The CRASIS Mortuary Ritual Network would like to invite you to their conference „Grave Goods – from Antiquity to the Modern Era. Theoretical Approaches to the Mortuary Ritual of Gift-Giving“, which will take place on 22-23 October 2026 at the University of Groningen. The confirmed key-note speaker is Professor Michael Parker Pearson (UCL).
This conference explores the ritual of gift-giving to the dead from an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural perspective. Scholars, students and professionals from various backgrounds are invited to partake in a dialogue about the material variations in the practice and the multitude of motivations that may have guided it. With this, we hope to challenge common assumptions about the interpretation of grave goods and gain a more nuanced understanding of how and why people give to the dead.
Proposals for a paper or poster contribution (English, ca 200 words, in PDF or Word format) should be sent to both John Turco (j.turco(at)rug.nl) and Tamara Dijkstra (tdijkstra(at)fryske-akademy.nl) before 1 May 2026. For more information, please consult the attached file containing the full call for papers.
Warm regards,
Sara Hutchinson
CRASIS Secretary
on behalf of the CRASIS team
University of Groningen
CRASIS is the Groningen institute for Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture, Religion and Society of the Ancient World. Follow CRASIS on Instagram or find out more about us on www.rug.nl/crasis.