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Conference series Medieval and urban archaeology in the Low Countries in an international perspective

Nature of the project:
Organizing a series of thematic international conferences followed by collateral publications

Project description

Social relevance
When contract archaeology uncovers evidence of a phenomenon of past everyday life in a particular town, the findings often are readily labelled as unique or at least (very) special. This series of conferences and ensuing publications will instead focus on similarities, patterns that might be indicative of transformations through time over a larger area, with due regard to the adage ‘so many towns, so many customs’.

Scientific relevance
Urban and medieval archaeology in the Netherlands and Belgium has reached a point where it can contribute substantially to a broader understanding of urbanism in Europe. Moreover, the area is one of the most urbanized regions in Europe. Urban archaeologists have been stressing the desirability of organizing meetings around specific topics, to discuss these topics and publish the results in order to bring greater coherence to the somewhat fragmented research efforts relating to individual towns.

Partners
Currently, the conference series Medieval and urban archaeology in the Low Countries in an international perspective is a collaborative project of three partners:
Association of Dutch Municipal Archaeologists
Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands
University, Leiden University, chair group Provincial Roman & Medieval Archaeology

The Dutch Society for Medieval Archaeology is involved in the realization of the Urban Graveyard Book.

Keywords: urban archaeology, medieval archaeology, the Netherlands, craft industry, urban cemeteries