AEA Conferences
The AEA holds two conferences each year: the "spring meeting", a 1-2 day conference usually held around April or May, and the "autumn conference", usually a 2-3 day conference held between September and December.
The conferences are hosted and operated by members of the AEA and their institutions, with support from the Managing Committee of the AEA.
If you would like to express an interest in hosting an AEA conference, please email envarch@envarch.net.
Spring 2026
Social Landscapes; Populating Environments
We are pleased to announce the 46th conference of the Association for Environmental Archaeology, held this coming Spring at the University of Lancashire, UK.
When: Thursday 7th - Saturday 9th May 2026 (optional field trip on Sunday 10th May)
Where: University of Lancashire, Preston, UK
Conference hosts: Dr James Morris and Dr Jennifer Jones
Cost: AEA member: £115 (£85 early bird)
AEA student/unemployed/retired member: £50 (£85 early bird)
Non-member: £135 (£105 early bird)
Student/unemployed/retired non-member: £105 (£70 early bird)
Registration fees cover registration, wine reception (Thursday 7th), a hot lunch (Friday 8th), and buffet lunch (Saturday 9th), as well as tea, coffee, and snacks in breaks.
Optional extras:
Conference dinner (Saturday 9th May): £47 (maximum 40 places) - An hour of curling followed by dinner at the Flower Bowl
Field trip (Sunday 10th May): £20 (minimum 20 people, maximum 40 places) - The hosts will lead a field trip to the beautiful Lake District and Eden Valley to visit local archaeology and rewilding projects, including stone circles, Neolithic henges, and medieval castles. Coach sets off at 9:30am.
Abstract submission: OPEN
Please complete this form to submit abstracts (maximum of 300 words). The conference organisers will be regularly reviewing abstracts in the lead-up to the deadline.
Abstract submission deadline: 22nd February 2026
Registration: Opens in December 2025, closing date 22nd April 2026
Early bird registration closes 20th March 2026
Conference bursary deadline: 20th March 2026
Conference theme
As a discipline Environmental Archaeology draws on many scientific aspects (botany, geology, zoology etc) and of course archaeology, often with an emphasis on data collection and landscape reconstruction. For this conference we would like to focus on people and how environmental reconstructions can help us understand the social landscapes they inhabited.
We welcome papers covering any time period that explore the interplay between people and environments, not just as drivers of environmental change, but as embedded agents, reacting and adapting through practical and social actions. We also invite contributions that consider peripheral spaces within archaeological sites, settlements and landscapes, where environmental evidence can inform on the activities within these liminal areas.
Finally, we encourage environmental archaeological investigations of the social dimension. Environmental archaeology offers a tool for exploring the lives of forgotten and overlooked people whether regions excluded from traditional narratives, historically marginalised peoples/groups/genders, or even environmental agents such as non-human animals whose roles have been underrepresented archaeologically. Overall, the conference aims to foster a dialogue on how our discipline can contribute towards understanding the lives of those living within the environments we study.
Keynote speakers: Professor Kate Britton (University of Aberdeen), Fraser Brown (Oxford Archaeology), and Professor Jacqui Mulville (Cardiff University)
Presentation formats: Oral presentations (20 minutes), lightning presentations (5 minutes), and posters (A1).
Draft conference structure
Thursday 7th 3pm Registration opens
6-7pm Welcome and Keynote
7-8pm Wine reception
Friday 8th 9:30 - 5:30pm Papers
1:30 - 2:15pm Keynote
Saturday 9th 9:30 - 5:30pm Papers
1:30 - 2:15pm Keynote
6pm Coach for conference dinner sets off
Sunday 10th 9.30am Coach sets off for optional field trip
Practical considerations
Preston has excellent transport links. There are direct trains from London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool to Preston. On the quickest trains it is 2hours from London and Glasgow to Preston.
There are direct trains from Manchester Airport to Preston connecting international delegates to the city.
The conference venue and most hotel accommodation is 10min walk from the train station.
Preston has ample reasonably-priced hotel accommodation, including Premier Inn and Travelodge hotels. The Legacy Preston International Hotel is next door to the university.
Autumn 2025
Life on the Edge: Exploring Resilience and Adaptations to Challenging Environments
We are pleased to announce the 45th conference of the Association for Environmental Archaeology, held this year in Stavanger, Norway.
