The theme for the 36th International Conference on Merovingian Archaeology is dedicated to new research into the rural settlements of Early Medieval France
The theme for the 36th International Conference on Merovingian Archaeology is dedicated to new research into the rural settlements of Early Medieval France. The conference is organised by AFAM – the French Association for the study of Merovingian Archaeology (Association française d’archéologie mérovingienne)
In 1993, the French association of Merovingian Archaeology organized a conference devoted to Rural settlements and housing in the High Middle Ages in France, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK. At that time the archaeology of rural settlements in the early Middle Ages was developing gradually in France, and inspired the whole field of “rescue archaeology” developing at that time.
Originally, the ambition was to uncover the genesis and formation of villages in early medieval France. Since then, however, ambitions have widened to explore regional variations in the organisation of different forms of social space. In the same period excavations have multiplied, collective research projects have emerged, and many monographs and regional reports have been published. Today, the field has changed completely. The upcoming conference aims explore what all this new knowledge might mean for our general idea of rural settlements and society in the Early Middle Ages.
The 36th international conference will be organized in three sessions that will be devoted respectively to the main theme nationally, to South-West France, and to general news from the field of Merovingian archaeology.
- From North to South: regional balances, micro-regional and case studies
- The medieval settlements in the Middle Ages in Languedoc-Roussillon (VI-XII c.)
- Merovingian News
Conference: Rural settlements in the Early Middle Ages in France (5th – 11th centuries.). Dynamics of population, forms, functions and status of institutions
L’habitat rural du haut Moyen Âge en France (Ve-XIe s.). Dynamiques du peuplement, formes, fonctions et statuts des établissements
Montpellier (Hérault)
01.10.2015 – 03.10.2015
CFP: deadline 15th of May: mail should be addressed to afammontpellier@gmail.com
FEATURE PHOTO:
The photo is from the excavations at Bruch in South-Western France, where a series of Merovingian tombs have recently been excavated.