The October 2026 issue of Nestor (53.10) is available as a free download.
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Nestor Smart Search (Beta)
We're piloting a new way to search the Nestor bibliography: Nestor Smart Search, now available in beta.
The regular Nestor search is — and remains — the right tool when you know exactly what you're looking for: a specific author, a known title, a particular year. Smart Search is built for the opposite situation: when you have a topic in mind but aren't sure of the exact wording a title might use, or you're exploring a subject you don't yet know the literature for. Think of it as the difference between looking something up in a card catalog and browsing the stacks — both are useful, just for different moments in your research.
What makes it different:
Rather than matching only the literal words you type, Smart Search tries to understand what a search is actually about. A search for "dog burial," for instance, can surface directly relevant studies on canine sacrifice and interment practices even when their titles don't use that exact phrase — including titles in other languages. Results are ranked by how closely they match the meaning of your search, not by date, so you may see a foundational older work ranked above a more recent one. That's expected, not a bug.
A note on how it works:
Smart Search runs entirely on our own server. No search terms or bibliography data are sent to any outside AI company or cloud service, and it isn't a chatbot — it doesn't write, summarize, or generate anything. It uses a small language model purely to judge which existing bibliography entries best match the meaning of what you typed.
What to expect from a beta:
This is an early release, and it has real limitations:
• It currently searches titles only — not authors, dates, or journals. A search like "Bennett Pylos" won't find Bennett's work the way the regular search would; try just "Pylos," or a topic Bennett wrote about, instead.
• It's sensitive to capitalization — "Pylos" and "pylos" can return different results. Capitalizing proper nouns as you normally would tends to work best.
• Coverage and ranking will keep improving as we test it against real searches.
The regular Nestor search isn't going anywhere — Smart Search is an addition, not a replacement, and both will remain available.
Try it: Nestor Smart Search (Beta)
We'd genuinely like to hear how it goes — what worked, what didn't, and what felt surprising. If a search gives you an odd or unhelpful result,
-John Wallrodt
EAA 2027
On 16 October 2026 abstracts (150–300 words) for sessions are due for the 33rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA 2027), to be held on 25–28 August 2027 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Submission of abstracts for contributions will be open from 11 December 2026 – 1 February 2027. Further information is available at https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2027/EAA2027/Home.aspx. Themes will be:
• Shaping futures through the transformation of landscapes
• Land and water - maritime cultures and maritime cultural landscapes as connectors
• Material worlds: the role of objects in creating connections and realising ambitions
• Archaeology shaping the future: planet and society
• Heritage, participation and the science-society interface
• Promoting a more diverse and inclusive discipline
Public Lecture Series of the ARU
The program of the 66th Public Lecture Series of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus (ARU) has been announced for Winter Semester 2026. Lectures are at 7:30 pm (EET) unless otherwise indicated and are hybrid via Zoom. Further information is available at https://www.ucy.ac.cy/aru/wp-content/uploads/sites/251/2026/09/LECTURE-PROGRAMME-WINTER-SEMESTER-2026.pdf. Lectures of interest to Nestor readers will include:
28 September 2026: A. Karnava, “Unearthing the word: recent epigraphic updates to the archaeology of Cyprus”
9–11 October 2026: Graduate Forum for Mediterranean Archaeology (FoMArc)
26 October 2026: M. Polidorou, “The Coast Beneath the Coast: Geoarchaeology, Heritage, and the Future of Akrotiri Peninsula”
2 November 2026: A. Marangou, “Ο Τσεσνόλα, ο Ρίχτερ και η Μάγδα: Δύο αρχαιοκάπηλοι και μια καταπληκτική γυναίκα”
9 November 2026: J. Bretschneider, “From Harbour to Hilltop: Maritime Connectivity and Settlement Organisation at Late Bronze Age Pyla-Kokkinokremos/Cyprus”
23 November 2026: R. Laoutaris, “Silent Connectivities: Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean during the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE”
12 December 2026, 09:00–18:00: Workshop organized by O. Kouka and S. Menelaou—Early Ceramic Traditions in Cyprus and Beyond: Technology, Practice and Society from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic. Details tba.