When: Thursday 4th - Saturday 6th December 2025
Where: Museum of Archaeology, Stavanger, Norway
Cost: AEA member: 1500 NOK (1200 NOK early bird)
AEA student/unemployed/retired member: 900 NOK (700 NOK early bird)
Non-member: 1700 NOK (1500 NOK early bird)
Student/unemployed/retired non-member: 1100 NOK (900 NOK early bird)
Online-only access): 500 NOK (audience only; early bird pricing does not apply)
Conference dinner and complimentary drink: 700 NOK (in-person attendees only; early bird pricing does not apply)
Abstract submission: https://nettskjema.no/a/525786#/page/1
Abstract submission deadline: 15th August 2025
Registration: https://www.letsreg.com/no/register/AEAStavanger2025#/
CLOSED 31st October 2025
Early bird registration closed 15th September 2025
Conference bursary deadline: 1st October 2025
Conference topics
The organisers invite all papers on environmental archaeology but particularly welcome papers on the following themes:
➤ Living in remote and challenging environments
➤ Hunter-gatherer and early (pre-modern) farming adaptations (Mesolithic - Medieval)
➤ Identifying resilience and risk management strategies in the past
➤ Adaptations to past climate changes (e.g. 4.2k event, Little Ice Age)
The organisers also encourage Nordic investigations into these themes.
Presentation formats: Oral presentations (15 minutes), lightning presentations (5 minutes), and posters.
Organising committee: Rosie R Bishop, Daniel Fredh, Daisy Spencer, Christin Jensen, Sara Westling, Dawn Elise Mooney, Hanne Øvretveit Helgeland, Jutta Lechterbeck, Grethe Pedersen, and Ingrid Helland.
For full details, including scheduling and information on keynote speakers, please visit the official conference website at https://aeastavanger.wordpress.com/
General queries about the conference can be addressed to the organisers at: AEA_Stavanger@uis.no
Spring 2025
Of Mountains and Rivers: Perspectives in Environmental Archaeology
We would like to welcome papers and posters of all environmental archaeology disciplines and regions, encouraging contributions, but not limited to the following: archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, anthropology, palynology, geoarchaeology, landscape archaeology etc. The conference title “Of Mountains and Rivers: Perspectives in Environmental Archaeology” aims to draw attention to the major landscape aspects, such as the highlands, the lowlands and the major rivers, which had defined settlement life in the past and present.
Sofia, 12-13th April 2024
Conference topics
We welcome abstracts developed around major environmental factors, such as mountains and rivers within the main conference topics, but not limited to:
➤ Archaeobotany
➤ Zooarchaeology
➤ Physical anthropology
➤ Landscape archaeology
➤ Multi-proxy approaches in environmental archaeology
➤ Digital approaches in environmental archaeology
➤ Other
Host institutions: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and Department of Archaeology (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”)
Location: University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
Abstracts and call for papers: We accept two types of submissions:
➤ Oral presentation format (15-minute presentation)
➤ Poster presentations (A0 size)
Abstract submission is limited to 300 words.
Abstract submission deadline: January 30th, 2025
Registration deadline: March 1st, 2025
Registration fee*: 40 EUR (Regular, non-member), 30 EUR (Regular AEA member), 20 EUR (Student member/non-member), 20 EUR (Attendance only)
*Payment details are provided upon abstract acceptance. Non-presenting delegates, please send a message to aea2025sofia@gmail.com.
Organisers
Mila Andonova-Katsarski (Division of Palaeobotany and Palynology, IBER-BAS, Bulgaria)
Daniela Stoyanova (Department of Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria)
Nadezhda Karastoyanova (National Museum of Natural History, Bulgaria)
Hanna Alexandrova (National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgaria)
Yoanna Katreva (Division of Palaeobotany and Palynology, IBER-BAS, Bulgaria)
Daria Toncheva (Division of Palaeobotany and Palynology, IBER-BAS, Bulgaria)
Scientific committee:
Daniela Stoyanova (Department of Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria)
Ivanka Hristova (Umeå University,Sweden)
Elena Marinova (State Office for Cultural Heritage of Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
Tsvetana Popova (National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgaria)
Nikolay Spasov (National Museum of Natural History, Bulgaria)
Kamen Boyadzhiev (National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgaria)
Momchil Panayotov (Department of Dendrology, University of Forestry, Bulgaria)
Borislav Grigorov (Department of Landscape Ecology, Sofia University, Bulgaria)
Mila Andonova-Katsarski (Division of Palaeobotany and Palynology, IBER-BAS, Bulgaria)
Abstract submission: now closed.
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QELHg5rCpVKMBx5JLg9kvVrurtTVR6caIOn-hgwLOoI/edit?usp=forms_home&ths=true (closes 1st March 2025, 23:59).
General queries about the conference can be addressed to the organisers at: aea2025sofia@gmail.com
