News

Mediterranean Archaeological Trust

On 27 February 2026 applications for grants (small—up to £4,999—or large—£5,000– £10,000) are due to the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust. Within the terms of the Trust, priority may be given to projects concerning the Bronze Age in particular, and Mediterranean sites in general, however the trust funds research from a diversity of sites and eras and grant making is within the complete discretion of the Trustees. Grants must be used to expedite publication. Further information and forms for both types of grants are available at https://medarchaeotrust.com/.

Margo Tytus Visiting Scholars and Cincinnati Summer Residency

On 15 March 2026 applications are due for both the Margo Tytus Visiting Scholars Program and the Cincinnati Summer Residency Program for 2026-2027. Applicants for the Margo Tytus Visiting Scholars Program will ordinarily be senior scholars who are a minimum of five years beyond receipt of the PhD, with notable publication histories, who are expected to be in residence at the University of Cincinnati for a minimum of one semester (ca. four months) and a maximum of two during the regular academic year. Tytus Scholars receive a monthly stipend of $1,500 plus housing near campus and a transportation allowance, as well as office space attached to the Burnam Classics Library.
Applicants for the Cincinnati Summer Residency program who would benefit from the use of a world-class Classics library will have their PhD in hand by the time of application and will ordinarily be in residence at the University of Cincinnati for approximately two months in the summer terms, May to mid-August. Cincinnati Summer Residents receive housing near campus and office space attached to the Burnam Classics Library only. Further information and application forms are available at https://classics.uc.edu/humanities/classics/tytus.

Malcolm H. Wiener Symposium

On 10 January 2026 (10:30 am PST) the Friends of the INSTAP Study Center will present the 4th Annual Malcolm H. Wiener Symposium, in conjunction with the 2026 AIA annual meeting in San Francisco. Registration for virtual attendance is available at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/-G6Hdv50TMCs5VANkILtrw. The speakers will be:
E. Nodarou and Y. Papadatos, “From pots to politics: ceramic regionalism and political integration in east Crete during the Neopalatial period”

TEKTON

On 12-14 March 2026 a conference entitled TEKTON: Material and Technical Perspectives on Architectural Design and Construction Processes in the Aegean Bronze Age will take place the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Further information is available at https://tekton.ugent.be/. The program will be:
M. Magnisali, T. Bilis, and A. Vlachopoulos, “Monumentality and materiality: construction techniques and symbolism at the Early Bronze Age acropolis of Vathy, Astypalaia”
M. Floquet, M. J. Boyd, and C. Renfrew†, “Maintaining the built environment in the Early Bronze Age Cyclades: new evidence from Dhaskalio, Keros”
M. Marthari, “The development of a complex domestic architecture in the Early Bronze Age Cyclades: The Early Cycladic II settlement of Skarkos on Ios”
V. Şahoğlu, Ü. Gündoğan, O. Kouka, and D. Özkut, “Liman Tepe: the architectural and spatial transformation of a coastal Western Anatolian settlement during the Early Bronze Age”
O. Kouka, “Local and regional planning and building perspectives in East Aegean island sites of the Early Bronze Age”
R. Aslan, “Innovation and adaptation in Bronze Age building traditions: the case of Troy”
P. Hnila, “Decoding Minoan astraki, Mycenaean migma, and Hittite conglomerate through pyrotechnology: timber’s overlooked role in the formation of unintended concrete masonry”
J. Driessen, “Gathering grounds: what can the court building at Sissi tell us about the local development of the ‘Minoan palace?’”
K. A. Jazwa, “Early Helladic building traditions in Attica”
A. Samouris, S. Kyrillidou, S. Andreou, and S. Triantaphyllou, “Rethinking the life history of mudbricks and vernacular architecture through a transdisciplinary approach: the case of Thessaloniki Toumba, Northern Greece”
P. Bacoup, “Wood in the earthen architecture of the Aegean Bronze Age: methodological approach and first insights”
C. H. Roosevelt and C. Luke, “Pragmatic, versatile, and ecologically responsive: the Bronze Age architecture of Kaymakçı in Western Anatolia”
T. Bilis and N. Divari-Valakou, “The walls of Midea: new evidence and interpretations”
I. Bitis, F. Georma, and I. Nikolakopoulou, “Destruction – repair – transformation of the archetype: evidence for Bronze Age Aegean architecture from Akrotiri, Thera”
C. Palyvou, “The Galatas Palace: an opportunity to reassess the innovative character of Minoan architecture”
D. Puglisi and M. Chiricallo, “Designing ‘from above’: new perspectives on Minoan upper-floor architecture from the Villa Reale at Haghia Triada”
J. C. McEnroe, “Building builders buildings: agency and social practice in Neopalatial Gournia”
I. Zogkos and Z. Papadopoulou, “The Mycenaean acropolis at tis Baronas to Froudi: architecture and architectural practices in Siphnos and the Cyclades during the Late Bronze Age”
J. C. Wright, “Vernacular and monumental: what are we talking about?”
M. Devolder, E. Christaki, and M. Prete, “Tracking designers and builders in Bronze Age Cretan architecture: a combined approach to cut-stone and timber masonry, masons’ marks, and building form”
A. Salichou, “Building a new regime: materials used in the construction of the Zakros Palace as a reflection of the special requirements of the project”
E. Mantzourani and G. Vavouranakis, “Selective strategies in cut-stone features of East Cretan villas”
R. Worsham and Y. de Raaff, “Gateways and boundaries: the design and function of the Early Mycenaean gates at Malthi”
E. Abay, “Power, planning, and material practice: elite mobility and urban infrastructure in Late Bronze Age Beycesultan”
S. Günel, “The 2nd millennium BCE settlement of Çine-Tepecik: architecture and reflections on social life”
A. Brysbaert, “Managing the flow of materials in Late Bronze Age Aegean constructions”
N. Karadimas, “The architectural creation of the West Stoa at Agios Vasileios, Laconia”
M. C. Nelson, “Architecture and social production at Iklaina: interactions between elite and non-elite building traditions”
N. G. Blackwell, “Constructing depth: architectural approaches to recessed façades in Mycenaean tholoi”
Ç. Maner, “Meaning-making in Hittite and Mycenaean architecture: elite consumption, internationalism or zeitgeist?”

