A village in Belarus. Due to the current situation, research cooperation with the country is limited. The Science at Risk Lecture Series enables colleagues from Belarus to present and continue their academic work in a secure online environment. Photo: Jens Schneeweiß

What are the hypotheses about the origin and distribution of archaeological cultures on the territory of present-day Belarus in the first millennium AD? This question will be the subject of an online discussion moderated by ROOTS member Dr Jens Schneeweiß on 13 December. The event entitled "Slavs, Balts and Germans on the territory of Belarus in the 1st millennium: an archaeological panorama" is part of the Science At Risk Lecture Series of the Science at Risk Emergency Office and is organised in cooperation with the Centre for Baltic and Slavic Archaeology Schleswig, with the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS at Kiel University and the Chair of Archaeology at Warsaw University.

Three Belarusian historians from the Chair of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, who were forced to stop their scientific activities in Belarus due to political repression, will give presentations. Topics of the presentations:

Dr. Vadzim Beliavets
Hypothesis of the "Paliessie white spot" today: the state of the study of the problem of the genesis of the Prague culture in Belarusian archeology
 
Vital Sidarovich
Hoards of the Early Migration Period from the territory of Belarus as evidence of migrations of East German peoples

Dr. Mikalai Plavinski
Burial sites of the Krivichi people of Northern Belarus in the 8th - early 11th centuries

The working language will be English and Belarusian (with consistent translation into English).
Interested people can visit the event through the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/94477765034?pwd=MWxxeFE1YlZySnJrZEh2WlE0M0NJUT09
Meeting ID: 944 7776 5034
ID code: 273487

Background information:
The Science At Risk Emergency Office and the Science at Risk Lecture Series
The Science at Risk Emergency Office - founded by Akademisches Netzwerk Osteuropa e. V. in August 2020 and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office - supports students and academics threatened and demonstrably endangered by the war in Ukraine by bundling and providing offers of assistance and support. Specifically, it places those affected from the target countries in study and doctoral positions as well as teaching and research assignments at German universities and research institutions and in a mentoring programme initiated by the Science At Risk Office.

In addition, it organises a virtual lecture series, the Science at Risk Lecture Series, with the participation of scientists at risk from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. This enables colleagues to present and continue their academic work in a secure online environment. The aim is to bring together scientific voices from different scientific systems, which can lead to fruitful collaborations in the future.