The 2017 Student Colloquium was organised by Emma Hook, PhD student from the University of Sheffield, and hosted by Newcastle University.

Students at the 2017 SMA Colloquium held at Newcastle University

Talks underway on day one of the Colloquium.

Scandinavian styles in England as discussed by a participant.

Papers were presented by students from across the British and Irish Isles and Europe, including this paper by a student from Durham University.

Papers covered all aspects of medieval archaeology, including artefact study and the built environment.

Papers underway on day two of the Colloquium.

SMA Student Representative for 2017, Emma Hook, presents her own research in Newcastle.

The Society for Medieval Archaeology is delighted to see over 30 MERC -affiliated sessions submitted for the 24th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, which will be held in Barcelona, 5-8th September 2018. 

The complete list of sessions affiliated to MERC, therefore focusing on medieval archaeology, are listed below.

The call for paper and poster submissions is now open. The abstracts can be viewed on the EAA website – simply search for the session using the session number preceding the title listed below.

The deadline is 15th February 2018.
82 Islamicate Archeology in Europe: past, present and future

92 Interpreting and Understanding the Past through Medieval Small Finds

96 Forum Medieval Archaeology (MERC): The mediterranean as connection and gateway in the Middle Ages.

130 Elite Settlement in the Countryside of Early Medieval Europe (5th-10th centuries AD): Challenging Assumptions and New Directions

150 Museum Presentation in a challenged world

168 Advances in Environmental Archaeology in the Post-Classical Mediterranean World

184 Perspectives on things, people and places AD 1500-2018

208 To your health! Tracing health in urban environments in medieval Northern Europe.

245 Issues on the archaeology of Jewish cemeteries: urban development, heritage preservation and risk management

279 Pirenne vs. Glass: The contribution of archaeological and archaeometric glass analysis to the study of early medieval long-distance trade networks

305 Deploying the Dead II: Dead Bodies and Social Transformations

358 Glaze production technology in the medieval and post-medieval Mediterranean

413 Re-thinking medieval and early modern pestilences from a biosocial perspective: advanced methods and renewed concepts in archaeological sciences

431 Elite culture in medieval and post-medieval archaeology

483 Roads of the North. Medieval and early modern infrastructure of travel and exchange in the far north

521 The Mediterranean in the North: the material evidence of distant contacts, AD 1000-1800

536 Urban Geoarchaeology

540 Approaches to Medieval Buildings: the past, present, and future of interpretation and management

561 Archaeological indicators for the identification of medieval Jewish populations

565 Ecclesiastical landscapes in Medieval Europe. A comparative approach

568 Food and Drink in Archaeology: multi-disciplinary approaches to past food practices

599 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Early Medieval Transitions

612 Transdisciplinary and participative approaches to Cultural Landscapes
view

639 The value of objects in medieval rural settlement

679 Medieval Non-Places: Sites of Transience in the Medieval World

686 Silver, status and society – transition from late Roman to Early Medieval Europe

721 Connections and concurrencies: The global turn in historical archaeology and future challenges in European historical archaeology.

726 Farming under the Crescent moon: archaeological insights into the medieval ‘Islamic Green Revolution’

733 Archaeology of Byzantine and Romanesque Churches in Central and South-East Europe (8th to 13th century)

747 Archaeology of Visigothic and Carolingian Europe (5th-9th Centuries)

760 ‘…In with the New!’: The future of archaeological research in Medieval Europe

766 The synergic approach to preserving and restoring chalk monuments, artefacts, romane mosaics and fresco surfaces with archeomaterials [CIfA]

Society for Medieval Archaeology 2018 Annual Conference

Grave Concerns: Death, Landscape and Locality in Medieval Society

Dates: Friday 13^th – Sunday 15^th July 2018

Venue: Department of Archaeology and the Calman Centre, Durham University

Registration: £30 special rate for members!

