Bell Beaker research community gathered in Kiel

2017/05/24

From May 17–21, the Graduate School ‘Human Development in Landscapes’ and the Collaborative Research Centre ‘Scales of Transformation’ at Kiel University jointly organised this year’s Archéologie et Gobelets workshop.

Participants of the Archéologie et Gobelets Bell Beaker conference

In 5 days, 33 presentations, 2 excursions and several social events took place – all centring on a single topic: “Think Global, Act Local! The Transformations of Spatial Interaction and Material Culture in Beaker Contexts of the 3rd millennium BC in Europe”. . This topic was approached from various disciplinary angles and interdisciplinary perspectives, ranging from the ground-breaking study of ancient DNA in the Bell Beaker Phenomenon from different scales and perspectives to the statistical analyses of Bell Beaker pottery decorations, the spatial patterning of Bell Beaker burial monuments in the landscape and Bell Beaker settlement practices and subsistence strategies. Contributions focused on all areas of Europe, extending from the Portuguese Algarve to Middle-Jutland in Denmark and from the Irish Boyne Valley to the Slovenian marshes.

Feeling very fortunate with the nice spring weather, the participants visited the Steinzeitdorf of Dithmarschen in Albersdorf and the surrounding landscape of Stone Age megaliths and barrows on Saturday. On Sunday, an excursion to the Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf in Schleswig was organised, where the prehistoric collections led to various inspiring discussions.

Archéologie et Gobelets was founded in Geneva in 1996. The association’s aims are to spread knowledge about the Bell Beaker Phenomenon and to exchange information about the respective period, which ranges from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age across Europe.