HomeArchaeology of Vernacular Buildings (15th-20th c.)

Archaeology of Vernacular Buildings (15th-20th c.)

Pour une archéologie de l’habitat vernaculaire (XVe-XXe siècle)

13th International Congress of the Society for Medieval, Modern and Contemporary Archaeology

13e congrès international de la Société d’Archéologie Médiévale, Moderne et Contemporaine (SAMMC)

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Published on Friday, May 23, 2025

Abstract

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The 13th international conference of the the Society for Medieval, Modern and Contemporary Archaeology aims to examine the contributions of an archaeological approach to vernacular architecture in both rural and urban settings. The time frame covers the 15th to early 20th centuries, in a geographical area corresponding to France and its overseas “départements” and “régions”, as well as Europe more broadly.

Announcement

Français English

Argument

In the final years of the 1970s, under the influence of Anglo-Saxon "vernacular architecture studies", the adjective "vernacular" gradually came to be used in France to designate housing that had previously been called "traditional". 

Based on the work of researchers such as Bernard Rudofsky in the U.S., Eric Mercer in the U.K., Christian Lassure in France and François Varin in Canada, the definition of vernacular housing is that a building of popular essence, the fruit of a specific geographical, social, economic and cultural context, adopting largely local architectural models, construction techniques and materials, while being able to assimilate external influences over time as new needs emerge.

The concept of "vernacular buildings" has usefully replaced the concept of "traditional buildings", thus taking much better account of the dimension of chronological evolution as opposed to the fixist and fundamentally achronic dimension of "traditional", even if the adjective "vernacular" is not itself free of difficulties, taking little account of questions of social distinction: the vernacular housing is the housing of the majority, that of the lower or median social strata, but this does not at all exclude the existence of a hierarchy within them.

It has to be said, however, that the notion of "vernacular housing" has essentially been used by researchers - particularly in France - to designate, in a reductive manner, the old rural buildings still visible in elevation in the 20th century, and particularly the peasant buildings that have gradually come to be considered the essential component of so-called "vernacular" architecture. While in quantitative terms, given the proportion of the population represented by peasants (in all their diversity) in Europe up until the Second World War, the peasant dwelling may indeed play this role, it is far from being the only representative, and it is what this conference aims to show.

Although long neglected by scholars, vernacular buildings, in all their variety, represent the vast majority of buildings produced in pre-industrial and even early industrial societies. Initially mass product, these buildings are nonetheless extremely fragile and subject to constant erosion, which has accelerated since the second half of the 20th century. Renovation, often using unsuitable materials, and transformation, more or less haphazardly, to meet the aspirations of contemporary lifestyles, pose a continuing threat to its integrity and preservation.

With a view to exploring the field of post-medieval archaeology, our conference will narrow the scope of its studies to the most recent period, focusing on the 15th to 19th centuries, from the very end of the Middle Ages to the early years of the 20th century.

Even if in the early 1960s, with the creation of the Inventaire général des richesses artistiques de la France, France had already equipped itself with the tools to invest in this field, French archaeologists - a latecomer compared to some northern European countries and North America - have only taken an interest in modern and sub-contemporary vernacular buildings since the end of the 20th century, in close connection with the exponential growth of preventive archaeology, which has led to a continuous renewal of archaeological fields of investigation.

While the notion of "vernacular building" spontaneously conjures up images of the rural world, the conference aims to move beyond this restricted field (which is far from being as studied as it is) to address the issue in the urban world (from market towns to cities) and peri-urban spaces, such as suburbs, whose importance has grown steadily from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day.

