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Current Archaeology Live! 2026 is coming up quickly, and tickets are selling fast. The conference, held in partnership with University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, will be on Saturday 28 February, at the UCL Institute of Education, near Russell Square in London. During this one-day event you will be able to hear from the experts, learning about the latest archaeological discoveries from across the UK and further afield. During breaks between sessions, you can also browse a diverse range of stalls in the ever-popular Archaeology Fair and, at the end of the day, archaeologist and presenter of The Great British Dig Natasha Billson will announce the winners of this year’s CA Awards, celebrating the people, projects, and publications that have made an outstanding contribution to archaeology. Grateful thanks to Andante Travels, Wessex Insurance Brokers Ltd, Udig Excavations Ltd, and the Royal Archaeological Institute for sponsoring the 2026 awards.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
For those of you who use Bluesky or X, we will be live-tweeting the whole conference, offering everything from snippets of the talks to the results of the CA Awards. Look out for the hashtag #CALive26; we are @CurrentArchaeo on X, and @currentarchaeology.bsky.social on Bluesky.
HOW TO BOOK
Tickets for Current Archaeology Live! 2026 are now on sale. You can book your place at CA Live! 2026 for £65 (student concessions are available); to buy a ticket, please visit http://www.archaeology.co.uk/live.
CONFERENCE DETAILS
For 2026, we will be returning once more to University College London’s Institute of Education, located in the heart of Bloomsbury at 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL.
Russell Square Tube Station (on the Piccadilly Line) is about a five-minute walk away, while Euston Square Tube Station (on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan Lines) and Euston Station are about a ten-minute walk away. King’s Cross St Pancras is also only a 15-minute walk or quick taxi ride away.
You can find the timetable of speakers on the opposite page. The Archaeology Fair (described under the timetable) will be running during both tea breaks and the lunch break, and there will also be a special pop-up banner exhibition highlighting the work of female pioneers of Romano British studies.
PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE
Session 1 (9.30-11am)
Professor Kevin MacDonald (UCL) – An archaeologist of West African empires encounters Roman Britain at Norton (Suffolk), with some thoughts on what makes a villa
Dr Tatiana Ivleva (Newcastle University) and Dr Rebecca Jones (National Museums Scotland) – Women in Romano-British archaeology: not so ‘rude’ and not so ‘terrible’!
Dr Sophia Adams (British Museum) – The massive Melsonby Iron Age Hoard
Session 2 (11.30am-1pm)
Professor Aidan Dodson (University of Bristol) – The archaeology of early literate societies and history-writing: the case of ancient Egypt
Derek Alexander and Dr Daniel Rhodes (National Trust for Scotland) – Pioneering spirit: exploring the archaeology of early whisky-making in Scotland
Naomi Sewpaul (Time Team/Allen Archaeology) – Excavating with water: the importance of environmental archaeology
Session 3 (2-3.30pm)
Professor Andrew Gardner (UCL) – Excavating a legionary storehouse at Caerleon Roman Fortress
Professor Sarah Semple (Durham University) – Yeavering: an early medieval royal site revisited
Diane Abrams (Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal) and Dr Claire Harris (MOLA) – Archaeology: informing the past, present, and future of UK Parliament
Keynote speaker (4-5pm)
Professor David Breeze – A frontier for all seasons: Hadrian’s Wall from 1976 to 2026
The CA Awards results will be announced at 5pm
ALL THE FUN OF THE (ARCHAEO)FAIR
Our exciting Archaeology Fair is back for another year, offering a diverse range of stalls for you to browse in the breaks between sessions. Make sure you stop by to learn about travel, fieldwork, and study opportunities, as well as specialist archaeological services – and to pick up a book or several!
This year’s fair will include our partner for the event, UCL Institute of Archaeology, as well as leading archaeological publishers Archaeopress. For those interested in archaeological travel, you can find out more about expert-led tours and heritage-themed holidays from the likes of Andante Travels, Hidden History Travel, and Kirker Holidays. Information on archaeological fieldwork and studies can be gained from Kent Archaeological Field School and the Royal Archaeological Institute, while you can also learn about the services offered by AS Geospatial Surveys Ltd. There is sure to be something to interest everyone – watch out for further updates in future issues of CA.
Grateful thanks to this year’s award sponsors:
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