War: What is it Good For? Conflict and Defence in Roman Iron Age and Early Medieval Europe
The 77th Sachsensymposion will take place in Aberdeen, Scotland from 29th August - 2 September 2026.
Considering both conflict and defence in archaeology illuminates how human societies experience, organise, and respond to violence, examining both the traces of conflict itself and the structures built to resist or manage it.
Originating from early antiquarian interest in fortifications and traditional military history, the field has grown into a multidisciplinary endeavor that integrates battlefield studies, fortification analysis, environmental reconstruction, and the study of social responses to warfare. Over time, archaeologists have shifted from cataloguing weapons, ramparts, and battlefield deployment to exploring the wider landscapes of conflict and defence, using tools such as GIS, LiDAR, geophysics, and forensic analysis to reveal how conflict and defence shapes terrain, settlement patterns, and long-term cultural experience and memory.
Modern approaches emphasise not only the physical evidence of battles, trauma, and defensive architecture, but also the social, political, and ideological contexts in which these forms of material culture were created and used. This holistic perspective underscores how conflict and defence influence identity, power relations, movement through landscapes, and the structuring of communities across the longue durée.
Reflecting this broadening scope, the 77th Sachensymposion Conference will bring together scholars to explore a range of interconnected themes in Roman Iron Age and Early Medieval Europe, including:
- Conflict archaeology
- Defence
- Hillforts and defended settlements
- Burial record and weaponry
- Material culture
- The iconography of conflict
- Socio-anthropological models of warfare
- The longue durée: conflict in the long-term
- Kingship, clientship and warrior culture
The conference will predominantly take place at the University of Aberdeen's Old Aberdeen campus, but there will also be opportunities to explore other areas of the city and the wider region at social events and on the mid conference excursion.
Through the meeting of our society and sustained dialogue the conference will aim to highlight the rich and evolving ways in which history, archaeology and scientific approaches continues to deepen our understanding of human conflict and defence across the Roman and early medieval periods. The conference will showcase recent developments in the study of fortified settlements in late Roman and early medieval Britain, alongside talks from colleagues across Europe that will explore the broader themes of the conference.