Sessions

Session 1: Exploring Archaeology as a Global Science.

Keynote Speaker: Marcella Frangipane (Sapienza University; Accademia dei Lincei, Rome)

This session aims to highlight the current dynamics of interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity in the field of Archaeology. We invite submissions presenting research outcomes, examining archaeological data through diverse approaches borrowed from other research domains ranging from computational analysis and hard science, to social sciences. We encourage contributions that illustrate the rich tapestry of methodologies shaping modern archaeological research.

Session 2: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Ancient Economies.

Keynote Speaker: Jana Mynářová (Charles University, Prague)

The study of ancient economic systems plays a pivotal role in reconstructing past societies. Subsistence strategies, resource control and management, trade dynamics, and the acquisition of luxury goods and essential raw materials mirror the social and political organization of ancient communities, and their interactions with each other. Material culture and textual sources reveal diverse micro and macro aspects of these complex intertwined systems on both rural and urban scales. This session invites papers that analyze ancient economic systems drawing evidence from textual, archaeological, or combined sources employing theoretical approaches, traditional or modern methodologies.

Session 3: Urban and Landscape Studies: Finding Interpretative Approaches.

Keynote Speaker: Kristen Hopper (Durham University, UK)

Landscape studies fuelled debates on urban and rural environments in the ancient world, focusing on settlement patterns and territorial socio-economic strategies of cities. Analyzing the diachronic development of the ancient socio-economic landscape involves considerations such as resource exploitation, communication networks, and demography. Similarly, a synergy of geological, paleo-environmental, and textual datasets may shed light on the relationships between cities, rural, and pastoral communities. This session invites papers that encompass both theoretical and empirical approaches, dealing with urbanism and its definition in different historical and geographical contexts, examining interactions between urban and non-urban settlements, and the exploration of long-term landscape change patterns in different regions.

Session 4: Crafting Identity and Clusters through Material Culture, Iconography and Texts.

Keynote Speaker: Bettina Bader (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Wien)

The study of the various elements of material culture and textual communication is pivotal for the understanding of how people constructed identities and created connections across space and time. Delving into evidence may reveal valuable insights into how material culture was used for shaping social identities, delineating individual status within a community, and signaling the inter- and cross-community relations. This session welcomes papers that explore material culture and iconography as manifestations of group identity. Whether through traditional analytical methods, interdisciplinary approaches integrating texts and images or art history, or the adoption of methodologies from different fields such as cognitive science, semiotics, sociology, or political communication. The aim of this session is to enhance our understanding of the multiform nature of identity construction and social dynamics across diverse contexts and periods.

Session 5: Public Engagement and Cultural Heritage. The Role of Communication and Dissemination in the Humanities.

Keynote Speaker: Federico Zaina (Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino, Turin)

This session seeks papers that discuss activities of awareness-raising, capacity-building, and innovative strategies for dissemination and communication of Cultural Heritage. Papers dealing with new analytical approaches and open-access research data accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences are highly welcome. Of particular interest are projects leveraging the use of innovative technologies, such as digital tools for virtual reconstructions of artifacts and museums, GIS predictive modeling for safeguarding archaeological sites, and the digitization of archival materials for broader dissemination. Likewise, special attention will be given to talks that discuss the involvement of local communities as active actors in the preservation and presentation of their local past, and the results of collaboration efforts between scholars and non-academic partners from different countries.