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International archaeology forum opens in Poznań
Researchers from around the world are gathering in Poznań this week for the 21st World Congress of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, known as UISPP 2026. The five-day meeting runs from 31 August to 4 September at Adam Mickiewicz University, where the university’s Faculty of Archaeology is helping to organise the programme.
The congress is being held in Poland for the first time. Adam Mickiewicz University expects approximately 800 participants, making the event one of the largest international academic meetings hosted by the university this year. Its theme, “Archaeology in Motion: Past Lessons, Future Responsibilities”, places research methods, interpretation and the long-term responsibilities of archaeology at the centre of the discussion.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for 31 August in the university’s Aula. The programme includes a keynote lecture by Barbara Barich of Sapienza University of Rome, alongside welcome addresses from the university and UISPP. Further sessions during the week will bring together specialists working on different periods, regions and archaeological approaches.
From field evidence to broader questions
UISPP describes its world congress as a platform for prehistoric and protohistoric research across geographical and disciplinary boundaries. The Poznań edition includes academic sessions, plenary lectures and meetings of specialist commissions. The format allows researchers to compare evidence from distant regions while also examining how new tools and changing public expectations are influencing archaeological work.
That breadth is reflected in the congress motto. “Archaeology in Motion” points not only to the movement of past communities, objects and ideas, but also to the changing practice of archaeology itself. Researchers increasingly combine excavation with laboratory analysis, digital documentation, environmental studies, landscape research and public history. The meeting offers an opportunity to discuss how those strands can be connected without losing sight of the evidence on which interpretations depend.
The organisers have also built a substantial programme around Poland’s archaeological heritage. Scientific excursions are planned to sites and institutions including Ostrów Lednicki, Gniezno, Biskupin, Krzemionki, Raj Cave, Kraków and the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Delegates will also visit the Archaeological Museum in Poznań, linking the academic programme with collections and places that document different stages of the region’s past.
Poznań’s role as a research meeting place
Hosting the congress strengthens Poznań’s profile as a centre for archaeological education and research. Adam Mickiewicz University is one of Poland’s major research universities, and its Faculty of Archaeology provides the institutional base for the event. For students and early-career researchers, an international congress of this scale can offer access to specialist discussions, professional networks and examples of research practice from outside Poland.
The event also connects university work with the city’s cultural infrastructure. Poznań’s historic centre, museums and nearby archaeological sites form part of the setting in which the congress is taking place. This relationship matters for a field that depends on both specialist knowledge and public engagement. Archaeological research gains value when discoveries are documented carefully, interpreted responsibly and made understandable to communities.
International academic gatherings can also have a practical effect beyond the conference rooms. They create opportunities to compare standards, develop joint research ideas and exchange experience in conservation, fieldwork and heritage presentation. The excursions planned for UISPP 2026 give visiting researchers a direct view of how Polish institutions preserve and communicate archaeological evidence.
Looking towards future responsibilities
The congress comes at a time when archaeology is addressing several connected questions: how to use increasingly sophisticated analytical technologies, how to protect sites and landscapes, and how to make research accessible while maintaining scholarly accuracy. These issues are relevant not only to specialists but also to schools, museums, local authorities and communities whose identities are connected to historic places.
By bringing those questions into one international programme, UISPP 2026 presents archaeology as an active research discipline rather than a study limited to the distant past. The meeting’s focus on future responsibilities highlights the need to balance discovery with documentation, preservation and open communication.
For Poznań, the congress provides a week-long concentration of expertise. For Poland, it marks the country’s first opportunity to host the UISPP World Congress. Its combination of international research, university teaching and visits to archaeological heritage sites makes the event a constructive development in the country’s science and education calendar.
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