EASAA European Assosiation for South Asian Archaeology and Art

Scholars, curators and students from across the globe participated in the conference, among them, many representatives from South Asia.

Delegates were formally welcomed on Monday morning by the host of the event, Professor Adam Hardy, current president of the EASAA. The welcome address was followed by a keynote speech from Dr Catherine Jarrige, one of the founding members of the EASAA. Her talk entitled ‘EASAA and the French Indus Archaeological Mission to Pakistan, in Retrospect’, gave us a fascinating insight into the origins of the EASAA and its initial focus on groundbreaking archaeological exploration in Pakistan. The talk also reminded us of how considerably the scope of the EASAA has broadened over the last four and a half decades, geographically, temporally, and in its inclusion of art, architecture and heritage.

Fifteen panels were held across five days, separated into two groups which loosely speaking, focused on archaeology, and art and architecture respectively. The papers covered an impressive time span of more than one million years, from paleolithic archaeology to 20th century Pakistani truck art. Themes of the panels included Origins; Pre-History in Pakistan, Central Asia and in North-Western India; Gupta and Vākāṭaka History; Central Asia and Gandhara; Heritage, its Conservation and Display; Architecture; Medieval Settlement and Society; Sculpture and Iconography; Oceanic Trade; the Early Historic Period; Prehistoric Seals, Scripts and Iconography; and Painting. There were poster presentations on Thursday afternoon. The talks demonstrated an advancement of knowledge on many fronts and prompted lively debate both in the sessions and onwards into the breaks.