7th Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw “The Past Has a Future!”- news

 

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the 7th Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Archaeology, “Przeszłość ma przyszłość!/ The Past Has a Future!”, which will take place on April 13–17, 2026, at the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Following the tradition of previous years, the conference has been planned as an event of both international and national scope.

We invite you to organise one- or two-day sessions and workshops addressing specific research topics. To foster a deeper dialogue, we encourage involving representatives from other units in the co-organisation of the session. Please note that session organisers collect submissions from participants of their panel and then forward the final programme to the conference organisers.

Those who wish to present their research results outside thematic panels are invited to submit abstracts for the “Archeowieści” reporting session. In this case, please send the registration form directly to us.

To reach the widest possible audience, we encourage organising panels and submitting abstracts in English.

This year, we are accepting submissions until November 30, 2025.

Conference schedule:

30.11.2025 – Submission of thematic sessions or workshops, and abstracts for the “Archeowieści” reporting session
31.12.2025 – Notification of acceptance
13–17.04.2026 – 7th Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, “Przeszłość ma przyszłość!/ The Past Has a Future!”

The registration form should be sent to: wauw_1@uw.edu.pl. Please also direct any questions or comments regarding the conference to this address.

The registration form can be downloaded here.

Organisers: Renata Ciołek, Anna Zapolska (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

For more information see => Numizmatyka na styku dyscyplin – Wydział Archeologii UW

Organisers: Mikołaj Pławiński, Ludwika Jończyk, (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw), Rytis Jonaitis, Irma Kaplūnaitė (Lithuanian Institute of History)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish/English

 

The spread of Christianity in various parts of the vast Baltic region was a long process that lasted for more than half a millennium and gradually transformed all aspects of human life as well as the perception of death and eschatological concepts, and consequently, also the funerary rituals.

The session will focus on discussing the changes – or their absence – in different aspects of daily life, material culture, and burial practices, in all their diversity. The aim of the session is to describe and explain the mechanisms of transformation brought about by the spread of Christianity in different parts of the Baltic region during the last centuries of the first and the early centuries of the second millennium AD.

Organisers: Anna Juga-Szymańska, Paweł Szymański (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

For more information see => Różne oblicza archeologii archiwalnej II – Wydział Archeologii UW

Organiser: Dariusz Błaszczyk (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

 

For more information see => Archeogenetyka – teraźniejszość i przyszłość badań kopalnego DNA w archeologii w Polsce – Wydział Archeologii UW

Organisers: Julia Chyla, Arkadiusz Sołtysiak, Michał Starski (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

For more information see => RADOGOST: cyfrowe dane archeologiczne w praktyce badawczej – Wydział Archeologii UW

 

Organisers: Agata Ulanowska, Monika Kaczmarek, Kinga Winnicka, Katarzyna Żebrowska (Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw), Magdalena Przymorska-Sztuczka (Archaeological Museum in Biskupin), Gerasimoula Ioanna Nikolovieni (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University)

Session format: in-person

Session language: English

Textile tools, specifically clay spindle whorls and loom weights, frequently comprise the basic, albeit indirect, evidence for textile production in past societies. Over the last 20 years, notable progress in textile tools studies has made them not only informative about the qualities of textiles produced using them, but also brought them into the mainstream of archaeological artefacts, which has led to their publication in more comprehensive and comparative ways. However, both spindle whorls and loom weights are only parts of more complex implements and sets, such as spindles and distaffs, and always many tools were required to produce a textile. Textile tools kits included a series of different instruments, either personal or communal, including, e.g. spinning bowls, dyeing implements, carders, combs, metal scissors, metal and bone needles designed for different purposes, pins, hooks, shuttles, weft beaters, so called pin-beaters, various loom-types, and many more, several of which served multifunctional roles. But textile tools kits are found only occasionally, and since tools were frequently dispersed, they are often published separately according to the material from which they were made, while some may still await proper recognition. In this session, we would like to focus on textile tool kits by asking questions about their contexts – domestic, ritual, funerary; their specific functions and purposes, and use-wear; the particular sets of tools that might constitute a kit; their materiality, including a broad range of materials and tool making techniques, and, finally, possible biographies of textile tool kits that made them such unique finds.

Organisers: Marta Kaczanowicz, Anna Wodzińska, Dobrochna Zielińska (Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: English

 

Our aim is to encourage reflection on the changing concept of space in archaeology – how it is defined, experienced, and represented in material sources; how categories such as “public” and “private” have developed in different cultural and historical contexts; and how the boundaries between them are shaped through social practices. We welcome both regional and comparative approaches, encompassing various periods and research traditions. Topics may include, but are not limited to: changing perceptions of space over time, gendered and geographical differences, ritual aspects, and other perspectives that broaden the understanding of this multifaceted phenomenon. We hope this session will become a meeting ground for diverse research traditions and theoretical perspectives, as well as a forum for sharing concrete research results (case studies) that help us understand how space was (and continues to be) created through everyday, ritual, and symbolic practices.

