The Society of Medieval Archaeology (SMA) conference will be hosted by the Centre for Medieval Studies and Department of Archaeology at the University of York on Saturday 19 September 2026.
Taking place in the historic Guildhall in central York, the conference will bring together researchers from across archaeology, heritage science and related disciplines to explore how scientific approaches and new research infrastructures are transforming our understanding of the medieval past.
The Guildhall, a historic civic building recently refurbished as a modern events venue on the banks of the River Ouse, provides an ideal setting for a day of discussion and exchange around the theme of heritage science and medieval archaeology.
Heritage science is opening new avenues of research, allowing archaeologists to investigate materials, environments, technologies, diets, mobility and lived experiences in increasingly detailed ways. This conference will explore how approaches including archaeometry, dating science, materials analysis, bioarchaeology and digital methods are reshaping interpretations of the Middle Ages.
The theme is particularly timely following the establishment of RICHeS, the UK’s national research infrastructure supporting access to heritage science expertise, equipment, collections and data. The conference reflects RICHeS’s commitment to enabling collaboration across disciplines and strengthening the role of heritage science within humanities research.
Keynote speaker
The conference keynote will be delivered by Professor Meggen Gondek, Head of the RICHeS Infrastructure Headquarters (IHQ).
Professor Gondek will share her perspective on the future of heritage science and its potential to transform research into the medieval past. As Head of the RICHeS IHQ, she leads the coordination and development of this national infrastructure, which is supported by an £80 million investment from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to enhance collaboration, capacity and innovation across heritage and conservation science.
Conference programme
SMA is pleased to welcome an excellent line-up of 10 speakers:
- Julian D Richards: Introducing the Heritage Science Data Service
- Emma Brownlee: ‘Wiggle-matching’ people: Towards a generational chronology in medieval cemeteries
- Aleks McClain and Gerard Barret: Radiocarbon dating lime mortar in medieval English churches
- Gareth Perry and Dawn Hadley: New insights into old problems: Archaeometric analysis of Stafford Ware
- Yannick Signer: New tools for old pots: Using archaeometric methods to reconstruct and contextualise the development of pottery production in medieval Yorkshire
- Kutsi Akcicek: Multi-Technique Dendrochronological and Archaeometallurgical Investigation of Timber and Ironwork at Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire
- Samantha Jones, Ewan Campbell and N Holliday: Farmers, monks and raiders: exploring cultural and environmental transitions in the Inner Hebrides during the 1st millennium AD
- Sam Leggett: Everything and the Kitchen Sink: High-resolution Scientific Approaches to Early Medieval Populations
- Michelle Alexander, Jasmine Lundy, Oliver Craig, Maite Idris García-Collado: New Biomolecular Insights into Foodways in the Medieval Multifaith Societies of Iberia
- Lucy Koster: Isotopic insights into childhood in urban Medieval Flanders
The full programme is available online here: View programme
Event details
- Date: Saturday 19 September 2026
- Location: The Guildhall York, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QN
- Time: 09:30 to 18:00 GMT
How to register
Further details and registration are available via Eventbrite.
Kindly note that RICHeS is unable to offer funding for travel or accommodation.
