I've received a CfP for a conference part that sounds a lot like the European Textile Forum, only on the other side of the Pond - and if it were not so far away and only for three day, I'd be very, very tempted.

You might be closer to the action, though, so here's the CfP for you - and as always with these things, do spread the word to anyone you think might be interested. Conference news, as a rule, reaches way too few people, and everyone passing on infoto others helps make the conference a better one!

Call for Participants for the sessions
"From Fiber to Decorated Textiles in the Early North Atlantic: Making, Methods, and Meanings,”
part of IONA: Early Medieval Studies on the Islands of the North Atlantic transformative networks, skills, theories, and methods for the future of the field at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada. April 11-13, 2019
CFP: Textiles are a ubiquitous part of life, essentially so in eras when they had to be produced by hand. In early medieval Europe the making and use of textiles also had symbolic, metaphorical, and even allegorical meanings, in additional to the functional. We wish to spend time exploring the connections between the act of making and understanding how something is being made as well as connections among disciplines, approaches, and interpretations.
We are envisioning a series of linked sessions in which participants first learn generally about the textile-making process in the Early North Atlantic, before choosing one skill to learn more deeply, which they will then proceed to practice for the remainder of the sessions. During this final part, scholars will also present their research findings and interpretations, most likely in a modified roundtable format, culminating in a final large discussion that brings together the insights of making through practice and how this might influence interpretation.
We invite proposals of two kinds. First we seek those versed in the making of early medieval textiles and the teaching of those skills. We are specifically interested in scholars accomplished in one of the following: nalbinding, lucet braiding, tablet weaving, inkle weaving, sprang, upright loom weaving, and other fabric and fiber arts. The organizers will be instructing in the use of the hand spindle and loop stitch embroidery. We also welcome other textile skills that were employed in the early North Atlantic world. The session organizers hope to be able to provide basic materials such as yarn, needles, fabric, and thread, and may be able to help provide larger specialty equipment.
The second kind of proposal we invite is from interpreters of early medieval textiles in the North Atlantic and the methods of making them. We hope to gather an interdisciplinary group of researchers, teachers, curators, and artists working in this area to spark a dialogue about how one can practically and metaphorically come to understand any of the following:
● textile and textile tool remains
● literary and artistic depictions of textile-making processes
● how gender, region, religion, or economics were part of meaning making in textiles and the how the making process was experienced by medieval people or how these categories of analysis impact our contemporary understanding
● the role of trade and/or migration in disseminating or adapting textile making processes, decoration, and raw and finished materials
● how access to resources impacted the making of textiles
● methods of decorating textiles (embroidery, braid, trim, and so forth)
If one is both a maker and an interpreter, one may submit a joint proposal.
Questions may be addressed to Karen Agee (karen.agee(at)uni.edu), Erika Lindgren (lindgrenedu(at)gmail.com), or Alexandra Makin (alexandrammakin(at)gmail.com). Please submit a 250 words proposal/abstract to Karen Agee (karen.agee(at)uni.edu) by July 15, 2018. Please use Textiles IONA in the subject line.
The full website with all the CFPs and conference information can be found here: https://www.sfu.ca/english/iona.html.

Call for Papers: European Textile Forum 2018 - Aspects of Weaving and Braiding.

The European Textile Forum 2018 will take place from November 5 to November 11, at the Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology in Mayen, Germany. The Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology is the experimental archaeology research center of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM).

Our focus topic this year will be "Aspects of Weaving and Braiding - tools, techniques, processes, finishes".

Woven cloth is the basis for most clothes and furnishings, and woven fabrics come in an incredible amount of variations. From the simplest plain weave done on a few sticks with strings to the most complex patterned fabrics with several warps and wefts done on an elaborate loom, weaving itself and the tools and processes used is also a wide and complex topic. Braiding, just like weaving, can take on different forms and range from very simple over-one-under-one structures to complex patterned and multi-person braids; braiding tools can be just the hands or massive braiding stands. On some occasions, weaving and braiding can even be combined, such as in tablet weaves when tablets swap places, or in twined weaves.

For this year's Forum, we invite you to join us and discuss weaving, braiding, and their many aspects. Whether you would like to talk about different loom types and their usage, how complex patterns were derived, passed on, and woven or braided in historical times, how different materials will influence a weave, how to reconstruct possible braiding techniques for a given piece, or the difficulties of replicating a given fabric - all aspects and angles are welcome.

We invite you to submit your proposal for a lecture or presentation (about 20-50 minutes), followed by a discussion and, if possible, also followed by a practical session regarding the textile techniques or problems presented in the lectures. This combination of theoretical background and practice has proven very fruitful in the previous years and might include practical instructions in pattern drafting, exploration of "primitive" weaving tools, or tests for finishing fabrics. The practical part can be in form of a workshop, a demonstration, or something like a "hands-on round table". If you have a question that might be solved by several pairs of hands and several minds working on it together, this is the perfect venue for it.

