Welcome to the SPMA

Forthcoming meetings
Details to be announced shortly
Recent meetings
The Archaeology of Mercantile Capitalism Douglas, Isle of Man, 2-4 September 2011 Despite the central importance of mercantile capitalism in many interpretations of the 17th-19th-century world, this is the first conference dedicated to the archaeology of this phenomenon. Intimately linked to the development of regional and global consumption networks, the increasing economic and political importance of the middle classes and the rise of urban centres, mercantile capitalism underlies many of the phenomena that interest archaeologists of this period. The conference will cover themes including: • Mercantile institutions – guilds, trading companies; • Maritime communities at sea and on land; • Artefact distribution patterns and how they identify trading networks; • Mercantile consumption and display; • The mercantile infrastructure – docks, warehouses, ships and shops The conference is international in scope, and papers ae welcome from terrestrial and maritime archaeologists and those in cognate disciplines. This three-day conference will allow those involved in the study of artefacts, buildings and ships to come together to discuss their archaeological contribution to the study of mercantile capitalism. Click here for further information
	Engaging the Recent Past: Public, Political, Post-medieval Archaeology Glasgow, 3-5 September 2010 The recent past merges seamlessly with the present. In engaging with this past we explore the nature of our own society and we are confronted with questions about the role of archaeology in the contemporary world. This three-day conference will reflect upon and debate the public nature of our engagement with the archaeology of the last 500 years. The conference will consider public archaeology, community archaeology and the politics of archaeology. Delegates will analyse , question and evaluate theory and practice and consider case studies from Scotland, England, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The conference will cover themes including: the politics, ethics, practice and pragmatics of archaeology in public and community contexts; community engagement in rural field projects and the representation of the rural past through museums; research, policy and public engagement in the archaeology of human remains and burial; urban and industrial communities past and present; the present-day resonance of battlefield and conflict archaeology. The main conference venue is the University of Glasgow. On Friday 3rd September, the conference will open with a walking tour of medieval and post-medieval Glasgow, incorporating a visit to a Glasgow Museums exhibition ‘Digging up the past’. The tour will be followed, in the evening, by a keynote speech by Prof. Martin Hall and a wine reception in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Museum. There will be a conference dinner on the Saturday evening. Click here for further information Click here for abstracts and programme Click here for a booking form
Exploring New World Transitions: From Seasonal Presence to Permanent Settlement St John’s, Newfoundland, June 16-19, 2010 This Conference will highlight early European exploitation of the New World, with a particular focus on Northeastern North America. The conference marks the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Cupers Cove Plantation in Newfoundland by Bristol merchant John Guy - the first English colony in what is now Canada. The theme of New World Transitions, with its emphasis on the historical shift from seasonal to permanent occupation, will include Native contacts, the role of fisheries, the development of colonies in the early 17th century, coastal and maritime archaeology, as well as material culture studies relevant to this period. The Conference is being jointly organized by Memorial University of Newfoundland, Bournemouth University and the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. To view images of the conference tours click on the following links: Friday coach tour Friday's walking tour Sunday's Cathedral tour Images from the conference
Across the North Sea: Later historical archaeology in Britain and Denmark c. 1500-2000 AD 22-27 September 2009, Odense and Copenhagen The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, The University of Southern Denmark, Odense City Museums and the City Museum of Copenhagen held a conference on post-medieval archaeology in Britain and Denmark to be held in Odense, Denmark, with an additional programme in Copenhagen. Click here for the full conference programme.
Coalbrookdale: Footprints of Industry 3-6 June 2009, Coalbrookdale, Telford This meeting commemorated the 300th anniversary of the successful smelting of iron with coke by Abraham Darby. This moment marked a significant shift in industrial production from the use of renewable resources such as coppiced woodland and water power to mineral fuels and steam power. The theme of the conference was 'Footprints of Industry', and the focus was on the examination of the social, cultural and environmental impacts of industrialisation during the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The Conference was hosted by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, in association with the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, the Association for Industrial Archaeology, the Historical Metallurgy Society and the Newcomen Society. To download the conference programme please click here.
Post-Medieval Religion September 2008, Norwich The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology and the Society for Church Archaeology held a joint conference on the archaeology of religion in Britain from 1580 to 1900. To view the provsional programme for this event click here. To view the abstracts for the papers for this event click here To view the conference tour itineraries click here. To view images of the conference tours click on the following links: Friday coach tour Friday's walking tour Sunday's Cathedral tour Images from the conference
Crossing Paths or Sharing Tracks? Future Directions for the Archaeological Study of post-1550 Britain and Ireland. April 2008, Leicester The conference brought together representatives from the Society for Post Medieval Archaeology, the Association for Industrial Archaeology, the Contemporary Historical Archaeology and Theory list, the Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group, and the Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland to consider the commonalties between approaches as well as the unique contributions made by members of each organisation towards the study of the material heritage of the post-1550 period. To download the conference programme click here	West Country Households c.1500-1700 September 14th-16th 2007, Exeter View images of the conference events: Images from the conference Friday Town Walk, Friday evening private viewing Friday evening reception Saturday evening visit to Topsham Sunday visit to Taunton Museum Monday visit to St George's Hall, Exeter Conference Programme
Italy and Britain between Mediterranean and Atlantic worlds: Leghorn – ‘an English port’ 25-27 May 2006 Livorno View images from the event Read paper summaries (Italian and English) and further information about the event	Border and Identity: The Solway Basin, England and Scotland, c 1500-2000 Joint conference of SPMA and the Dumfries & Galloway Natural History & Antiquarian Society 30 September- 1 October, 2006 Dumfries
Yorkshire AD 1500-2000: Research Directions and the Next Ten Years 29 October 2005 Sheffield	SPMA 2005 Conference: Shared Landscapes in the Caribbean 27 June-1 July 2005 Nevis, eastern Caribbean
The Archaeology of the Industrial Process 2nd October 2004 Ironbridge, Shropshire	Ireland and Britain in the Atlantic World (joint conference with Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group (IPMAG) February 5-8, 2004 Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Estate Landscapes 28-30 March 2003 University of York