Raubgrabungen in Deutschland: Ausmaß, Akteure, Antworten
Tagung
Villingen-Schwenningen, 9.-11. März 2026

Anmeldefrist: 2. März 2026

Die regelmäßige Plünderung archäologischer Stätten durch professionelle Schatzsucher und Sondengänger stellt ein erhebliches Problem für den Erhalt des kulturellen Erbes dar. Die Aktivitäten dieser Akteure zerstören archäologische Befunde, berauben die Öffentlichkeit um bedeutende Zeugnisse ihrer Vergangenheit, und erschweren es der Forschung, ein umfassendes Bild der Vergangenheit zu rekonstruieren. Das Problem wird zusätzlich dadurch verschärft, dass Sondengänger bei spektakulären Funden gelegentlich mediale Aufmerksamkeit und Lob erfahren, was – zusammen mit einer wenig informierten öffentlichen Wahrnehmung des „Sondelns“ als Hobby – die Problematik verharmlost.

Obwohl die Auswirkungen illegaler Sondengänger Archäolog:innen wohlbekannt sind, mangelt es an wissenschaftlicher Literatur und verlässlichen Informationen, die das Ausmaß und die Dynamik des Problems erfassen und dadurch gezielte Gegenmaßnahmen ermöglichen. Die geplante Tagung hat zum Ziel, Gruppen zusammenzubringen, die selten gemeinsam diskutieren: Archäolog:innen, Polizeibeamt:innen und Jurist:innen, die sich mit der aktuelle Situation zu diesem Thema in Deutschland und Westeuropa beschäftigen. Allein die unterschiedlichen Perspektiven dieser Fachbereiche versprechen spannende Einsichten, und eine Publikation ihrer Beiträge könnte einen wichtigen Schritt hin zu einer fundierteren und über das Anekdotische hinausgehenden Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema darstellen.

Der Fokus der Tagung liegt bewusst auf dem Phänomen der Plünderung innerhalb Deutschlands und Westeuropas – also dem „Looting at Home“ – und nicht auf Raubgrabungen in anderen Weltregionen und dem Import entsprechender Objekte auf den europäischen Markt, es sei denn, es besteht ein direkter Zusammenhang.

Veranstaltungsort
Hochschule für Polizei Baden-Württemberg
Stürmbühlstr. 250, Villingen-Schwenningen

Anmeldung
Bitte schicken Sie das vollständige Formular (s.u.) per E-Mail an: RaubgrabungTagung(at)gmail(dot)com, spätestens bis zum 2.3.2026

Organisation 
Philip Kiernan

Kontakt
RaubgrabungTagung(at)gmail(dot)com

Das vorläufige Programm finden Sie hier als PDF-Download.
Das Anmeldeformular finden hier zum Download.

Traditio et Innovatio – Der antike politische Diskurs über Neuerungen
Zwischen neoterismos und novus mos
Tagung

Rostock, 17.-19. März 2026

Vom 17. bis zum 19. März veranstaltet der Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte der Universität Rostock eine Tagung, die die diskursive Verhandlung politischer Neuerungen sowie die Wahrnehmung, die Wertung und das Verständnis des „Neuen“ im politischen Diskurs von der Archaik bis zur Spätantike untersucht. Uns geht es mithin um Handlungen und Verhaltensweisen, welche als „neu“ und „unerhört“ wahrgenommen werden, sowie um politische Praktiken, die als traditions- und normenbrechend präsentiert werden – entweder von ihren Verfechtern oder von ihren Gegnern. Ziel ist es somit, durch eine transkulturelle und diachrone Perspektive Formen des Wandels und der Kontinuität in der antiken Bewertung des „Neuen“ herauszuarbeiten.

Veranstaltungsort
Aula, Universitätshauptgebäude, Universitätsplatz
Hörsaal, Heinrich Schliemann-Institut, Schwaansche Straße 3, 18055 Rostock

Organisation & Kontakt
Elisabetta Lupi, elisabetta.lupi@uni-rostock.de 
Christina De Rentiis, christina.derentiis@uni-rostock.de 
Henning Börm, henning.boerm@uni-rostock.de 

Das Programm und weitere Informationen finden Sie auf der Veranstaltungswebsite.

Totally (Ab)normal?!
Bodily Norms and Body Metaphors in Medieval Latin Literature
Workshop
Göttingen, 4–5 September 2026

Submission Deadline: 15 February 2026

The human body stands at the centre of medieval European culture, serving as a fundamental point of reference for social, scientific, and theological reflection. Conceptions of bodies permeate diverse spheres of medieval life and learning, and they continue to shape discourses on bodies today—whether in political theory, social history, gender studies, or literary scholarship.

In medieval literature, bodies are rarely depicted in a purely descriptive manner; rather, they are evaluated with reference to explicit or implicit norms. Categories such as “well-formed”, “ugly”, “ill”, “deformed”, or “monstrous” constitute the vocabulary of this evaluative process. Since antiquity, conformity to—or deviation from—an idealised exterior has often been linked to the disposition of the “inner” self. At the same time, representations of the body frequently serve figurative or allegorical purposes.

