the medieval Low Countries.

Our local host, Prof. dr. Dries Tys (professor Medieval Archaeology, Free University of Brussels), will guide us through archaeological Brussels on Wednesday evening 2nd November (for those who have arrived).

Optional activities on Saturday 5th November include an archaeological tour in Bruges by Raakvlak (Intermunicipal Service for Archaeology) and an excursion  to the medieval fishing village ‘Walraversijde’.

And most importantly: do not leave Belgium without having tasted our famous beers! (and that’s why we will organise a Belgian beer reception on Thursday evening to help everyone out with this!)

Abstracts of max. 150 words may be sent to: medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com
Please include ‘Student Colloquium Abstract’ in the subject line. Please add up to 5 keywords with paper abstracts. Papers will be 20 minutes in length, and there will be room for discussion at the end of each paper session.

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: Friday 16th September 2016

We will notify you if your abstract has been successful within two weeks from the deadline. For more information: please contact: medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com, or see our website.

Registration fee:

Registration is free for members of the Society, and £20 for non members (whether students or not). However, we would like to encourage membership with the Society as the student rate will be the same. For more information on how to join, please visit:

http://www.medievalarchaeology.co.uk/index.php/how-to-join/

Exclusive Event for SMA Members, Thursday 4th August

A tour for Members of the British Museum’s acclaimed exhibition, ‘Sicily: Culture and Conquest‘, will be led by the exhibition’s Curator, Dirk Booms, free of charge.  The exhibition has been described by The Times as ‘historically illuminating and visually stunning’.

This will be followed by an exceptional opportunity to examine medieval objects recently acquired under the Treasure Act, care of Dr Sue Brunning, Curator of Early Medieval Collections.

The tour will begin at 9.30 AM, before the Museum opens to the public.  Please contact the Society’s Membership Secretary, Sarah Kerr (medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com), for details and to register your intention to attend.  There is no charge for this special event.