Österreichischer Archäologentag

On 25-27 February 2026 the 20. Österreichischer Archäologentag (2026) will be held in Wien. Further information is available at https://klass-archaeologie.univie.ac.at/news-events/einzelansicht/news/20-oesterreichischer-archaeologietag/. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
B. Huber, “Monumentalisation, Representation and Fortification. Überlegungen zur repräsentativen Funktion von (früh)mykenischen Befestigungen ausgehend von der befestigten Siedlung Ägina Kolonna”
H. Mieling, “Genreszenen der Miniaturfriese des Westhauses von Akrotiri auf Thera und ihr Zusammenhang mit einer möglichen ägäischen Poesie”
J. Weilhartner, “Tierfelle und Lederwaren: Gerbereien in der mykenischen Palastzeit”
F. Blakolmer, “Gesellschaftliche Ungleichheit in der minoisch-mykenischen Ikonographie”
S. Gimatzidis, “Aegean connectivity prior to Greek migration: a revised theoretical and empirical perspective”

The December 2025 issue of Nestor (52.12) is available as a free download.

Women in the Archaeology of Greece

On 31 December abstracts (300 words maximum) due for the fourth workshop on Women in the Archaeology of Greece, to be held in hybrid format by the École française d’Athènes and the British School at Athens on 9-10 March 2026, focused on the theme of Women Archaeologists and War. Further information is available at https://www.efa.gr/call-for-papers-women-archaeologists-and-war/.

7th LBA/EIA Aegean ECR mini-conference

On 27 November 2025, the seventh mini-conference of the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Aegean Early Career Research Group was held online. Further information is available from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Papers of interest to Nestor readers included:
L. Alvarez “Understanding ‘ritual’ symbols of the Minoan period through the body”
D. Grant, “Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Commercial and Navigation Networks: Artefact Based v Simulations”
M. Kokkalia, “Late geometric and archaic storage vases (pithoi) in the Cyclades: typology, uses and contexts”
R. Trepagnier, “Using the Archive as Subject: The Cases of the North-East House and the North Pillar Crypt at Knossos”
P. Koutsouris, “Negotiated Landscapes: Uneven Territorial Integration in the LH IIIB Argolid and Corinthia”
S. Lidwell-Durnin, “Exercising Power at Knossos: The Captain of the Blacks and Imperial Preconceptions”

INSTAP Academic Press

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, INSTAP Academic Press and ISD have announced deep discounts on INSTAP titles until December 31, 2025. To place your order online for sales in both North America and Europe, see https://12c622-52b.icpage.net/isd---instap-discounts-international.
Happy shopping!

UISPP Archaeometry Conference

On 6-8 November 2025 the UISPP Archaeometry Conference on Stone, Glass, Ceramics and Metals (Chania2025) will be held in Chania, Crete. Further information is available at https://chania2025.sciencesconf.org/?lang=en. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
C. Skark, T. Skowronek, and C. von Rüden, “Middle Minoan Innovation—Talc as a White Pigment on Polychrome Kamares Ware”
I. Berg, “The Archaeology of Linear B Tablets”
E. Nodarou and M. Tsipopoulou, “Pots and Gods in East Crete at the End of the Bronze Age: A Petrographic Study of Ceramic Materials from the Late Minoan IIIC Shrine of Halasmenos”
C. Minos, “Technologies of Tradition or Innovation? A Technological and Compositional Study of Late Bronze Age Utilitarian Pottery from Enkomi, Cyprus”
S. C. Ferrence, A. Giumlia-Mair, P. P. Betancourt, J. D. Muhly, M. Tsipopoulou, A. Allshouse, and S. Kiorpe, “A Late Prepalatial Family in Death: Archaeometry of Grave Goods from the Petras Necropolis in Eastern Crete”
G. Rethemiotakis, A. Giumlia-Mair, and S. C. Ferrence, “The Complex Metallurgy of the Minoan Ring from Kastelli Pediada”
C. Sofianou, P. P. Betancourt, T. Brogan, A. Giumlia-Mair, and K. Zervaki, “Copper Alloy Kouros Recovered by the Greek Police on Crete in 2015”
N. Dimopoulou, A. Giumlia-Mair, P. P. Betancourt, G. Rethemiotakis, and S. C. Ferrence, “Iridescent Bluish-Black Metal Objects from the Neopalatial Cemetery at Poros, Crete”
A. Kanta and A. Giumlia-Mair, “The Foundation Deposit from Neopalatial Room 3 in the Religious Center of Knossos”
E. Papadopoulou, N. Maravelaki, and N. Kallithrakas-Kontos, “Characterization of Bronze Objects from the Maroulas Minoan Cemetery, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece”
G. Di Lorenzo, “Koinè Metals in Crete: The Case of the Peschiera Daggers”
F. Hulek, P. Voudouris, M. Bode, M. Jansen, and Y. Bassiakos, “From Mine to Metal: Refining the Chronology of Laurion’s Silver Production through Galena Analysis”
P. P. Betancourt, S. Chrysoulaki, E. Tsitsa, K. Christakis, A. Giumlia-Mair, S. C. Ferrence, and G. Lazoura, “The Town Mosaic from Knossos”
H. Dierckx, J. M. Kenoyer, G. E. Ludvik, and M. Tsipopoulou, “Local or Imported: Stone Bead Manufacturing Techniques from Petras Cemetery, Siteia”
C. Meramveliotaki, “A Stone Pyxis with a Lying Dog Found in the Gorge of the Dead in Zakros Has Astronomical Significance:

2025 International Lithic Studies Society Conference

On 7-8 November 2025 the 2025 International Lithic Studies Society Conference will be held in Leicester, UK. Further information is available at https://www.lithics.org/events/conference/. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
A. Minelli, “The lithic industry of the archaeological site of Pyrgos Mavroraki: new data for the reconstruction of the human presence on the Cypriot island”
D. De Caro, “Palaeolithic landscapes: raw material procurement and lithic variability in the Megalopolis Basin (Greece)”

SOMA 2025

On 27-29 November 2025 the XXVIth annual Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology (SOMA 2025) will be held at the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology ARQVA in Cartagena, Spain, with the theme “Archaeology and Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean: challenges and assessments of management.” Further information is available at https://www.cultura.gob.es/mnarqua/investigacion/cursos-conferencias-congresos/congresos/soma-26.html. Posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
M. Girtzi, “The Palace of Minos at Knossos: re-examining the ‘restoration project’ of Arthur Evans”

PeClA 2026

On 1-2 December 2025 the 10th Perspectives on Classical Archaeology International Postgraduate Conference (PeClA 2026). Finis Vitae: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Death, Burial and Afterlife in the Ancient World will be held in Prague. Further information is available at https://ukar.ff.cuni.cz/en/pecla-2025-finis-vitae-multidisciplinary-approaches-to-death-burial-and-afterlife-in-the-ancient-world/. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
A. Fatsi, “What Could Have Been: Childhood, Identity and Mortuary Practice in Mycenaean Greece”
D. Papageorgiou, “Shifting Burial Practices and Social Relations in Palaepaphos During the Late Bronze Age”
J. Ondrášik, “Selected Problems in the Cemeteries of Late Bronze Age Crete”
V. Meyer, “A Matter of Shape: Gender and Sex-Related Grave Markers in Geometric Attica - Evidence from Kraters and Amphorae”
L. Girella, “An Almost Untold Story: Funerary and Burial Practices in the Bronze Age”
T. Tsempera, “Life and Death at the Edge: Biocultural Adaptation in the Liminal Environment of Bronze Age Samikon”

The October 2025 issue of Nestor (52.10) is available as a free download.

64th ARU Public Lectures Series

The program of the 64th ARU Public Lectures Series of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus, focusing on the archaeology of Cyprus and the Aegean, has been announced for winter semester 2025. Lectures are held in hybrid form via Zoom and at the Old Academy Campus, Kallipoleos Avenue, Amphitheatre E010 at 7:30 pm (EET); they are free and open to the public, but registration is required for access before each event starts. Further information is available at https://www.ucy.ac.cy/aru/wp-content/uploads/sites/251/2025/08/Winter-semester-2025_EMA_ARU_64th-Lecture-Series_FINAL-1.pdf. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
29 September 2025: S. Fourrier, “The Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transition at Kition: New evidence from Bamboula”
6 October 2025: F. Le Mort, “Infancy and childhood in Cyprus during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period”
6-7 November 2025: International hybrid workshop: From Clay to Cargo: Tracing Technological Traditions of Maritime Transport Containers in the Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age Eastern Mediterranean
10 November 2025: L. Crewe, “Chalcolithic to Bronze Age at Kissonerga: between the land and the sea”
17 November 2025: D. Bolger, “Figurines, fragmentation and social transformation in prehistoric Cyprus”

Mycenaean Seminars

The University of London School of Advanced Study, Institute of Classical Studies has announced the following schedule of Mycenaean Seminars for 2025-2026, hosted the Institute of Classical Studies, Senate House South Block Ground Floor G22 / 26, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. Registration is required. Mycenaean Seminars begin at 3:30 pm. Further information is available at https://ics.sas.ac.uk/sites/default/files/institute_classical_studies/MycSem%202025-26%20programme.pdf. The schedule will be:
15 October 2025: T. Van Damme, “New discoveries from ancient Eleon in Boeotia” (hybrid)
3 December 2025: L. Crewe, “Processing and cooking at Kissonerga-Skalia at the transition to the Late Bronze Age on Cyprus” (Zoom)
11 February 2026: M. F. Lane, “Recent discoveries in the Kopaic Basin, northern Boeotia, in the context of prehistoric land and water management in central and northern Greece” (hybrid)
11 March 2026: E. Salgarella, “Ariadne’s thread - Getting out of the maze of Linear A sign lists” (hybrid)
29 April 2026: B. Lis, “Late Bronze Age pottery in coastal Thessaly - insights into technology, trade and society” (hybrid)
13 May 2025: J. Whitley, “Homer and the New Materialism” (hybrid)

The program of Visual Interactions in Early Writing Systems (VIEWS) has been announced for autumn semester 2025. Registration is available at https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/Js0rB-RdROyuKrOqVoMWrg#/registration. Topics of interest to Nestor readers will include:
22 October 2025: P. Steele “Sematography in Linear A and B and related problems”

