On 12th and 13th January 2017 the GRR network held our first major event: a symposium in the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University. Initially we thought this would simply be a chance for the five researchers to get together and discuss our case studies of Merovingian-period reopening in different areas of Europe. But thanks to support from Riksbankens Jublieumsfond, we were able to go much bigger, inviting a discussion panel of scholars from across Europe and the US, and opening up the first day of talks to a public audience.
Over 40 attendees joined us from Finland, Latvia, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Austria, Germany, and Sweden itself. Germany was particularly well-represented, with researchers and students from the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, HTW Berlin, and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Great to meet so many people who are interested in the topic and to make some new contacts with people who are working on disturbed cemeteries.
Day one began with Alison Klevnäs and Edeltraud Aspöck giving an introduction on grave reopening in archaeological research in general and the research history of Merovingian reopening in particular. Then the researchers presented their own investigations in roughly chronological order of completion. Edeltraud Aspöck talked about her 2003 publication of the heavily disturbed Langobardic cemetery at Brunn am Gerbirge in Austria, plus some new research she’s starting in the region. Alison Klevnäs presented conclusions from her thesis on reopening in Anglo-Saxon England, which was published in 2013. Then Stephanie Zintl talked about her study of Bavarian cemeteries, which was finished in 2012 and will soon be available as a book. Finally Martine van Haperen and Astrid Noterman each presented their recently completed theses on reopening in the Low Countries and northern France respectively. We had scheduled plenty of time for questions so were very pleased with the response from the panel and audience, who had lots of useful points to make – definitely the most constructive discussion I’ve ever had of this topic.
This was our first ever chance to all meet in one place and make detailed comparisons between our findings, so it was good to be able to draw out the areas where we have similar evidence and interpretations, and the points where the material or our conclusions differ. Some research questions are answered, and some new ones have emerged – as we’ll try to show in our forthcoming publications!
On the morning of Day 2 the research network held talks with the invited panel members to discuss how to go forward with our research. Finally in the afternoon we met to discuss the various research funding proposals and publications which we’re currently putting together.
More leisurely activities included a couple of dinners, a fascinating presentation by Professor Dawn Hadley on her work at the Torksey Viking camp, and a trip to Historiska Museet.
Many thanks again to all who attended!
