| Reports by SPBS Members |
Conferences
held in 2008 |
41st SPRING SYMPOSIUM OF BYZANTINE STUDIES After more than two decades, the Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies returned to the University of Edinburgh for the first Spring Symposium dedicated solely to the discipline of Byzantine archaeology. Attended by over 80 participants from across Europe and North America the symposium commenced with a public lecture held in the Old College. We were delighted to welcome the Director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Dr Ismail Karamut, to lecture on the Excavations in the Harbour of Theodosius in Constantinople: the Marmaray Project. This was a richly illustrated account of the astonishing discoveries over the past three years, with an extempore translation by Dr Scott Redford. Over the next two days the symposium was held in the Old High School, once part the Royal Infirmary, the site of many nineteenth century advances in medical practice, it is now home to Archaeology at Edinburgh University. The combination of lecture theatres and meeting rooms was the setting not only for 16 papers and communications but also for the exhibition on The Byzantine Research Fund archive: Encounters of Arts and Crafts Architects in Byzantium organised and sponsored by the British School at Athens. The papers were arranged around four main themes of Approaches and Discoveries, Technologies, Landscapes, and Architecture and Society and speakers represented Greek, Turkish and other archaeological projects and research. The final day concluded with a positive discussion on the state of the discipline in former Byzantine lands. Situated in Edinburgh’s Old Town Symposiasts were able choose from a range of hostels and hotels and a main reception was held after the opening lecture in the exhibition rooms which could viewed throughout the Symposium. We are especially grateful to both the British School at Athens and the British Institute at Ankara for their financial support and also to the SPBS and Edinburgh University. |
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