The 2021 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA; link), the largest archaeological congress in Europe, took place in Kiel from September 6 through September 11. The Cluster of Excellence ROOTS together with the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 (link) organised this meeting under the umbrella of the Johanna Mestorf Academy (link) at Kiel University. 

More than 2500 participants from 66 countries held presentations on the topic of “Widening Horizons”. Members of the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS organized seven sessions and presented more than 30 papers on results of their investigations on past socio-environmental-cultural connectivity. 

Within this setting, EAA President, Prof. Dr. Felipe Criado-Boado, pointed out that: “Kiel, as the venue for the EAA Annual Meeting 2021, symbolises the widening of horizons through the integration of natural and life sciences into archaeology, through the inclusion of the most diverse horizons between East, West, North and South, and through the development of new research centres that build on proven examples.” Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of Education, Science and Culture, Karin Prien, described the central position that archaeology assumes in the research priorities of Schleswig-Holstein, and University President, Simone Fulda, emphasised the crucial role that archaeology plays in the internationalisation strategy of Kiel University. Climate change was also a crucial topic during the Annual Meeting of the EAA, leading to the adoption of a European “Kiel EAA Declaration” (link). 

You can view the opening ceremony of the Kiel Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists here, on the ROOTS Youtube Channel here

You can visit the EAA Kiel homepage at this link