Barcelona will be the European capital of archaeology in September
During September, Barcelona will be the European capital of archaeology. The city will hold the 24th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), which the entity organizes jointly with the University of Barcelona. The academic event will gather more than 3,100 archaeologists from more than sixty different countries. Under the motto “Reflecting futures”, the meeting has invited the most active experts in archaeologists in the European scene. The aim is to reflect on the challenges and social function of this discipline in a moment of deep transformations. The conference, which takes place in a different European city for every edition, was last held in Spain in 1995, when Santiago de Compostela held the first meeting.
During September, Barcelona will be the European capital of archaeology. The city will hold the 24th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), which the entity organizes jointly with the University of Barcelona. The academic event will gather more than 3,100 archaeologists from more than sixty different countries. Under the motto “Reflecting futures”, the meeting has invited the most active experts in archaeologists in the European scene. The aim is to reflect on the challenges and social function of this discipline in a moment of deep transformations. The conference, which takes place in a different European city for every edition, was last held in Spain in 1995, when Santiago de Compostela held the first meeting.
The opening will be carried out at Santa Maria del Mar on September 5, and will include the welcome speech by the Rector Joan Elias, and the conferences by Francisco Gracia, Professor of Prehistory and Archaeology of the UB, and Sònia Gutiérrez, Professor of Archaeology from the University of Alicante. The opening reception will take place in el Born. During the conference, from September 6 to 8, studies focusing on the Mediterranean and societies inhabiting the area will be exhibited. The conference will also debate on the new applied technologies in archaeology and the European Year of Cultural Heritage, as well as the challenges related to museums and archaeological dissemination. The conference will count on distinguished figures of archaeology with a conference series. Also, the European Fair of Archaeology will take place in the Barcelona Center of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) with more than fifty exhibitors from Catalonia, Spain and Europe.
With its headquarters in the Faculty of Geography and History of the UB and in the CCCB, the conference will offer a wide range of activities to bring archaeology closer to the people in Barcelona: from a cycle at the Filmoteca de Ctalaunya to a book fair, talks for the general audience and historical performances of the Roman and the Iberian periods.
This conference is sponsored by the University of Barcelona, the Department of Culture of Generalitat de Catalunya and the Area of Culture of the Barcelona City Council. Its organizing committee is formed by Margarita Díaz-Andreu (UB, ICREA), Raquel Piqué (UAB) and Sandra Montón (UPF, ICREA). It also has a scientific and advisor committee representing the most important Catalan archaeological organisms as well as others from Spain. The logistic organization is carried out by two companies from Barcelona: Kultura and Manners.
EAA is the main organization of archaeology and European archaeology heritage, and the second biggest organization of this kind at a global scale. Its current president is Felipe Criado Boado. It has more than 3,500 active members and has involved about 15,000 over its almost twenty-five years of life. The aim of EAA is to promote development in archaeology, support professionals of this discipline and providing society with a bond with archaeological heritage