If you have trouble bringing tools or materials for your presentation, please get in touch, and we will try our best to make things possible. We have working spaces both outside (weather permitting), in the lecture hall and in the workshops, so if you are planning on bringing larger tools, we will find space to work with them.

As always, while papers or posters about our focus topic are especially welcome, if you have another topic outside this focus that you would like to present, please do submit your proposal. The same applies if you would like to offer a poster presentation or a workshop/demonstration only.

We also have the opportunity to use the laboratory facilities for archaeological experiments. If you have an experiment you would like to run, please let us know about this. The LEA facilities, the duration of the conference and the expertise and support of the other conference participants have proven to be a wonderful basis for experiments.

For any questions, feel free to contact us directly via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

With this Call for Papers, registration for the Textile Forum 2018 is now also open. Please be advised that there are very limited accommodation possibilities at the site. Due to the space available at the Experimental Archaeology Lab, we can accommodate about a dozen to fourteen participants on site only, and the conference will accommodate only a few more participants than that altogether. Due to these restrictions, we may have to consider registrations with a presentation before those without.

The RGZM is graciously supporting the European Textile Forum by granting us use of the simple, mixed on-site dorms. If you prefer a room in a hotel or pension, you can of course book your own accommodation in Mayen; some more information can be found on the Travel and Accommodation page.
Full board consists of breakfast, lunch and dinner; water to drink as well as tea and coffee will be available at all times. All meals will be served in the Laboratory. The conference fee, including full board and the option to sleep in the on-site dorm, is 325 Euro per person.

You can register for the Forum with or without a poster or paper presentation, using this registration form. Please submit your current area of research or interest as well as the title and abstract of your presentation, if applicable. If you would like to give a paper longer than 50 minutes, please let us know about that and we will try to make it possible. The Call for Papers is open until July 20.

Please feel free to pass this CfP on to others who you think might be interested!

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled blog with a double Call for Papers - here you go:

Lessons Learned: Textile Conservation - Then and Now
12^th North American Textile Conservation Conference, Ottawa, Canada, September 23 - 29, 2019

The twelfth biennial North American Textile Conservation Conference (NATCC) will be held in Ottawa, Canada, and will focus on the theme of “Lessons Learned – Textile Conservation – Then and Now.” The choice of the topic was inspired by NATCC’s return to the City of Ottawa, venue of our first conference in 1997. Analytical studies, conservation protocols, treatments, exhibition displays, and materials and techniques have evolved during the past 20+ years, often dramatically. We propose to revisit conservation procedures, best practices, collaborations, and other preservation guidelines carried out during the 1980s through the present.

Presentations may include, but are not limited to, evolving conservation protocols and best practices, including those for treatment, storage, travel and display; methodologies for technical analyses, scientific and historical research, collaborations among different stakeholders, and other topics as they relate to the field of textile conservation of tangible and intangible culture. Both successful and unsuccessful “lessons learned” are welcome. Specific cases where past treatments, methodologies, and/or collaborations are contrasted and reassessed according to contemporary needs and approaches, are especially welcome. Conservators, curators, conservation scientists, art historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, collection managers, designers, preparators and others are invited to submit proposals for presentations. Collaborations among professions are encouraged. Projects already presented or published will not be considered and proposed projects must be complete by the end of 2018.

Abstracts must be submitted by May 11, 2018. Abstracts will be peer reviewed by the NATCC board. Authors of selected papers and posters will be notified by August 3, 2018. Presentations will be 20 minutes long; there will be time for questions.

Please visit the website for the full information on submission and any updates at http://natcconference.com .

If you're based in Europe, this one might be more accessible for you:

16. annual meeting of European association for the advancement of archaeology by experiment in Unteruhldingen/Germany, 27. September - 30. September 2018
This year's meeting of the European Association for the advancement of archaeology
by experiment takes place in Unteruhldingen/Germany in the Lake dwelling museum
and the World Heritage room. In the European year of cultural heritage 2018, we would
like to devote ourselves especially to the practice of experimental archaeology and
school as well as the mediation to young audiences. For this conference we ask for
presentations. Lectures on the latest methods of investigation of finds and findings,
possibilities of analysis and reconstruction as well as reports of scientific
demonstrations and associated museological methods of mediation are again in focus.

End date for submission of papers: 15 May 2018
The conference will take place from September 27 to September 30. 2018, lectures on
September 28 and 29, 2018
Conference languages are German and English.
Registration is possible via www.exar.org.