The workshop explores this distinctly literary mode of conceptualisation, which brings
together body metaphors and the normative evaluation of bodies.

We particularly encourage proposals that combine close textual analysis with broader theoretical perspectives. Contributions from Medieval Studies, Classics, History, Gender and Queer Studies, and Digital Humanities are welcome. Papers should be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes of discussion, and may be presented in German or English.
Abstracts of up to 300 words, including the title of the paper, contact details, and a short biographical note, should be submitted by 15 February 2026. Please send proposals to: total-abnormal@uni-goettingen.de. Travel and accommodation expenses for speakers will be covered within the usual limits.

Organisation
Lumen Hinterholzer, M.A.
Dr. Alexander Schulz

Contact
total-abnormal@uni-goettingen.de 

The complete Call for Papers as a PDF can be found here as PDF-Download.

Elites.Representations.Entanglements in Afro-EurAsia, 1200 BC to AD 800
Workshop
Innsbruck, 13-14 November 2026

Submission Deadline: 30 April 2026

The goal of the workshop is to bring together scholars of various disciplines and historical periods to attempt to answer overarching questions, including how elites are formed within these structures and manage to uphold their status, which strategies and media were used for their representations, and how connections within and between the groups arise and manifest themselves. In order to explore these questions in a broad yet comparable framework, the workshop focuses on the extended Mediterranean (Afro-EurAsia) between 1200 BC and AD 800.

We especially welcome abstracts from early career researchers (PhD candidates and Postdocs) in the historical and archaeological disciplines. Please submit proposals for papers as a PDF abstract of 300 words in English.

Depending on the thematic coherence of the submitted abstracts, the workshop will take one of two formats:
(1) Workshop format: Participants will prepare a short written essay (approx. 5-10 pages) prior to the event. During the workshop, each contribution will be introduced by a brief presentation, followed by an extensive discussion based on the pre-circulated essays.
(2) Conference format: Contributions will be presented as individual 20-minute papers followed by discussion.
We aim to choose the format best fittng to the participants and their research interests. Naturally, the decision of either format will be communicated well in advance.

Abstracts may be sent until 30th of April 2026 to the complete organisation board.

Organisation Board
Amelie Jochmus (amelie.jochmus@uibk.ac.at)
Jehan Hillen (johann.hillen@uibk.ac.at)
Raphael Szeider (raphael.szeider@uibk.ac.at)

The complete Call for Papers can be found here as a PDF-Download.

53rd International Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA)
CAA 2026
Vienna, 31 March – 4 April 2026

Registration Deadline: 25 March 2026

Venue
University of Vienna, Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna, Austria

Registration dates
Early bird registration opens: 7 January 2026
Early bird registration closes: 25 February 2026
Registration closes: 25 March 2026

Contact
caa2026@caaconference.org

The complete program and further information can be found at the conference website.

BernBabylon 2026
From Bern to Babylon and about everything in between and beyond
Bern, Switzerland, 1–2 October 2026

Submission Deadline: 10 March 2026

There is no theme for the conference. You choose the topic of your talk.

The only prerequisite is that your talk last not more than 15 minutes (+ 5 minutes of discussion), your book presentation 10 minutes and/or your workshop 3 hours. You are here to share insights with scientists from other disciplines, so keep it sharp but make it simple! The spirit of BernBabylon is open and informal. Use this opportunity to test ideas, advertise projects, and engange in collaborations with a wider peer group.

Do you have a new take on an old question? Are you working on ancient text and would like to know if similar texts exist in neighbouring languages? Are you recruiting team members for an excavation? Did you develop a computer programme for your field that can be used in other fields as well? Are you active in public outreach and would like to share what you do? Would you like to present your latest book? ... You are at the right place. Submit an abstract and get started!

Website
https://bernbabylon.unibe.ch

Contact
info-bernbabylon.iaw@unibe.ch

The complete Call for Contributions can be found at the conference website.

Old Ideas in New Minds: Strategies of ‘Autonomy’ from Antiquity to the Renaissance
International Conference
Jena, 14-16 September 2026

Deadline for submissions: 29 March 2026

heteronomy, autonomy, dependence, reception, interpretation, transformation, re-use, commentaries, compendia, collections, translations, encyclopaedias, re-narration, re-creation, imitation, improvement, authority, authorship, materiality

When engaging with ‘pre-texts’ – the source texts used in the composition of new texts – authors employed various adaptive strategies, from faithful translation to wholesale reinterpretation.

All the above textual strategies have one thing in common: they consciously rely on a pre-text or source. We refer to this phenomenon as heteronomy. Our Research Training Group focuses on heteronomous texts that still are original, autonomous products through their commentary, continuation, compilation, or adaptation. Building on our first international conference, ‘(Re)Create. Towards a Theory of Heteronomous Texts’, we seek to explore the concept of ‘autonomy’ through interdisciplinary examination of texts from various fields of research.

