All of our lectures are live streamed and are open to anyone to join us online, Fellows and Non-Fellows.
To view any of our past lectures please visit our YouTube channel.
To view any of our past lectures please visit our YouTube channel.
Join us to celebrate the end of the year with our Annual Christmas Soirée and Mulled Wine Reception.
The meeting will begin with Society business and will be followed by the paper:
by Neil Redfern FSA
To round off our 80th year we are proposing returning to Society of Antiquaries to celebrate our origins, our continued partnership with the Society and to look to the future.
2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the Council for British Archaeology. We evolved out of a series of meetings held at Burlington House under the leadership of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1943 and 1944. The purpose of the meetings was to explore the role and opportunities for archaeology in the post-war reconstruction of the UK historic towns and cities. The key organisations represented in these discussions were SAL and the Congress of Archaeological Societies. The Congress was founded in 1888 as an assembly of local archaeology and history societies throughout the UK. It aimed to promote British archaeology in all its aspects. The Congress was dissolved 1945 after the establishment of the CBA and our first Council meeting was held in Burlington House on 8th March 1944.
The objectives of Congress of Archaeological Societies continue to be at the heart of what the CBA does in promoting research, conservation, and education in archaeology and the widening access to archaeology through effective communication and participation. Local archaeological groups and societies have always been the bedrock of the CBA’s membership with over 500 institutions being members in the early 2000s. Many of these groups and societies were the original members of the congress and CBA membership making this network of local archaeology and history societies the oldest in the UK and probably the world.
Since 1944, we have seen considerable shifts in archaeology, heritage and the management of the historic environment. The disciplines of archaeology and heritage have grown and evolved; commercial archaeology has blossomed; community archaeology has benefitted from substantial Lottery resources. The internet and digital platforms now offer incredible reach and scope to further reimagine how we engage people and participants. Yet since 2015 we have started to see a decline in organisational membership which now stands at 250 institutions. There are several reasons for this including changing demographics, the growth of commercial archaeology, and shifts in society to different ways of participating (especially digitally). Exploring how we sustain this network will be a key objective for the CBA over the next few years.
The CBA is proposing a lecture to reflect on our emergence out of SAL and the critical role the Society played in our early years. Our session will have three parts. Part one will reflect on the foundation of the CBA and the legacy of archaeology over this time. Part two will explore the work and role of the CBA today and part three will look to the future of archaeology from a member of our Youth Advisory Board which was established in 2023.
Admission to the Ordinary Meeting is free as usual but we recommend that you register in advance. We hope Fellows and Affiliates will join us for our annual Mulled Wine Reception, following the miscellany meeting. Admission to Mulled Wine Reception is by ticket only (£10). Guests are welcome!
This event will be both in person at Burlington House and online. Please select the appropriate ticket below.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