#graveconcerns

Since 1990, a series of major conferences and publications have investigated aspects of death and burial in medieval societies in Europe and beyond. Some have delivered state-of-the-art research on early medieval and medieval funerary rites; others have profiled new advances in scientific research. Throughout all, spatial consideration has emerged as a connecting research strand.

From understanding the distribution patterns of grave types and the use of antecedent landscape features for burial, to charting the rise of commemorative markers in stone, and the arrival of monastic and churchyard burial traditions; from exploring political signalling and polity formation through burial display, to identifying patterns of diseases and health in medieval populations and their mobility, the location of the grave has become a rich stepping off point, stimulating and facilitating new research directions.

This conference, sponsored by the Society for Medieval Archaeology and the Leverhulme-funded Durham Project People and Place: Creating the Kingdom of Northumbria, brings together established and early career researchers working on aspects of death, dying and burial from AD 300-1500 in Britain, Ireland and further afield.

The conference will take place at Durham University and opens on the evening of Friday the 13^th of July at Durham Cathedral, with a keynote lecture by Professor Bonnie Effros (University of Liverpool). A free private view of the new Open Treasure exhibition at the Cathedral will be available to full ticket attendees and a drinks reception the evening of the lecture. On the 14^th and 15^th of July, speakers from Britain and Europe will present new work and findings on death and burial in medieval society at the Calman Centre on the Science Site at Durham University, and a second keynote will be given on Saturday evening by Professor Roberta Gilchrist (University of Reading), followed by an evening reception and poster exhibition. The conference will close on Sunday the 15^th of July with a final keynote by Dr Duncan Sayer (University of Central Lancashire).

View the programme here.

Speakers include: Mary Lewis (University of Reading), John Hines (Cardiff University), Jean Soulat (LandArc Laboratory and CNRS Research Unit UMR 6273 from CRAHAM), Adrian Maldonado (University of Glasgow), Ann Sølvia Jacobsen (Durham University), James Graham Campbell (UCL), Dries Tys (Free University of Brussels), Jure Šućur (University of Zadar), Anouk Busset (University of Glasgow) and Catriona McKenzie (University of Exeter).

Registration and fees

To register for the conference please complete the registration form here as a Word document  or here as a .pdf and email it to grave.concerns@durham.ac.uk.

Payment can be made by cheque to ‘Durham University’ and the cheque should be sent to Prof Sarah Semple, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE.

We can also take online payments and payments by international bank transfer, please indicate when registering if you need to pay by either of these methods and we will provide you with the account details by email. For all queries please contact us at grave.concerns@durham.ac.uk (phone on 0191 334 1115).

Full attendance                      £95

This includes access to the full programme and all keynote lectures, a free private view of Open Treasure, attendance at both evening receptions, lunch on the Saturday and all refreshments at the conference on Saturday and Sunday.

Basic attendance                   £80

This includes access to the full programme and all keynote lectures. The following are NOT included: private view of Open Treasure, the evening receptions, lunch on Saturday and refreshments at the conference on Saturday and Sunday.

Society for Medieval Archaeology Members Rate             £30

We are delighted to offer full attendance at the entire conference to all members of the Society for Medieval Archaeology for a basic rate of £30. This includes access to the full programme and all keynote lectures, a free private view of Open Treasure, attendance at both evening receptions, lunch on the Saturday and all refreshments at the conference on Saturday and Sunday.

TO JOIN THE SOCIETY PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING PAGE: http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/ymed

A full or family membership is £35, membership for retirees is £28 and student membership is £20.

Organisers: Kate Mees, Sue Harrington, Sarah Semple, Becky Gowland and Brian Buchanan (Durham University)

Each year the Society for Medieval Archaeology invites a student member to take on the role of Student Representative. Student Reps provide a voice for our growing student membership on SMA Council and also help organise our annual SMA Student Colloquium and career workshops. Other roles include the maintenance of our Facebook page and representing the society at conferences. If you are interested in taking on the role of Student Representative, please contact the Society’s Honorary Secretary with a cover letter, CV and referee details.