“The Mycenaean World” 37 years later

On 9-11 October 2025 an international conference entitled “The Mycenaean World” 37 years later: On the research paths of Katie Demakopoulou. «Ο Μυκηναϊκός Κοσμος» 37 χρόνια μετά: Στα ερευνητικά μονοπάτια της Καίτης Δημακοπούλου will be held at the Archaeological Society at Athens. Further information is available at https://www.archetai.gr/index.php?p=content&type=2&id=234&lang=. The program will be:
Ν. Βασιλικού, “Η Καίτη Δημακοπούλου στο ιστορικό πλαίσιο της αιγαιακής προϊστορίας”
D. Konsola, “Thebes: a story of close friendship and scholarly partnership”
W. Cavanagh, “Katie Demakopoulou and Laconia”
J. Crouwel, “Katie Demakopoulou: a personal reflexion”
Ν. Διβάρη-Βαλάκου, “Η Καίτη Δημακοπούλου ως ερευνήτρια και ως δραστήριο στέλεχος της Αρχαιολογικής Υπηρεσίας στον αγώνα κατά της αρχαιοκαπηλίας”
Α. Βrysbaert, “Behind the walls. Costing and timing in the construction of Mycenaean fortifications in prehistoric Greece”
Ν. Διβάρη-Βαλάκου, “H μυκηναϊκή ακρόπολη της Μιδέας: ένας αιώνας ερευνών”
J. Maran, “Midea and Tiryns: similarities and differences between two Argive Mycenaean centers”
Μ. Γκαζής, “Η προϊστορική ακρόπολη του Τείχους Δυμαίων. Παλαιά δεδομένα και σύγχρονες προσεγγίσεις”
Έ. Κουντούρη, Σ. Σπυροπούλου, Ν. Χατζηδάκης, Ν. Νινής, and Ε. Κοντογιάννης, “Το τείχος του Γλα. Το ιστορικό της έρευνας και τα νέα δεδομένα από τις εργασίες αποκατάστασης της Νότιας Πύλης”
Β. Αραβαντινός and Ι. Φάπας, “To ανακτορικό συγκρότημα και η οχύρωση της μυκηναϊκής Θήβας”
Μ. Kοσμόπουλος, “Η πολιτική οργάνωση της μυκηναϊκής Μεσσηνίας και η ενοποίηση του κράτους της Πύλου”
Μ. Ανδρεαδάκη-Βλαζάκη, “Ώσμωση Μινωιτών και Μυκηναίων στην Κυδωνία”
J. Davis and S. Stocker, “Crete and the Mainland: The evidence from the grave of the Griffin Warrior”
Ν. Καραδήμας, “Γεφυρώνοντας αρχιτεκτονικές παραδόσεις: το νέο ανάκτορο στον Άγιο Βασίλειο Λακωνίας ανάμεσα σε δύο κόσμους”
M. Anastasiadou and D. Panagiotopoulos, “61 years later: our current understanding of Mycenaean seals and sealing practices”
Β. Πετράκης, “O φθεγγόμενος μυκηναϊκός κόσμος: νέα ευρήματα και νέα ερωτήματα”
K. Kalogeropoulos, “Palatial jars in burial and non-burial contexts and their Neopalatial counterparts”
Ε. Kardamaki, A. Hein, M. Teconi, and P. Day, “Transport containers and trade in the Late Mycenaean palatial period”
U. Thaler, “Just like in Tiryns: local idiosyncrasies in the depiction of women’s attire – Argive fashion or artistic failure?”
Α. Dakouri-Hild, “Entropy, materiality and social difference in Mycenaean craft”
Α. Batziou and Β. Lis, “The LBA workshops of coastal Magnesia/Thessaly”
I. Παππάς, “Κάμινος: τοπικοί πειραματισμοί και πυρο-τεχνολογικές εξελίξεις στο Αιγαίο της 2ης χιλιετίας π.Χ.”
O. Boitte, “From arrowheads to artisans: techniques in Mycenaean stone knapping”
B. Ramé, “Goldsmithing for prestige: the complex art of Mycenaean funerary objects”
E. Κωνσταντινίδη-Συβρίδη, Ά. Γκούμας, and Μ. Κοντάκη, “Τα σφραγιστικά δακτυλίδια στο μικροσκόπιο: αγγίζοντας την τελειότητα”
S. Aulsebrook, “Studying the technology of Late Bronze Age Aegean vessels: building upon a valuable legacy”
Ν. Papadimitriou, K. Paschalidis, M. Kontaki, C. Tselios, M. Giannoulaki, and G. Mastrotheodoros, “Type A swords: weapons, ceremonial objects or tokens of value?”
C. Tselios, “The silver touch of death. Silver-plated bronze artifacts in the Mycenaean tombs of Pylia: an unknown funerary custom”
Ν. Blackwell, “Metal tools and the Late Bronze Age Argolid”
Σ. Σπαντιδάκη, “Νεότερα δεδομένα από τη μελέτη των υφασμάτων της ΥΕΧ: κατάλοιπα υφασμάτων από τους Ταφικούς Κύκλους των Μυκηνών”
D. Nakassis, “70 years after The Pylos Tablets: new light on the techne of their production”
Λ. Παπάζογλου, “‘O Μυκηναϊκός Κόσμος’ και το τέλος του ψυχρού πολέμου. Δύο αρχαιολογικές εκθέσεις στο Βερολίνο, Δυτικό και Ανατολικό (1988, 1990)”
K. Horst and Β. Steinmann, “The museological approach of the exhibition ‘Mycenae – The Legendary World of Agamemnon’ 2018-2019. Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, Germany”
C. Lyons, E. Militsi-Kechagia, and D. Kosmopoulos, “From Messenia to Malibu: the ‘Princes of Pylos’ on display”
J. Driessen and Τ. Kalantzopoulou, “Mould first and ask questions later: the casts of the Lion Gate at Mycenae”
Κ. Νικολέντζος, “Η μόνιμη έκθεση μυκηναϊκών αρχαιοτήτων στο Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο”
R. Laffineur, “Conclusions and perspectives”

