Conference, symposiumScience studies
Subjects
Archaeology Gone Astray: Forgeries, Misinterpretation, and Other Field Stories
UISPP Commission on the History of Archaeology conference
Published on Monday, September 01, 2025
Abstract
This conference, titled “Archaeology Gone Astray: Forgeries, Misinterpretations, and Other Field Stories”, is dedicated to the less glorious —but undeniably fascinating— chapters in the history of archaeology. We’ll delve into everything from notorious forgeries and spectacular blunders to interpretive dead ends and moments of… let’s say, excessive enthusiasm in the field.The event offers a space for reflection, self-reflection, and a bit of humor —because, like any living science, archaeology sometimes takes a wrong turn. Yet, even when it goes astray, it always leads to something interesting.While the main theme centers on the field’s twists, turns, and detours, the program will also feature an open session for participants who wish to present their current research projects.
Announcement
Presentation
This conference, titled “Archaeology Gone Astray: Forgeries, Misinterpretations, and Other Field Stories”, is dedicated to the less glorious —but undeniably fascinating— chapters in the history of archaeology. We’ll delve into everything from notorious forgeries and spectacular blunders to interpretive dead ends and moments of… let’s say, excessive enthusiasm in the field.
The event offers a space for reflection, self-reflection, and a bit of humor —because, like any living science, archaeology sometimes takes a wrong turn. Yet, even when it goes astray, it always leads to something interesting.
While the main theme centers on the field’s twists, turns, and detours, the program will also feature an open session for participants who wish to present their current research projects.
Program
10.15 Conference opening
Forgeries, Misinterpretations, and Other Field Stories
- 10.30–10.50 Tim Murray (University of Melbourne). Archaeologies as wished for. The power of ‘alternative’ histories
- 10.50–11.10 Eliska Petrekova (Masaryk University Brno, Department of Archaeology and Museology). When the Artist Restores the Artifact: The Case of the Painted Vases from Ceglie in Baron Koller’s Collection
- 11.10–11.30 Jakub Linetty (Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica). Mysterious Slavic Universe of Tadeusz Wolański
- 11.30–11.50 Adrianna Szczerba (University of Lódź). Slavic Runes in Dispute: From 19th-Century Polemics to Contemporary Revivals
- 11.50–12.10 Marzena Woźny (Archaeological Museum in Kraków). Gotfryd Ossowski (1835–1897) and the archaeological forgery from the Mnikowska Valley
- 12.10–12.30 Anna Juga-Szymańska (University of Warsaw. Faculty of Archaeology). Don’t believe your eyes. The alleged files of Włodzimierz Antoniewicz
- 12.30–12.50 Sébastien Plutniak (CNRS, France). On the Scientific Fringes of Archaeology: the Contents and Reception of Open and Unsupervised Scholarly Communication Platforms
- 12.50–13.10 Bartłomiej Wyrwas (University of Lódź). Misreadings in Polish Archaeology: A Selection of Examples
13:10 - 14:20 BREAK TIME – Lunch
Current research projects
- 14.20–14.40 Margarita Díaz-Andreu (ICREA and University of Barcelona). Lost melodies: a history of the archaeological study of music and sound
- 14.40–15.00 Santiago Olcina Lagos. (University Institute for Research in Archaeology and Historical Heritage, University of Alicante). The dissemination of pre-Hispanic archaeology at the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition in Seville: a first approach
- 15.00–15.20 Ludwika Jończyk (Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Justyna Liguz, Kwidzyn Castle). Investigating the investigator: Herbert Heym and the afterlife of unpublished East Prussian research
- 15.20–15.40 Harald Gropp (ZAW Heidelberg). Nebra and Coligny and the discussion of archaeoastronomical artefacts
Poster session
- 15.40–15.45 Petr Kostrhun (Moravian Museum). Moravian Glozel
- 15.45–15.50 Harald Gropp (Heidelberg University). Basic material on the sky disc of Nebra and the calendar of Coligny
- 15.50–15.55 Harald Gropp (Heidelberg University). Local archaeological activities vs. official excavations
- 15.55–16.00 Magdalena Malak (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń). Roman Jakimowicz (1889-1951) – first Director of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw and the first head of the Department of Prehistory at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. But what else?
16.00–16.45 Discussion and Conference summary
17.00–18.00 Commission of the History of Archaeology UISPP regular meeting
For UISPP members.
Saturday, September 13
10.00–15.00 Visit of Lodz
Subjects
- Science studies (Main category)
- Society > Science studies > History of science
- Periods > Prehistory and Antiquity > Prehistory
Places
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Lodz - Narutowicza 65
Lodz, Poland
Event attendance modalities
Hybrid event (on site and online)
Date(s)
- Friday, September 12, 2025
- Saturday, September 13, 2025
Attached files
Keywords
- history of archaeology, history of science, history of prehistory, prehistory, prehistoric archaeology, forgery
Contact(s)
- Marzena Woźny
courriel : marzenawoz [at] wp [dot] pl - Adrianna Szczerba
courriel : adrianna [dot] szczerba [at] uni [dot] lodz [dot] pl - Jakub Linetty
courriel : kubalinetty [at] gmail [dot] com
Information source
- Sébastien Plutniak
courriel : sebastien [dot] plutniak [at] cnrs [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Archaeology Gone Astray: Forgeries, Misinterpretation, and Other Field Stories », Conference, symposium, Calenda, Published on Monday, September 01, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/14jzx