We invite contributions from (but not limited to) the following fields:
Theology and Biblical Studies, Latin, Middle and Neo Latin Studies, Greek and Byzantine Studies, Syriac Studies, Ancient and Medieval History and Philosophy, German Medieval Studies, and Roman Law.

Proposals may take the form of either:
• a 30-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of discussion, with the possibility of publication in the conference proceedings, or
• a 10-minute project pitch followed by a short discussion (especially encouraged for early career researchers).

In your abstract (max. 300 words) please specify your chosen presentation format and include, on a separate page, your name, profession, affiliation, short academic CV, and email address or equivalent contact information. Please submit your abstracts to Daniele Bonino and Jonathan Trächtler via email at: oldideasinnewminds@uni-jena.de 
We very much look forward to your proposals and will aim for gender parity in our selection. The language of the conference is English. Reimbursement for hotel and travel costs can be made available.

Contact
Daniele Bonino and Jonathan Trächtler
oldideasinnewminds@uni-jena.de

The complete Call for Papers can be found here as PDF-Download.

Jahrestagung CIfA Deutschland 2026
Nachhaltigkeit in der Archäologie – Verantwortung für Daten, Funde und Wissen
Leipzig, 7. November 2026

Einreichungsfrist: 19. April 2026

Archäologische Arbeit ist irreversibel. Nachhaltigkeit bedeutet daher vor allem die langfristige Sicherung, Nutzbarkeit und Sichtbarkeit von Funden, Daten und Forschungsergebnissen. Angesichts stetig wachsender Fund- und Datenmengen stellen sich zentrale Fragen nach Bewertung, Priorisierung, Auswertung und gesellschaftlicher Vermittlung archäologischer Ergebnisse.

Die Jahrestagung bietet ein Forum für den fachlichen Austausch zwischen Denkmalpflege, Forschung, Grabungspraxis, Museen, Dateninfrastrukturen und Öffentlichkeit.

Einreichung von Beiträgen
Vorgesehen sind Vorträge mit einer Länge von 30 Minuten.
Abstracts mit einem Umfang von bis zu 500 Wörtern können bis zum 19. April 2026 eingereicht werden.
Bitte senden Sie Ihren Vorschlag per E-Mail an: praesident@cifa-deutschland.de 

Die Jahrestagung richtet sich an alle aus Denkmalpflege, Forschung, Grabungspraxis, Museen, Archiven und Universitäten sowie an Vertreter:innen angrenzender Disziplinen. Willkommen sind theoretische, methodische und praxisorientierte Beiträge ebenso wie kritische Reflexionen und interdisziplinäre Perspektiven.

Kontakt
Svenja Partheil
praesident@cifa-deutschland.de 

Den vollständigen Call for Papers finden Sie hier als PDF-Download.

Fragile Knowledge. Dealing with precarious and contested knowledge in premodern times. (Fragiles Wissen. Zum Umgang mit prekärem und umstrittenem Wissen in der Vormoderne.)
15–17 October 2026, IBZ, Kiellinie 5, Kiel University (Christian Albrechts University of Kiel)

Submission Deadline: 31 March 2026

Organizers: ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, subcluster Knowledge: Andreas Schwab, Gerald Schwedler, Islème Sassi

Dealing with knowledge is an existential driving force of mankind. Knowledge – understood in a broad sense – is not always equally significant: How valuable and useful is fragile knowledge considered to be? Who determines its relevance? Is certain knowledge only recognized by parts of a community, while others question or doubt it? Where does it serve as a driving force for further knowledge production, and where is it accepted as fixed? What role does its fragility play in all these questions?

Following the conference “Knowledge Spaces. Constructions and dynamics of knowledge in antiquity,” held at Kiel University in autumn 2024, which initiated a productive exchange on the spaces of knowledge production and reception, on forms of knowledge, actors, and practices of knowledge transfer (see the report: www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/fdkn-151403), the second Kiel conference “Fragile Knowledge” focuses on the uncertain and indeterminate aspects of knowledge. While the theoretical foundations and their application in contemporary social and scholarly debates have already been the subject of in-depth research, examining this multifaceted phenomenon in the premodern world remains a desideratum.

To submit a proposal, please send an abstract (max. 3,500 characters), a short biography (max. 800 characters), and your contact details by 31 March 2026 to Dr Wong Tsz (wong-tsz@email.uni-kiel.de).
Keynote: Prof. Dr Martin Mulsow—Professor of Knowledge Cultures of the European Early Modern Period and Director of the Gotha Research Centre at the University of Erfurt.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by mid-April. Accommodation costs can be covered; travel costs will most likely be covered after consultation.
Conference languages: German, English, French, Italian

Organisation
Prof. Dr Islème Sassi, Prof. Dr Andreas Schwab, Prof. Dr Gerald Schwedler (Kiel University)

Contact
Dr. Wong Tsz (wong-tsz@email.uni-kiel.de)

The complete Call for Papers in German and English can be found here as PDF-Download.