Post Medieval Archaeology Congress – May 2026.
The eighth annual Post-Medieval Archaeology Congress (PMAC26) will be hosted by the University of Reading on 15-17 May 2026. The main venue is the Agriculture Department conference suite including the Nike Theatre, and rooms 1L04, 1L06 and 1L08.
The preliminary programme includes information about Registration, tours, the Keynote lecture and Evening Reception on Friday 15 May. It also lists the sessions, round-tables and room locations for the Scientific Programme on Saturday 16 May and Sunday 17 May, with additional optional activities on the weekend.
A finalised version of the programme will be available closer to the conference.
Professor Mike Fulford will be leading a tour of Silchester Roman Town. Silchester is a rare example of a Roman town in Britain where you can readily appreciate its scale. It is the location of the Iron Age and Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum. Unlike the majority of the major Roman towns of Britain, it did not re-emerge as a major settlement in the Middle Ages. It has remained a green field site. Major excavations were undertaken in the 19th and early 20th century, notably the 20-year-long project (1890-1909) of the Society of Antiquaries to reveal what they thought was the complete plan of a Roman town. Fortunately, those excavations were relatively superficial in character and the archaeology remains largely undisturbed. Excavations by the University of Reading in the late 20th and early 21st century have been able to investigate the rich stratigraphic sequence to provide insights into the town’s development from the late Iron Age through to the early medieval period. The tour takes us around the well-preserved late 3rd century town wall, the parish church of St Mary the Virgin and the amphitheatre. The footpaths are uneven and, after wet weather, muddy and slippery.