PoCA 2025

On 9-12 October 2025 the 22nd Postgraduate Cypriot Archaeology Meeting (PoCA 2025) will be held in hybrid form by the University of Cyprus. Further information is available at https://pocaucy2025.wixsite.com/pocaucy2025/. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
T. Humphrey, “Objects that Impress: Examining the Identification of Cylinder ‘Seals’ in Late Cypriot Society”
E. Grabar, “Revisiting the Metal Artifacts Excavated by the French Expedition at Enkomi”
J. W. Tillman, “The Anatolian Context of Philia Period Burial Types in Cyprus”
C. Barnes, “Mapping Settlement Pattern Changes: The Case of the MC III-LC I in Cyprus’s Northwest”
A. Schaefer, “Dromoi of Cypriot Rock-Cut Chamber Tombs and Their Architectural Design as a Space”
R. Charalampous, “Constructing and Negotiating Sacred Landscapes in Cyprus and Sardinia During the Later 3rd and 2nd Millennia BCE”
J. Darwin, “Of Sea and Stone: Using Statistical and GIS Analyses to Understand the Rituality of Stone Anchors at Kition, Area II”
M. Katiri, “A Review of the Application of GIS in Cypriot Archaeology and the Gap of the Prehistoric Bronze Age”
G. Albertazzi, “Water Threads: Current Research and Emerging Questions Toward a Diachronic Understanding of Human Engagement with Freshwater in Prehistoric and Protohistoric Cyprus”
C. A. Mohan Minos, “Technologies of Tradition: A Compositional, Technological and Experimental Investigation into Utilitarian Ceramics from Late Bronze Age Enkomi, Cyprus”
E. Bull, “Let them Laugh: Social Change Negotiated Through Humour as Evidenced by Figurines in Ancient Cyprus”
M. Schutti, “Beyond Souvlaki - Pig Iconography in the Cypriot Bronze Age and Early Iron Age”
S. Charalambous, “Late Aceramic Neolithic, Khirokitia Culture-An Anomaly, a Genderless Society or a Non-Binary one?”

IKUWA8

On 13-17 October 2025 the 8th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA8) will be held in Oostende, Belgium. Further information is available at https://www.vliz.be/ikuwa8/en. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
B. Moshe, “An Interpretation of Drill Construction and Operation Based on Homer’s Description in the Odyssey”
G. Votruba, “Central Eurasia and Approaches to Identifying Minoan and Mycenean Anchoring Traditions”

11th ICAZ AGPM

On 14–17 October 2025 the 11th International Council for Archaeozoology—Archaeozoology, Genetics, Proteomics, and Morphometrics Working Group Meeting (11th ICAZ AGPM) will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Further information is available at https://sites.google.com/palaeome.org/11th-icaz-apgm-dk/home. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
K. Koukzelas, et al. “Birds of a Feather Trade Together: Biomolecular Evidence of Avian Mobility and Human Interaction in Minoan Crete”

YRA 2025

On 14-17 October 2025 the 8th Workshop for Young Researchers in Archaeometry 2023 (YRA 2025) will be held at the Eötvös Loránd University, in Budapest, Hungary. Further information is available at https://www.yra-ecr.org/current.html#proceedings. Posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
B. Costi Farias, A. Bertelli, L. Maritan, and J. Bonetto, “First Archaeometric Results on Early Iron Age Ceramic Fragments from the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios in Gortyn, Crete”

INSTAP SCEC

On 22 October 2025 D. Mylona will address the INSTAP Study Center for East Crete on “Animal sacrifices and feasting in Neopalatial Crete.” Registration is available at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_Ww0sfBlSfud7t9W-NXAow.

Neolithic Study Group

On 3 November 2025 the Neolithic Study Group Autumn Conference: Kinship in Neolithic Europe will take place in London. Further information is available at https://neolithic.org.uk/2025/04/14/autumn-2025-3rd-november-kinship-in-neolithic-europe/. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
S. Souvatzi, “Kinship and household in the Neolithic on both sides of the Aegean”

ASOR 2025

On 19-22 November 2025 the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Overseas Research (ASOR 2025) will take place in Boston, MA. Further information is available at http://www.asor.org/am/. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
B. Arikan, “Comparing the Early Bronze Age Land Use Patterns: An Agent-based Modeling Approach from Anatolia”
R. Gerdes, “Feeding Urbanization? Reconsidering Agricultural Storage Practices in Late Bronze Age Cyprus”
F. Winter, “Late Bronze Age Handmade ‘Barbarian’ Ware as More Than Just a Demographic Indicator”
E. S. Anderson, “Feeling the Depths: Below the Surface in the Late Bronze Age Aegean”
L. Meiberg, L. A. Hitchcock, and A. Maeir, “‘The Adventure of the Speckled Bird’”
L. Crewe, “The Industrial Complex at Kissonerga-Skalia at the Transition to the Late Cypriot Bronze Age”
P. de Weirdt, D. Daems, P. Bes, F. Markou, J. Coenaerts, and R. Vandam, “Between the Highlands and the Coast: Settlement and Landscape Dynamics from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity – Insights from Four Seasons of the Hala Sultan Tekke Hinterland Survey Project in Southeastern Cyprus”
K. D. Fisher, S. W. Manning, and G. M. Andreou, “The Kalavasos and Maroni Built Environments Project (Cyprus). Results of the 2025 Excavations at Kalavasos Ayios Dhimitrios and Maroni Vournes”
M. T. Horowitz, “End of an Era? Closing in on the Later Middle Cypriot Period in the Vasilikos Valley”
H. M. Herrick, “An Urban Landscape Under the Microscope: A Multi-method Geoarchaeological Analysis of Lime Production in Late Bronze Age Cyprus”
B. A. Clark and L. Recht, “Erimi-Pitharka in the Kouris Valley in the Late Bronze Age: A Comparative Ceramic Analysis”
C. Minos, “Technologies of Tradition: A Compositional, Technological and Experimental Investigation into Utilitarian Ceramics from Late Bronze Age Enkomi, Cyprus”
C. Mikeska and A. McCarthy, “Human-Animal Concepts in Chalcolithic Cyprus: An Interesting Pair of Pendants from Prasteio Mesorotsos”
D. Hartman, “Foreigners in the Aegean and ANE”
C. Trent, D. M. Adams, and A. M. Büyükkarakaya, “Utilizing Two Dental Stress Markers to Infer the Most Stressful Periods of Juvenility at Early Bronze Age Karataş-Semayük”
A. Simmons, “A More Harmonious Neolithic—Why Did Cyprus Not Develop Like its Continental Neighbors?”
L. Mazow, “Decoding the Blue Heads: A Fresh Perspective on Akrotiri's Bronze Age Iconography”
C. S. Colburn, “The Art of Grieving in the Prehistoric Aegean”
T. Yalcin, S. Kamjan, and C. Luke, “Soaring Skies, Seasonal Migrations, and Avian Wonders from the Wetlands of Western Anatolia”
S. Ponchia, “Meeting, Mingling, and Building Identity in Cyprus (between II and I Millennium BC)”
D. Winchell and L. Fox-Zampiccoli, “‘Phoenicians’ in the North? The Epigraphic and Ceramic Evidence from Northern Syria and Cilicia”

