Social & Special Events
Access Information
The Opening Ceremony & Welcome Reception and the Annual Party are free to attend for conference participants and registered accompanying persons (guests) and do not require advance registration.
As capacity is limited, admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Please present your conference badge or other proof of registration (such as your confirmation email or access to the conference app) upon entry.
The MERC Party is a paid event and requires advance registration.
Conference badges must be worn at all times for entry to scientific sessions and other conference events (Annual Membership Business Meeting, ERC Workshop, etc.).
Opening Ceremony - WATCH LIVE
Date: Wednesday, 26 August
Time: 17:00–19:00
Venue: Propylaea – Athens University Central Building (Panepistimiou Street, near Panepistimio Metro)
How to get there: View map
Price: Free for delegates
The Opening Ceremony officially launches the 32nd EAA Annual Meeting. The programme includes welcome speeches, an introduction to the conference, presentation of the EAA Awards, and may also feature short lectures and cultural performances. It is the formal beginning of the Meeting and an excellent opportunity to meet fellow delegates.
Welcome Reception
Date: Wednesday, 26 August
Time: 19:00–21:00
Venue: Propylaea – Athens University Central Building
Price: Free for delegates
Immediately following the Opening Ceremony, the Welcome Reception offers a relaxed networking opportunity. Light refreshments and drinks will be served while participants meet colleagues from across Europe and beyond in an informal atmosphere.
Annual Party
Date: Thursday, 27 August
Time: 20:00–24:00
Venue: The Old Depo, Ermou Street, Athens (near Kerameikos Metro Station)
How to get there: View map
Price: Free for delegates (includes one welcome drink)
The Annual Party is the conference’s main social event, bringing delegates together for an informal evening of networking, music and entertainment. Entry is included with conference registration and every delegate receives one complimentary welcome drink.
MERC Party
Date: Friday, 28 August
Time: 20:00–24:00
Venue: Ilissia Restaurant, Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens
How to get there: View map
Price: €18.60 (includes one drink and a selection of finger food)
Registration: Advance registration required
The annual gathering of the EAA Medieval Europe Research Community (MERC). This informal evening is designed for archaeologists working on medieval archaeology and provides an opportunity to network with colleagues in a relaxed setting.
The restaurant is located in the gardens of the Byzantine and Christian Museum and can easily be reached using the conference shuttle (Rizari 2 stop, approximately 200 m from the museum).
Annual Membership Business Meeting - JOIN LIVE
Date: Friday, 28 August
Time: 18:45–20:15
Venue: Main Venue (School of Philosophy), Room 434
Click here to join
Passcode: 5764839
You are warmly invited to attend the 2026 EAA Annual Membership Business Meeting which consists of two parts: 1. Informal meeting with Members, 2. Voting.
Part 1. will be an informal hybrid meeting with Members to allow discussion about, and questioning of, the subject of the voting. The agenda of the informal meeting is as follows:
- Opening and welcome
- Minutes of the previous AMBM and Special Meeting circulated in TEA Issue 86 – Autumn 2025
- Matters arising from the Minutes
- Membership Report
- Financial Report
- Membership fee level for 2027
- Oscar Montelius Foundation Report
- Nomination Committee Report and Election Results
- Address by the President
- New Appointments
- EAA Publication Reports
- Appeal and Anti-Harassment Committee Report
- Advisory Committees Reports
- EAA Communities
- Task Force Report
- Statutes Committee Report
- Statutes Amendments
- Location of future Annual Meetings
- Announcement of the 33rd EAA Annual Meeting
Documents for the AMBM speaking to other agenda items will be circulated to Full Individual Members electronically at least fifteen days in advance of the Meeting (cf. EAA Statutes Art. IX/3).
Part 2. of the Meeting, the 2026 EAA AMBM voting, shall be held per rollam, i.e., voting electronically within a given timeframe and under security settings that ensure a single, verified and anonymous vote per Full Individual Member.
Dates:
10 September — Deadline to publish on EAA web the preliminary minutes and video recording of the AMBM informal meeting.
10 September — deadline to provide individualised secured access to an electronic ballot to all Full Individual Members.
10 – 30 September — AMBM voting held per rollam.
16 October — deadline to publish the results of the AMBM voting and final minutes on the EAA website and by e-mail to all Full Individual Members.
Quorum: The quorum for the per rollam ballot consists of 5% of Full Individual Members.
Decisions shall be made by simple majority of the voting Members on issues other than those for changes to the Statutes, which require a two-thirds majority of those voting.
Results of the voting of the AMBM shall be published by 16 October 2026 on the EAA website and by sending these results by e-mail to the electronic addresses of all Full Individual Members.
Funding Opportunities with the ERC
Date: Friday, 28 August
Time: 11:00–13:00
Venue: Main Venue (School of Philosophy), Room 432
This panel will present and discuss funding opportunities offered by the European Research Council (ERC), with a particular focus on archaeology and related fields.
The session will provide an overview of the main ERC funding schemes, including Starting, Consolidator, Advanced and Synergy Grants, and will highlight data on funded projects and emerging research trends in archaeology. Recent and possible future developments in the evaluation procedure will also be discussed.
Participants will gain practical insights into the application and evaluation process through contributions from ERC grantees and panel members. Felipe Criado-Boado (Profesor de Investigación arqueológica del CSIC) and Jun.-Prof. Maria A. Spyrou (Universität Tübingen) will share first-hand experience from both the applicant’s and evaluator’s perspectives, as well as insights into developing and managing a competitive ERC-funded project.
The workshop offers an excellent opportunity for archaeology researchers to better understand the ERC’s expectations and explore how ambitious, curiosity-driven research can be positioned for success.
RA3I: AI-Assisted Documentation and Analysis of Rock Art
Date: Friday, 28 August
Time: 14:00-15:00
Venue: Main Venue (School of Philosophy), Room 432
This one-hour TED Talk-style session introduces RA3I (Rock Art Analysis with Artificial Intelligence), an AI-powered research infrastructure developed to support the documentation, analysis and interpretation of rock art while addressing the ethical challenges of applying AI to cultural heritage. Rock art datasets are often fragmented, inconsistently documented and affected by erosion, poor visibility and other factors that complicate motif identification and comparison.
Through three short presentations, the session will explore the strategic vision behind RA3I, demonstrate its AI-assisted workflow—from photograph to tracing, image enhancement, motif segmentation and similarity search—and present its scientific methodology and validation. Human-in-the-loop validation ensures researchers remain central to the analytical process, while ethical principles such as transparency, traceability, uncertainty reporting and responsible data governance underpin the platform. The s`ession will conclude with an open Q&A, inviting discussion among researchers, heritage professionals, field archaeologists and institutional partners interested in the future of AI-assisted rock art research and preservation.