The MeRit team have just enjoyed a successful session at our first conference as a project, presenting some early results and meeting a wide range of colleagues from across Europe. We were delighted with the response to our call for papers. On 29 August 2024 we were in Rome, and throughout the day learned lots from a total of 18 presentations in our session. Kindly sponsored by the European Medieval Finds network and Medieval Europe Research Community, our session at the 30th European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) Annual Meeting was entitled ‘United Europe of Things? Materialities Creating Medieval Ritual Landscapes (c. AD 1000-1550)’.
Starting bright and early, we heard from colleagues exploring how people in the Middle Ages engaged with objects and landscapes as they lived out their religious beliefs. Contributions took us across Europe: from Scotland to Spain, and from Poland to Italy. We heard case studies from the MeRit project team from England, as well as discussion of more interpretative frameworks, both theoretical and computational.
This was the sixth session organised under the theme of a ‘United Europe of Things?’, and, through the MeRit project, the first to be given a specific topic to consider – namely, how medieval ritual landscapes were conceived and created. Consideration was given to materiality at a variety of scales: from the single object and its biography, via the church and churchyard, to the wider landscape, and its own deep history. We thank all those who joined us in Rome and online, and look forward to reconnecting with all who presented and those interested in our project at future conferences!