ISA 2026

Abstract submission is open for the 45th International Symposium on Archaeometry (ISA 2026), to be held on 18-22 May 2026 in Torino, Italy. Further information and the link to submit abstracts is available at https://isa2026torino.it/. The subjects of the symposium are grouped into the following sessions:
• Theme Session - Cultural heritage experiences and community engagement through archaeometry
• Field methods and remote sensing in archaeological science
• Dating methods
• Bioarchaeology and biomolecules
• Material Culture 1 - Stone, pigments, plasters
• Material culture 2 - Ceramic, vitreous materials
• Material culture 3 – Metals
• Human-environment interactions
• Digital tools for archaeometry

Lessons from the Past

On 27 October 2025 abstracts (300 words maximum) are due for an international hybrid conference entitled Lessons from the Past: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to be held on 23–24 March 2026 by the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology of the University of Liverpool, in partnership with the University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainability Research (ICSR) and the Victoria Gallery and Museum. Talks must result in a tangible recommendation to a specified body (e.g. a non-profit institution, local council, University, Government department, or even the United Nations). Presentations should explain how knowledge of the past supports the recommendation. Talks will be selected based on the feasibility of their recommendation and strength of linkage between the proposal made and the evidence used to support it. Poster submissions do not require a recommendation but should include relevant information linking knowledge of the past with a specific UN sustainability goal. Further information is available at https://lessonsfromthepast.info/.

In Poseidons Realm XXXI

On 31 October 2025 abstracts (250 words, plus 2 figures) are due for the conference In Poseidons Realm XXXI. Pontos Axeinos - Pontos Euxeinos: Underwater archaeology in the Black Sea, to be held on 4–10 May 2026 in Batumi, Georgia. As with all IPR conferences, contributions from all areas of research into underwater archaeology and cultural heritage are appreciated in addition to the main topic. Further information is available at http://www.deguwa.org/.

The August 2025 summer communications from Nestor (52.8) are available as a free download.

16th Mycenaeological Colloquium

On 3-6 September 2025 the 16th International Colloquium on Mycenaean Studies will be held in Madrid, Spain. The program will be:
M. Del Freo, “Rapport 2022-2025 sur les textes en écriture hiéroglyphique crétoise, en linéaire A et en linéaire B”
M. Egetmeyer, “2021-2025 report on the Cypriot syllabic inscriptions”
C. Donnelly, “Considering three ‘new’ Cypro-Minoan inscriptions”
F. Aurora, G. Paglione, G. Bodard, C. Cenati, M. Filosa, E. Mylonas, and N. White, “Born digital editions of the Mycenaean documents using EpiDoc”
F. Aura Jorro, “La segunda edición del Diccionario Micénico (DMic.2)”
D. Nakassis, “New developments in Pylian epigraphy”
A. Greco, “Profiling the palaeographic behaviour of a Mycenaean scribe: Hand 117 and the new edition of the Linear B tablets from Knossos dealing with pa-i-to”
E. Notti, “The Linear A documents from Phaistos: A new and updated overview”
T. G. Palaima, “Palaeographia Studiorum Mycenologicorum Mater”
F. Carraro, “Kober’s ‘science of graphics’: when does writing start, and when does it end?”
J. Piquero, “Los orígenes del estudio del micénico y de las escrituras egeas en España”
K. Voutsa, “The history of the Linear B tablets from Pylos in the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum”
M. Civitillo, “Genesis and use of compound signs: Hieroglyphic, Linear A, and Linear B”
A. Karnava, “Writing directions in 1st mill. BC Cypriot epigraphy: local and pan-Cypriot trends”
L. Godart and A. Sacconi, “Les scribes des inscriptions votives et des vases du linéaire A”
T. Meißner and E. Salgarella, “E pluribus unum. Re-evaluating the Linear A syllabary”
A. Kanta and M. Perna, “New light on the fractional system in the Linear A script”
R. J. E. Thompson, “TLDR: Notes on Mycenaean and ‘Minoan’ phonology and script adaptation”
J. Weilhartner, “Differentiation of sex in Aegean scripts”
V. Aravantinos and I. Fappas, “Thebes and Linear B. A reassessment of find-places and contents”
O. Mouthuy and J. Driessen, “The West Magazines of the Palace at Knossos. An interdisciplinary approach to its Linear B tablets”
G. Flouda, “Linear B tablets from Knossos: thoughts on the interface between clay document production and fabric crafts (strings and threads)”
J. M. Jiménez Delgado, “Mycenaean cheesy puns: tu-ro2 versus τῡρός”
M. Valério, “The phonetic value of Linear B sign *56: ku-ru-su-pa3 and the p2-series”
C. W. Shelmerdine, “Written administration at Pylos in LH IIIA1-2 early”
J. Bennet and V. Petrakis, “AV Cs 93: A linear B record of cattle from Ayios Vasileios, Laconia”
L. Bendall, “The political geography between Laconia and Messenia”
M. F. Lane, “Evidence of land improvement and water management in Linear B. A comparison with recent archaeological discoveries”
C. Alonso, “Land management in Mycenaean Pylos: palatial authority, fiscal strategies and the question of eminent domain”
P. de Fidio, “Mycenaean knights”
R. Palmer, “Goats among the sheep: reconstructing the goat industry in the Linear B tablets”
M.-L. Nosch and R. Pierini, “Dressing the Mycenaeans. The terminology of dress and accessories in the Linear B tablets”
H. Landenius Enegren, “O-nu-ka, o-nu-ke and o-nu-ke-ja revisited from an ethnographical perspective”
I. Borguñó and C. Varias, “The Knossos Ag tablets: some thoughts on mixed work teams in Mycenaean times”
A. Bernabé, “Two Mycenaean religious terms: po-ro-po-i and tu-wa-si”
E. R. Luján and F. Díez, “Mycenaean di-wo-pu-ka-ta and boxing in the Aegean Bronze Age”
P. Sabattini, “Constraint-based orthography: modeling Mycenaean spelling rules with Optimality Theory”
L. van Beek, “A new linguistic interpretation of o-ka and of the first line of PY An 657”
J. Rau, “The morphological analysis of PY Aq 64.1 (H21) <]re-wi-jo-te>”
C. De Lamberterie, “Traces de poésie hexamétrique en grec mycénien”
J. L. García Ramón, “Antroponimia micénica, léxico y fraseología”
D. Kölligan, “Bahuvrihi-compounds in o- in Mycenaean and Alphabetic Greek”
E. Džukeska, “On the athematic velar nominal stems in Mycenaean Greek”
C. Le Feuvre, “Myc. pa-ro and Homeric παροίτερος, πάροιθεν”
F. Rougemont and J.-P. Vita, “Les listes de personnel dans les textes en linéaire B et dans les corpus d’Ougarit et d’Alalakh: des outils administratifs remis dans une perspective élargie aux administrations du Bronze recent”
J. Kelder, “Burning or eating, and where to do so? Mycenaean religion through the lens of Hittite texts”
M. Mann, “Mycenaean descriptions of chariots from a cognitive science perspective”
W. Waal, “Rule or exception? The Linear B tablets in comparative perspective”

