Reflecting on PGRAS 2014
The last two weeks have given us all time to reflect on PGRAS 2014 and what we were able to take away from the symposium.
We kicked off on Thursday 22nd May with a session entitled âThinking and Doing in Archaeologyâ, which was concerned with looking in detail at the methodological and theoretical constructs that Southampton PGRs are making use of in their research. A really diverse range of thought-provoking topics were presented, ranging from art to emotion, which gave rise to some stimulating discussion and set the tone for the rest of the symposium.
That day, we went on to hear papers on âExchange and Contact on the Fringes of the Mediterraneanâ and, despite some technical issues, we were able to connect with students from far flung corners of the world and hear their presentations via Skype â appropriate given the theme of the session, which focused on communication and interaction. Day one finished with a session on âMuseums, Heritage Management and Public Engagementâ, where we heard about the fantastic work our PGRs are doing within the vital sphere of connecting academia to the wider world and making archaeology relevant to everyone. Following a successful first day of papers and discussion we headed to the Crown Inn for some well-earned pints and relaxation.
Day two began with a session on âSettlements, Migration and Social Landscapesâ, which covered a diverse range of archaeological periods and geographical locations, from Mesolithic Britain to Late Postclassic Mexico. Following this was a session on âThe Archaeologies of Technological Innovationâ. Students from CAHO gave the first group of papers, focusing on lithic technology, while the second half of the session comprised students from the CMA, talking about some of the complex technologies involved with seafaring, and its related activities happening on dry land. The afternoon began with talks on âNew Approaches in Computational Archaeologyâ, where we were able to see the fruitful results of Southampton Archaeology Departmentâs engagement with computing technology. The final papers of the day were on another of Southamptonâs strengths, osteology, and made up the âOld Bones, New Storiesâ session.
Following this we handed out prizes for this yearâs photo competition, logo competition and archaeology buzzword bingo, after which we were treated to an excellent keynote speech by Dr Alistair Pike, who enlightened us on his research in the field of isotopic analysis. While his paper focused partly on the technicalities of âdoing isotopesâ, as he put it, he also spoke about using these techniques to bring us closer to the lives of individuals in the past and to âgive life backâ to those individuals. This potent message rounded off the symposium perfectly, summing up what many of us are attempting to do on a day-to-day basis and giving us all food for thought.
With that we proceeded to the atrium of the Archaeology Department for a fabulous drinks reception and itâs safe to say, I think, that a good time was had by all, courtesy of a monumental amount of ale!
All thatâs left to say is that the committee would like to sincerely thank all the speakers, chairs, competition entrants and everyone who contributed to the running of the cake stall and book stall and who donated to both. Weâre pleased to say that between these stalls we raised an amazing ÂŁ430.87 for Naomi House Childrenâs Hospice, and that this amount will be added to during the upcoming Buildings and the Body Symposium on the 27th-28th June.
Thank you everyone for a fabulous two days, see you next year!