Cardiff Archaeology celebrates early medieval archaeology research

Host of archaeologists and alumni gather to honour contributions of admired archaeology staff

Distinguished archaeologists and alumni are recognizing the significant contributions to early medieval archaeology of long-serving Cardiff University academics.

The two-day conference East and West in Early Medieval Europe and Beyond marks the long-lasting contributions to early medieval studies of Professor John Hines and Dr Alan Lane.

Archaeologists from across Britain and Europe – all collaborators and former students - will present on themes including material culture, literature, central places, settlement, mortuary practices, and landscape.

Professor John Hines is an internationally renowned expert on Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age archaeology, history and literature.

His numerous publications include Voices in the Past the first exploration of archaeology and English literature, and seminal studies Anglo-Saxon artifacts, including great square-headed brooches. He has published several Anglo-Saxon cemeteries and led the English Heritage-funded project Anglo-Saxon England c. 570-720: the chronological basis, which has had a transformative impact on early medieval archaeology in Britain and beyond.

Dr Alan Lane taught early medieval archaeology at Cardiff for over 40 years and is an expert on post-Roman Celtic and Viking Age Britain.

He has studied Viking Age ceramics in the Outer Hebrides and excavated several internationally significant sites, including early medieval royal centres at Dunadd (Scotland) and Llangorse (Wales). He was recently awarded the Cambrian Archaeological Association’s GT Clark Prize for his book Llangorse Crannog – the Excavation of a Royal Medieval Site in the Kingdom of Brycheiniog  (co-authored with Mark Redknap). Other recent publications include major reassessments of Dinas Powys hillfort and Wroxeter Roman town.

Saturday

The programme dedicated to Professor John Hines features Susan Irvine, Unn Pedersen, Tim Pestell, Mark Redknap, Stephen Rippon, Andrew Richardson (Archaeology, BA 1994, MPhil 1996, PhD 2000), Elizabeth Rowe, Honorary Professor Chris Scull, Duncan Sayer, James Whitley and Nelleke IJssennagger-van der Pluijm.

Sunday

The programme honouring Dr Alan Lane includes Ewan Campbell (Archaeology, PhD 1992), Wendy Davies, Stephen Dirscoll , Honorary Professor Nancy Edwards, James Graham-Campbell, Patrick Gleeson, Kieran O'Conor (Archaeology, PhD 1993), Andy Seaman (Archaeology, BA 2005, MA 2007, PhD 2010), Niall Sharples, Juliette Wood, Nancy Hollinrake (Archaeology, MA 2008) and Tim Young.

East and West in Early Medieval Europe and Beyond takes place at Cardiff University on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2023.