I don't know how much English will be actually spoken at the conference, as it's been years since I was last able to attend (the date somehow always clashed with some other event that I already had confirmed). It used to be rather German-heavy, language-wise, but things may have changed.

 
 

There's a number of conferences coming up, and I thought you might be interested, so here they come:

African Experimental Archaeology Conference, March 20-22, Johannesburg. More info and registration here.

The 12th North American Textile Conservation Conference will take place in Canada, September 23-29, 2019. Their CfP is now open, and the topic is "Lessons Learned: Textile Conservation - Then and Now".

There's a conference on experimental Music Archaeology, April 12-14, in Brandenburg; more info and contact information here.

The CTR in Copenhagen is running a Saxo Summer School programme: "Textiles and Fashion in Theory and Practice through 3000 Years". It's a 10-day programme, more info on the CTR homepage.

The Dombauhütte Paderborn will have a bell founding event June 23-29, where a bell of 11th century style will be cast using 1th century methods. More info can be found on the facebook event page and on the Dombauhütte website.

 

Just in case you are looking for an excuse to travel to sunny Spain in September, there will be the European Association of Archaeologists' conference. And if you happen to be interested in and researching about Elite culture, here's a specific call for papers for a session about this, that is session #431: “Elite culture in medieval and post-medieval archaeology” at the 24^th EAA Annual Meeting, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain from 5-8 September 2018 (https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2018/).

Session organisers are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rainer Atzbach, Aarhus University, Denmark, PD Dr. Felix Biermann, University of Greifswald, Germany and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Müller, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Germany.

Their session seeks to explore new ways to identify elites in the archaeological source material during the 12th until the 18th centuries. Elite is understood as a group of persons belonging to the upper echelons of society in a town, territory or dominion in terms of military, economic, religious or political power, and even education. This group of peers is characterised by being involved in decision-making processes in their homestead. Moreover, its network includes contacts to similar groups in other areas. The contributions in this session are invited to focus upon archaeological approaches available to identify remains of this powerful group. Therefore, presentations should discuss diachronic or supra-regional features and not just single contexts such as graves, monuments, latrines, or outstanding precious finds. Critical reviews of traditional approaches based upon import, prestigious goods, written sources etc., or new perspectives on these classic elite markers are welcome.

The session intends to discuss the following questions:
Theoretical background - what characterises elite? Staging and distinction – is elite defined by other societal classes and/or its members? How far is it possible to spot elite while tracing innovative or traditional products? In terms of norms and practice: is it possible to identify rule setters and rule breakers in archaeological source material? Do the upper layer of society and the elite group always coincide? Supply and demand: what is the relationship between procurement of exotic/import/vintage goods and elites? Between conspicuous consumption and understatement – what does elite show off?

The Call for Papers is now open at: https://eaa.klinkhamergroup.com/eaa2018/
For submitting your abstract you have to verify your EAA membership with your EAA credentials (EAA ID, username, password). For assistance with retrieving your credentials, please contact the EAA Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. New members, please sign up for EAA membership first at www.e-a-a.org. You can either pay your membership fees upon signing up or at any time before 31 March 2018 when registering for the Annual Meeting at www.e-a-a.org/eaa2018.

Deadline for sending your abstract is the 15^th of February 2018, 23:59 CET.

 

As every year, sometime in the spring, planning starts for that certain week-long event in November that makes me exhausted, happy, incredibly tired, stressed out and full of old-textile-y bliss all at the same time. Oh, and full of coffee and chocolate, too.

I am, of course, talking about the European Textile Forum, which will again take place in November this year, again in beautiful Mayen on the premises of LEA. This year, we'll be looking at silk as our focus topic (but as always, we're open to other topics as well). The Forum week will be November 6 to 12, as usually with a mix of theoretical and practical. The Call for Papers is out now, and registration is open, too.

I am really, really looking forward to getting to know more textile people, learning more on different aspects of silk and possibly also getting an experiment or two under way again. Waiting for registrations and paper proposals to come in always feels a bit like waiting to open a present!

So - I'm all happy, pleasant anticipation for now. If you want to know more about the Forum, or (even better!) want to participate, you can read more and register via the links above.

Aaaah, Textile Forum. One full week of lovely textile madness... coming right up.

Here you go, actual archaeology-related content:

The next Experimental Archaeology Conference (the tenth!) will take place in Leiden, Netherlands, Thursday, 20 April, 2017 to Saturday, 22 April, 2017. The Call for Papers is currently up, so if you'd like to submit something or just want more information, you can go here.

This is not your cup of tea? Or your loaf of cheese? Well, maybe this is: A bronze age ceramic pot found in Denmark contains residue of animal fat that might be from an attempt to make cheese.

Still not interesting? Maybe I can get you with this, then - Means of Exchange: Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age is the current free e-book of the month from Aarhus University.