Islamic Archaeology Day 2026
From The Observatory
Date
January 31, 2026
Location
University College London
Area
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The purpose of the Islamic Archaeology Day is to provide an opportunity for researchers in this area to come together and encourage collaboration across regional and period boundaries. The workshop provides a snapshot of some of the latest and most exciting research being conducted in Islamic archaeology.
Agenda
Session 1 (Chair: Corisande Fenwick, UCL)
- 11:00 Welcome & Introduction - Corisande Fenwick (UCL)
- 11:15 A residential neighbourhood in early Islamic Jerash (Jordan) - Louise Blanke (University of Edinburgh), Mette Marie Hald (National Museum of Denmark), Raffaella Pappalardo (Independent Researcher), Tim Penn (University of Reading), Helle Strehle (Moesgaard Museum, Denmark), Apolline Vernet (Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne), Marlena Whiting (University of Groningen).
- 11:40 Controlling Transcaucausian movement in the early medieval period: new evidence from Dariali Gorge (Georgia) - Eberhard Sauer (University of Edinburgh) and Davit Naskidashvili (UCL) et al
- 12:05 The archaeological site of Santa Coloma (Àger, Spain). A Mozarabic farming community (8th-11th centuries) - Jesus Brufal (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
- 12:30 Pattern making in the ceramic workshops of Abbasid Raqqa (Syria) - Marcus Milwright (University of York)
1:00 Lunch in Common Room (6th Floor)
Session 2 (Chair: Paul Wordsworth, UCL)
- 2:00 Innovation and Industry: Glassworking Practices at Early Medieval Walīla (Volubilis, Morocco) - Kelsi Kaviani (UCL/ University of Cambridge), Corisande Fenwick (UCL), Ian Freestone (UCL), Michael Charlton (UCL), Barbara Lepri, Asmae El Kacimi (INSAP), Hassan Limane (INSAP)
- 2:25 Making money in early medieval Morocco: an archaeometric approach - Liam Richards (UCL), Corisande Fenwick (UCL), Veronica Occari (UCL), Fatima-Zohra El Harrif (INSAP), Asmae El Kacimi (INSAP), Elizabeth Fentress, Hassan Limane (INSAP)
- 2:50 Early Islamic Glazes in the Talas and Chu River Valleys (Kyrgyzstan) - Catherine Klesner (University of Cambridge)
- 3:15 Archaeobotany and agricultural change at medieval Bardha'a (Azerbaijan) - David Stone (The Discovery Programme Centre of Archaeology and Innovation Ireland)
3:45 Tea break
Session 3 (Chair: Scott Redford)
- 4:15 Madina Balaghí, a frontier city in al-Andalus, 8th-12th centuries (Balaguer, Spain) - Helena Kirchner (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
- 4:40 The Mosque of Sijilmassa (Morocco) and Its Surroundings: New Archaeological Discoveries from a Medieval Caravan City - Asmae El Kacimi (INSAP), Salma Salek (INSAP), Salma Jalal Mansour (INSAP), Tachfine Touri (INSAP), Amina Samadi (INSAP), Malakout Kiche (INSAP)
- 5:05 Placing the Forgotten Fedis on the Map of Medieval Islamic Eastern Ethiopia: An Archaeological and Historical Approach - Endris Siraj (University of Exeter)
- 5:30 The life and afterlife of the Ades collection of medieval Persian glazed ceramics: A survey of the Fitzwilliam Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum collections - Carmen Ting (University of Leicester), Flavia Ravaioli (Fitzwilliam Museum), Fuschia Hart (V&A Museum)
6-7pm Reception in Common Room (6th Floor)
7 :15pm Dinner (for those who have pre-booked)Participants
UCL Social & Historical Sciences
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