The angles of approach can be quite diverse and intersecting, around:

  • the question of the natural conditions of construction (which, without falling into geographical determinism, must not be excluded as has sometimes been the case)
  • the question of the social and economic constraints of construction;
  • the condition of the occupants/builders: from the housing of the servile populations of colonial estates to that of small local elites, whether secular (seigniorial officers, notaries, doctors, etc.) or religious (priests, beguinage…), via that of peasants, craftsmen and shopkeepers or city workers;
  • the question of plan and elevation (bearing in mind the dynamic aspect of the building and its possible evolution, particularly in terms of function);
  • the question of materials, their availability and their use;
  • the question of the influence of scholarly and prestigious architecture on lesser-ranked architecture, and the dissemination of models;
  • the question of the lexicon of construction, in relation to the diversity of vocabularies linked to these architectures;
  • the historiography of one or more aspects of the subject.

The geographical area of study will include mainland France and the French overseas regions (with the specific features of these areas, many of which were colonial), as well as Europe. Studies may focus on individual housing, but also on collective housing such as urban apartment buildings.

Although proposals with an archaeological dimension are primarily expected, the congress organizers also wish to encourage proposals from researchers in other disciplines, if possible in collaboration with archaeologists, whose contributions could help these same archaeologists in their thinking.

The congress will conclude with a round-table discussion on the study, conservation, restoration and enhancement of vernacular-built heritage.

Submission guidelines

Contributions to the congress will be made in French or English, either in the form of a 20 mn oral presentation or a poster.

Proposals for oral presentations must be received,

by June 30, 2025, the deadline for submissions.

They should be accompanied by a title, an abstract of no more than 3,000 characters, a short bibliography of the author(s) and a short biographical sketch.

Proposals for posters must also be submitted

by June 30, 2025.

They should be accompanied by a title and an abstract of no more than 2000 characters, as well as a short biographical sketch.

Proposals for papers and posters must be submitted online at: https://forms.gle/MenbVCKirdf6wPUS9

Please name the files as follows:

  • NAME of author(s)_POSTER
  • NAME of author(s)_COMMUNICATION

(Travel and accommodation expenses for speakers at the conference will not be covered. However, the SAMMC may, upon request, assist non-statutory speakers)

For further information, contact: sammc-congres-rennes2026@univ-rennes2 or pierre-yves.laffont@univ-rennes2.fr

Scientific Committee

  • Jean-Yves Dufour (Inrap, ArScan-UMR 7041)
  • Arielle Gévaudan-Dené (Ministère de la Culture, Service de l’archéologie de Martinique)
  • David Gucker (Office cantonal d’archéologie du Valais, Suisse)
  • Bénédicte Guillot (Inrap, Craham-UMR 6273)
  • Ivan Lafarge (Institut national du patrimoine)
  • Pierre-Yves Laffont (Université Rennes 2, CReAAH-UMR 6566)
  • Élisabeth Loir-Mongazon (Inventaire de la Région Bretagne)
  • Nicolas Payraud (Ministère de la Culture, Service régional de l’archéologie Grand Est)
  • Marie Verbeek (Agence wallonne du patrimoine, Belgique)

Congress organizing committee

  • Léna Denain (Université Rennes 2, CReAAH-UMR 6566)
  • Bénédicte Guillot (Inrap, Craham-UMR 6273, SAMMC)
  • Ivan Lafarge (Institut national du patrimoine, SAMMC)
  • Pierre-Yves Laffont (Université Rennes 2, CReAAH-UMR 6566, SAMMC)
  • Nathalie Molina (Inrap, LA3M-UMR 7298, SAMMC)
  • Fabienne Ravoire (Inrap, Craham-UMR 6273, SAMMC)

Places

  • Université Rennes 2 - campus Villejean
    Rennes, France (35000)

Event attendance modalities

Hybrid event (on site and online)


Date(s)

  • Monday, June 30, 2025

Keywords

  • archéologie, habitat vernaculaire, XVe-XXe s., rural, urbain, France, DROM, Europe

Information source

  • Pierre-Yves Laffont
    courriel : pierre-yves [dot] laffont [at] univ-rennes2 [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Archaeology of Vernacular Buildings (15th-20th c.) », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, May 23, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/14029

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