EMAC 2025

On 8–12 September 2025 the 17th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics (EMAC 2025) will be held in Bilbao, Spain. Further information is available at https://emac2025bilbao.com/. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
S. Hacıosmanoğlu, M. Kibaroğlu, Mustafa, H. Mönninghoff, and J. Opitz, “Cypro-Cilician Iron Age White Painted Ware at Sirkeli Höyük: Investigating Provenance and Cultural Affiliation”
E. Tema, J. Morales, A. Goguitchaichvili, and P. Gaber, “Cypriot Ceramics as Ancient Geomagnetic Field Recorders: New Insights from the Archaeological Site of Idalion”
A. Hein and V. Kilikoglou, “Still looking for the ideal cooking pot - Digital multi-scale models of cooking vessels”
I. Orleansky, “Interpreting Philistine Decorated Pottery Motifs Through R Programming Language”
A. Tsoupra, P. Barrulas, E. Nodarou, P. Moita, and J. Mirão, “Looking for clays: A geoarchaeological study of ceramic raw materials from Naxos (Greece)”

ICAP 2025

On 15–20 September 2025 the 16th annual International Conference of Archaeological Prospection (ICAP 2025) will be held in Ghent, Belgium. Further information is available at https://www.prospect.ugent.be/icap2025/. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
A. Plageras, J. Guillemoteau, P. Koyan, P. Nitschke, and N. Papadopoulos, “Shallow Marine FD – EMI Geophysical Prospection: A multi-instrument archaeological experiment in Stomio, Crete, Greece”
N. Papadopoulos, D. Oikonomou, A. Argyriou, C. Polykretis, and G. Cantoro, “Extensive geophysical survey in the archaeological site of Petres, northern Greece”
R. Ryndziewicz, T. Herbich, B. Lis, and A. Batziou, “Multi-Method non-invasive investigation of the Pefkakia/Demetrias site (Thessaly, Greece)”
N. Papadopoulos, A. Plageras, D. Oikonomou, M. Manataki, G. Cantoro, C. Knappett, and T. Theodoulou, “Geophysical mapping of coastal and shallow submerged Bronze Age settlements: The case of Palaikastro, Eastern Crete Greece”

IKUWA 8

On 13-17 October 2025 the 8th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA 8) will be held in Oostende, Belgium. Further information is available at https://www.vliz.be/ikuwa8/en. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
A. Van de Moortel, “A New 3D Reconstruction of the Middle Bronze Age Boat from Mitrou, Greece”
S. Spanos, “Ship Representations of the Late Geometric Period”

SMEIA II

On 28–30 October 2025 the 2nd International Symposium on the Metallurgy of the European Iron Age (SMEIA II) will be held in Mainz, Germany. Further information is available at https://www.leiza.de/forschung/forschungsfelder/zusammenleben-in-komplexer-werdenden-sozialen-gefuegen/international-symposium-on-the-metallurgy-of-the-european-iron-age-ii-smeia-ii. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
D. Ioannides and A. Charalambous, “Reviving Copper Production: New Insights into Iron Age Metallurgy at Asgata–Kalavasos, Cyprus”

TAG 2025

On 1 August 2025 abstracts (200 words) are due for the Annual Meeting of the Theoretical Archaeology Group: Theory in Action (TAG 2025), to be held on 15-17 December 2025 in York, England. Abstracts should be sent to session organizers. Further information is available at https://tag2025.hosted.york.ac.uk/en/

11th PFAZ

On 30 October 2025 abstracts (1000 words maximum) are due for the 11th Postgraduate ZooArchaeology Forum (11th PFAZ), to be held on 16-19 June 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal. Further information is available at https://sites.google.com/view/11pzaf?usp=sharing