Organisers: Paweł Szymański (Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw), Agata Wiśniewska (The Stefan Woyda Museum of Ancient Mazovian Metallurgy in Pruszków)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

For more information see => Sposoby produkcji ceramiki naczyniowej w starożytności i we wczesnym średniowieczu na terenach dzisiejszej Polski – Wydział Archeologii UW

Organiser: Piotr Jaworski (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

 

For more information see => Miasto z widokiem. 25 lat badań Wydziału Archeologii UW w Ptolemais – Wydział Archeologii UW

Organisers: Katarzyna Pyżewicz, Marcin Wagner (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw), Barbara Wagner (Biological and Chemical Research Centre University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry University of Warsaw)

Session format: in-person

Session language: Polish

 

For more information see => Zabytek archeologiczny w laboratorium – Wydział Archeologii UW

Organisers: Dariusz Błaszczyk, Marta Kaczanowicz, Marcin Wagner (Faculty of Archaeology University of Warsaw)

Session format: stacjonarna/in-person

Session language: Polish/English

 

The presentations in this session will focus on key research problems formulated by scholars in the course of their archaeological investigations. The talks will also serve as an attempt to synthesize and summarize the scientific and research activities of the staff of our Faculty, carried out both individually and within research teams—often formed in collaboration with researchers from various institutions. The session will additionally highlight the role and significance of different disciplines supporting archaeology.

Ancient Skopelos Survey

Heads of Research: Dr. Anthi Batziou (Ephorate of Magnesia, Greek Ministry of Culture), Dr. hab. Agata Ulanowska, prof. ucz. (WAUW), Dr. Filip Franković (Heidelberg University), Prof. dr hab. Peter Pavúk (Charles University in Prague)
Research Location: Skopelos, Northern Sporades, Greece
Type of Research: Surface survey of the entire island
Dating: All chronological phases, with a special focus on the Bronze Age
Webpage: https://askos.archeologia.uw.edu.pl/

Ancient Skopelos Survey (acronym ASkoS)

The Ancient Skopelos Survey (ASkoS, 2024–2028) project is a joint venture (Greek: synergasia) conducted by the Faculty of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw in cooperation with the Ephorate of Magnesia of the Greek Ministry of Culture, under the auspices and with the research permit of the Polish Archaeological Institute at Athens (PAIA), and in collaboration with the Universities of Heidelberg and Charles University in Prague.

The project aims to deepen our knowledge of the communities that inhabited the Northern Sporades in the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. The research focuses on Skopelos—one of the largest, yet still underexplored, islands of the Sporades. Our goal is to identify the role of Skopelos in the context of social, political, and cultural changes occurring during both millennia, including:

  1. Identifying and understanding the settlement network on the island, with a special focus on the processes occurring in the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C.
  2. Connecting these processes with changing environmental conditions.
  3. Connecting these processes with the cultural, socio-political, and economic trends dominant in the Aegean at that time.
  4. Explaining the role of Skopelos in intra- and inter-regional interaction networks in the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C.
  5. Selecting an optimal site for future excavation research.

On May 8th and 9th, 2025, the Faculty of Archaeology building will be closed

Dear Studens,

In accordance with the decision of Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak, Rector of the University of Warsaw, May 8 is the Day of Mourning, without classes and work at the University of Warsaw. The university community is shocked by the brutal murder that took place on the Main Campus of the University of Warsaw. Let the Day of Mourning be a time to reflect on the acts of violence and aggression that occur in the academic space.
May 9th will also be a day off from classes.

 

Laser Scanning (LiDAR) from drones at the Faculty of Archaeology

Archaeological research based on LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), also known as Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), has proven to be a breakthrough in discovering new archaeological sites. Thanks to purchases made under the Dariah Lab program at the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, we now have the ability to use high-resolution scanners at a lower cost.

Non-Invasive and Digital Archeology Laboratory

The Non-Invasive and Digital Archaeology Laboratory offers a research infrastructure including advanced equipment and digital tools that can be made available for academic and research purposes. We offer the possibility of renting specialized equipment to support interdisciplinary archaeological research, including non-invasive and digital technologies.

We also provide consultation on the collection and analysis of archaeological digital data and support in describing it in grant applications. Feel free to contact us.

If you are interested in renting equipment, please contact us by email at panic[at]uw.edu.pl for details on availability and rental terms.

Our offer includes:

  • Basic Computer Package (BCP)
  • Basic Photographic Package (BPP)
  • Basic Survey Package (BSP)

In addition, we offer the possibility of renting advanced Digital Archaeology Packages (DAP), which we make available with specialized support.

A detailed description of the available packages will be made available at a later date.

Regulations for lending infrastructure and acceptance protocol

Insurance of equipment for an overseas trip

Information about PANIC

PANIC meetings are held every third Thursday of the month, at 10:00 am

head of the department:
dr Julia Chyla

staff:
dr hab. Adam Cieśliński, prof. ucz.
Dr. Miron Bogacki
Dr. Nazarij Buławka
Grzegorz Czajka, MA
Dr. Rafał Fetner
Dr. Luis Ricardo Neves Fernandes
Dr. Michał Grabowski
Dr. Piotr Makowski
Dr. Szymon Jellonek
Łukasz Jarmużek, MA
Grzegorz Kuś, MA
Ireneusz Nazaruk, MA
Marek Truszkowski, MA
Konstanty Kowalewski

PhD Candidates:
MA Marek Baczewski
MA Weronika Bałdyga
MA Joachim Martecki
MA Piotr Prejs
MA Jakub Stępnik

Students:
BA Jędrzej Szymanek

Pyżewicz Katarzyna

PhD Katarzyna Pyżewicz
dr hab. Katarzyna Pyżewicz
The Head of Archaeology (Studies in English)
Stone Age Department
Laboratorium Archeologicznych Analiz Specjalistycznych

Representative for Equality

e-mail:
k.pyzewicz@uw.edu.pl

office hours:
Tuesday 01.00 p.m. – 02.30 p.m, room 0.30
Thursday 11.30 a.m. – 01.00 p.m, room 0.30

research interests:
– Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology
– use-wear analysis
– lithic studies
– experimental archaeology

bibliography:
ResearchGate
Academia.edu