Mycenaean Seminars
The program of the Mycenaean Seminars has been announced for 2026–27. Lectures are at 15:30 pm unless otherwise noted and are hybrid. Further information is available at https://ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/seminar-lecture-programmes. The program will be:
14 October 2026: D. Pollard, “Datasets across the Divide: Quantitative and Spatial Approaches to Cretan History across the LBA-EIA Transition”
2 December 2026: S. Déderix, K. Boukala-Karkagianni, N. Papakonstantinou, and F, Porta “Old Excavations, New Perspectives: Minoan Pithos Burials on the Islet of Afendis Christos (Malia)”
10 February 2027: V.-P. Herva, “The labyrinth and ‘weirding perspectives’ on the Aegean Bronze Age”
10 March 2027: V. Petrakis, “Between the lines: textual clues and institutions at the palatial/non-palatial interface in Mycenaean Pylos (and elsewhere)”
21 April 2027: F. Gaignerot-Driessen, “Homer in Crete: The Tumulus Necropolis at Anavlochos”
19 May 2027, 17:00 The Michael Ventris Memorial Lecture: P. Stockhammer, “From Chamber Burials to Kin groups? Relatedness in Mycenaean Greece from an Integrative Archaeogenetic Perspective”
Η Πύλος του Νέστορα
The Hellenic National Archaeological Museum is hosting a series of lectures in conjunction with the exhibition “Η Πύλος του Νέστορα. Ένα μυκηναϊκό βασίλειο αποκαλύπτεται” (26 May – 31 October 2026). Further information is available at https://www.namuseum.gr/new/%cf%83%ce%b5%ce%b9%cf%81%ce%ac-%ce%b5%cf%80%ce%b9%cf%83%cf%84%ce%b7%ce%bc%ce%bf%ce%bd%ce%b9%ce%ba%cf%8e%ce%bd-%ce%bf%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%bb%ce%af%cf%89%ce%bd-%cf%83%cf%84%ce%bf-%ce%b5%ce%b1%ce%bc/. All lectures are at 18:00 in the Amphitheater of the National Archaeological Museum. The program will be:
1 October 2026: J. L. Davis and S. R. Stocker, “All that Glitters is Gold: Kingly Burials at Pylos”
15 October 2026: M. Κυλάφη, Μ. Τσουλάκου, Ε. Μαλαπάνη, Κ. Τζαμουράνη, “‘Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes’. Πώς μια αρχαιολογική έκθεση προ(σ)καλεί τη διεθνή κοινότητα”
5 November 2026: T. Palaima, “Opening the Kingdom of Nestor’s Enduring Gifts to Mycenology, the Humanities and Poetic Imagination”
12 November 2026: Μ. Κοσμόπουλος, “Ξαναγράφοντας την ιστορία της Μυκηναϊκής Μεσσηνίας: Η Ίκλαινα και η δημιουργία του βασιλείου της Πύλου”
24 November 2026: Round table discussion by the Pylos exhibition team of the National Archaeological Museum, “Μια έκθεση, διαφορετικές προσεγγίσεις και εμπειρίες. Δημιουργώντας μία περιοδική έκθεση και ένα αφήγημα”
CiA2026
On 22–26 October 2026 the conference Cremations in Archaeology 2026 (CiA2026) will be held in Vienna, Austria. Further information is available at https://uha.univie.ac.at/news-events/cremations-in-archaeology-2026/. Papers of interest to Nestor readers will include:
G. Capuzzo, I. Chatzikonstantinou, S. Triantaphyllou, K. Salesse, C. Polet, N. Cauwe, M. Boudin, and C. Snoeck, “Timing the Onset of Cremation Funerary Practices in Early Mesolithic Europe: New Data from Abri des Autours (Belgium) and Franchthi Cave (Greece)”
I. Chatzikonstantinou, D. Viviers, A. Tsingarida, A. Pautasso, G. Biondi, S. Privitera, S. Triantaphyllou, and C. Snoeck, “Fire, Continuity, and Identity: Cremation Practices in Early Iron Age Crete”
V. Pegiou, K. Papastathis, and S. Triantaphyllou, “The Practice of Cremation in Early Iron Age Chalcidice Peninsula, Northern Greece: The Case Study of Agios Ioannis-Nikitis”
V. Papathanasiou, “Fire, Bodies, and Urns: Cremation Burials in Early Iron Age Polichni and Nea Philadelphia, Greece”
POCA 2026
On 11–13 November 2026 the 23rd Postgraduates in Cypriot Archaeology Meeting (POCA 2026) will be held in Leiden, the Netherlands. Further information is available at https://sites.google.com/view/poca2026/home. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