The deadline for receipt of applications for the position of Student Representative for 2018 is now closed. 

SMA Student Colloquium 2016

The Mick Aston Photographic Competition

The late Mick Aston was a skilled photographer and a talented draughtsman. Mick’s camera was never from his side and he took every opportunity to record archaeological sites whenever the opportunity arose. Over a career spanning more than 40 years he built up a unique collection of images which charted the development of medieval archaeology throughout Britain. In honour of his contribution to the discipline and his role in public engagement, the Society for Medieval Archaeology announces an annual photographic competition for Society members in Mick’s honour.

Each year entries will be requested on a particular theme related to medieval archaeology. The choice of images is wide and might include excavations, aerial photographs, objects or buildings in Britain and Ireland. Creative images are not excluded either in black and white or in colour but must sent to the Society at medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com to arrive by 31st July each year. We invite members to send digital images and high resolution .jpg and .tiff files as email attachments. A maximum of two entries will be accepted per member and the photo must have been taken by the person entering within the past 12 months.

The annual theme will be announced in January each year on the Society’s website and will be judged by a panel of Council members for relevance, composition and overall quality. The SMA reserves the right to use any entry in publications, its website and promotional materials. The winning entry will receive £200.

The theme for 2018 is ‘the past meets the future’.

The Society for Medieval Archaeology is delighted that 2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Throughout the year diverse cultural heritage will be celebrated meaning thousands of activities will take place across Europe, encouraging us to experience, appreciate, and enjoy cultural heritage. Inspired by the exciting year ahead, the Mick Aston Photographic Competition theme for 2018 is ‘the past meets the future’ and welcomes photographs captured anywhere in Europe. #EuropeforCulture

In 2017 the theme for the Mick Aston Photographic Competition was Religion. We were delighted to award the prize to Brian Buchanan, who submitted this photograph of a drone at Yeavering. Congratulations Brian!

This winning photograph from the 2017 competition was captured by Brian Buchanan.

In 2016 the theme for the Mick Aston Photographic Competition was Religion. We were delighted to award the prize to Steve Ashby, who submitted this photograph of the crypt at Lastingham.

Steve Ashby, winner of the Mick Aston Photographic Competition 2016

CALL FOR PAPERS

EAA 2018 Barcelona (MERC) Session 92

Interpreting and Understanding the Past through Medieval Small Finds

Archaeological small finds of the High to Late Middle Ages (c.1100-1550) are amongst the most common artefact types found by archaeologists and others, but not always the focus of rigorous academic study or research. It is not clear why this is so, especially as the Middle Ages resonates with the public, being close in time and culture, and that the small finds themselves have great potential for scientific research and academic investigation.

The purpose of this session is two-fold. First to explore methods of how to interpret and understand archaeological small finds of medieval date, whether this is through new digital or scientific techniques or more traditional approaches. We would be particularly interested in papers that explore medieval finds within the historic landscape, and how this data is then presented to the wider public to help them visualise and understand the medieval past.

Second, we are interested in the relationship between finds types, and how they help us understand life in the medieval past. Papers might consider, for example, the relationship between particular object types and specific peoples, human activities or social hierarchy. It might be that papers offer different approaches to understanding and interpreting material culture, such as through typologies, style or their composition, or explore archaeological data through historical and art historical evidence. Likewise we are interested to here of diverse approaches from different parts of Europe, to foster the transfer of information and ideas.

Theme: the archaeology of material culture, bodies and landscapes.

Please submit your abstracts to the EAA website. 

Organiser: Michael Lewis (United Kingdom) British Museum

Co-organiser: Mirjam Kars (Netherlands) VU University, Amsterdam

Co-organiser: Jakub Sawicki (Czech Republic) Academy of Sciences

Co-organiser: Mette Højmark Søvsø (Denmark) Sydvestjyskemusee