LAC 2026

On 11 July 2025 session abstracts (200 words) are due for the 9th Landscape Archaeology Conference (LAC 2026), to be held on 18-21 March 2026 at the University of Bamberg. On 30 September 2025 abstracts for papers and posters will be open. Further information is available at https://lac2026.com/. The themes of the conference will be:
• River and wetland landscapes
• Medieval landscapes
• Vertical landscapes
• Populations and demography
• Economies and resources
• Archaeological heritage and valorization of past landscapes
• Non-invasive methods and techniques
• Geospatial analysis
• Big data

Mobility, Social Integration and Culture Change

On 12-13 June 2025 a workshop entitled Mobility, Social Integration and Culture Change in the Mediterranean Bronze Age was held in in Udine. Further information is available at https://dium.uniud.it/it/notizie-ed-eventi/eventi/2025/6/12/mobility-social-integration-and-culture-change-in-the-mediterranean-bronze-age-workshop-progetto-prin-2020-final-workshop/ Papers of interest to Nestor readers included:
G. van Wijngaarden, “Mediterranean Mobility and Connectivity in the Bronze Age: Blind Spots and Promising New Perspectives?”
G. Recchia, “Interacting Societies: Connections and Socio-Cultural Transformations in the 3rd Millennium BC Central Mediterranean”
M. Gori, “Mobility across the Adriatic between the 3rd and the early 2nd millennium BCE”
A. Mercogliano, P. M. Day, M. Gazis, A. Spiroulias, and K. Filis, “Pottery Production in the western Peloponnese between the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE: new evidence and future directions”
S. T. Levi, “Circulation, Innovation, Hybridization: Data and Insights from Archaeometry”
M. Gazis, “East-West and North-South. Ionian-Adriatic Relationships in the Late Bronze Age. The Role of Achaea and Teichos Dymaion”
M. Bettelli, “Variability in Reception and Interpretation of Late Minoan Ceramic Style in Italo-Mycenaean Pottery”
E. Borgna, “Around 1200 BC. Mediterranean Mobility from a Cretan Perspective”
P. Stockhammer, “Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Human Mobility in the Bronze Age Aegean”
K. Aktypi, “Cultural Interaction between western and eastern Mycenaean Achaea... and beyond. An overview of the burial customs from Voudeni, Chalandritsa and Nikoleika”
E. Borgna, G. De Angeli, A. Mercogliano, and A. Verri, “Social and Culture Change at MBA-LBA Trapeza: the Multidisciplinary Project and the Contextual Archaeological Framework”
M. Roumpou, “Investigation of diachronic commemoration rituals at the Trapeza: preliminary observations using a multidisciplinary approach to consumption practices”

Spartan Studies

On 27-29 June 2025 the 1st Local Forum of Spartan Studies. Sparta, Archaeology and Green Tourism: Strategies for the Preservation and Promotion of the Monuments of Laconia was held in in Sparti, Greece. Further information is available at https://dium.uniud.it/it/notizie-ed-eventi/eventi/2025/6/12/mobility-social-integration-and-culture-change-in-the-mediterranean-bronze-age-workshop-progetto-prin-2020-final-workshop/ Papers of interest to Nestor readers included:
C. Gallou, “Archaeology as a science of sustainability: The underwater archaeological site at Pavlopetri”

WAVE 2

On 5 September 2025 abstracts (ca. 250 words) are due for a conference entitled Writing As Visual Engagement (WAVE 2), to be held on 26-29 March 2026 in Cambridge. Contributions are invited not only from academics, but also from calligraphers, graffiti writers, artists, type designers, minority script users, and anyone with a personal or professional interest in writing. Further information is available at https://viewsproject.wordpress.com/writing-as-visual-engagement/

 UISPP 2026

On 10 November 2025 session proposals are due for the XXI World Congress of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP 2026), to be held on 31 August – 4 September 2026 in Poznań, Poland; on 9 February 2026 paper proposals for oral contributions are due. Further information is available at https://uispp.amu.edu.pl/

SOMA 2025

On 15 June 2025 abstracts (250 words) are due for the 26th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean: challenges and assessments of management (SOMA 2025), to take place on 27-29 November 2025 in Cartagena, Spain. Further information is available at https://www.cultura.gob.es/mnarqua/investigacion/cursos-conferencias-congresos/congresos/soma-26.html The preliminary themes include:
• Institutions and professionals involved in Cultural Heritage management
o The role of institutions (public administrations, universities, etc.)
o The role of Cultural Heritage professionals (heritage managers, archaeologists, conservators, curators and museum technicians and other professional profiles)
o Academic and practical training, university education, and not academic training
o Deontology of archaeology and conservation
• Management, documentation and conservation of the Mediterranean cultural heritage
o Archaeological Charts as a management tool
o Documentation of the site and associated materials; Standardisation of procedures, records and inventories
o Conservation laboratories in the Mediterranean; Case studies and implementation of conservation programmes
• Research projects
o Archaeological research projects: coastal and underwater sites, maritime and underwater cultural landscapes, exchange centres (markets, ports), terrestrial and maritime trade routes, commercial dynamics, material culture, etc.
o Research projects on the conservation of cultural heritage, both sites and materials
o Transnational cooperation projects: European projects, UNESCO projects, etc.
• Protection, valorisation, dissemination and public awareness of Cultural Heritage
o Legal protection of the Mediterranean Cultural Heritage. Implementation of ICOMOS recommendations and UNESCO conventions; European and national regulations
o Valorisation of the Cultural Heritage: in situ public access (itineraries, interpretation centres, archaeological parks) and museums
o Strategies for management and social participation-sensitisation (public archaeology)
o New technologies applied to Cultural Heritage: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, gamification, social networks, etc.
• Current and future challenges in Cultural Heritage management
o The impact of climate change on the Cultural Heritage.
o Legitimate activities that incidentally affect and endanger the Cultural Heritage
o The destruction, plundering and illicit trafficking of Cultural Heritage.
o The role of the actors involved: the Public Administrations, museums and Cultural Heritage centres; State Security Forces; other professional profiles and civil society