A. Plasman, “Unpacking the practice of caching in Chalcolithic Cyprus”
A. Say-Ötün, “Do we yet know the answer to the question: Who is moving in prehistoric Cyprus?”
H. Stengler, “Hiding in the blue: Water management strategies on Late Bronze Age Cyprus”
J. Darwin, “Forever and always or frequently forgotten? Aspects of building longevity and discontinuity in Late Cypriot Prehistory”
S. Mavros, “In search of fertile grounds: A GIS spatial analysis of agricultural suitability in Southwest Cyprus”
Y. Cornelissen, “Digging deeper into mining activity at Stavrovouni Mountain (Southeastern Cyprus): Evidence, chronology, and challenges”
B. Jones, “Epipaleolithic trailblazers: Inland survey and landscape learning in Prehistoric Cyprus”
J. Tillman, “Death and difference: Tomb building and burial pathways in third millennium BCE Cyprus”
T. Humphrey, “Iconomachy: Monumentality and the decline of the cylinder seal in Late Bronze Age Cyprus”
M. Narukawa, “Rethinking ‘Homeric’ burials: A comparative study of Palaepaphos-Skales and Al-Bass”
V. Savvidou, “The Palloures burials in context”
P. Pizzo, “Volcanic ashes in Cypriot mortars: Documenting a new discovery”
S. Gilles, “The systematic analysis of pot-marks from the north coast of Cyprus during the Early and Middle Bronze Age”
M. Edwards, “Settlements and the sea: Access and interactions within the maritime cultural landscape of Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus – The case of Episkopi Bay”
A. Ladas, “Beyond Copper: Reassessing Cyprus as a potential source of timber in the Late Bronze Age”
D. de Groene, “A zooarchaeological approach on funerary feasting during the Chalcolithic and Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus”
T. Panagiotopoulou, “Diet in the Cypriot Middle Bronze Age: Bioarcheological insights from Linou”
S. Blixt, “Quadrupeds and bull heads: A socio-cultural contextualization of the animal figurines from Sinda”
I. Pruette, “The herd mentality: A social zooarchaeology of human-caprine relationships in Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus”
M. Lenssen, “Ideals on display? Scenic compositions and lived realities in Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus”
A. Gennadiou, “The inverted crescent and disc in ancient Cypriot context: An original Cypriot motif?”
ESHE 2026
On 17–19 September 2026 the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution Meeting (ESHE 2026) was held in Burgos, Spain. Further information is available at https://www.eshe.eu/meetings/. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers included:
A. Milks, M. Ntinou, S. Koutalis, D. Michailidis, G. E. Konidaris, D. Giusti, N. Thompson, G. Tsartsidou, E. Panagopoulou, V. Tourloukis, P. Karkanas, and K. Harvati “Earliest wooden tool use at Marathousa-1 (Greece): new evidence from the Middle Pleistocene”
K. Harvati, K. Douka, Q. Shao, R. Grün, N. Thompson, V. Tourloukis, V. Gorgoulis, K. Evangelou, and P. Karkanas, “New radiometric dates for the Apidema Caves C and D and the timing of the early Upper Paleolithic in southeast Europe”