Cremation practices in Frankish Gaul (5th – 9th centuries) – 4th Gaaf Rendez-vous
Du Wednesday 11 March au Thursday 12 March 2026
Caen
Registration for the 4th Gaaf Rendez-vous around the cremation practices in Gaul is now open!
The conference will be held in Caen (France), at the Maison de la Recherche en Sciences Humaines, 11 and 12 March 2026.
Cremation burials in the early medieval Gaul are traditionally regarded either as the occasional survival of ancient funerary practices, or as evidence of contact with Germanic groups. The few early medieval cremation burials found in Frankish Gaul are either often ignored or undervalued, reinforcing a limited and biased understanding of funerary practices in the early Middle Ages. This approach is based more on disciplinary and technical issues than historical ones. However, the evolution of the archaeology discipline, together with the increasing use of radiocarbon dating, have led to the identification of a growing corpus of early medieval cremations, prompting a reassessment of this practice and its reconsideration as an integral part of early medieval funeral rites.
This Gaaf Rendez-vous aims to be a time for reflection and cross-disciplinary discussions over two days: the first day will be devoted to case-study and regional synthesis presentations, followed by a half-day of discussions aimed at producing a comprehensive overview of cremation practices in early medieval Frankish Gaul.
Registration via HelloAsso
See below for the programme!
Organizing Committee : Erwan Nivez (Inrap, UMR 6298 Artehis)Vanessa Brunet (Inrap, UMR 6273 Craham)Astrid A. Noterman (Uppsala University, UMR 7302 Cescm)
Organisation contact :
- caen2026@gaaf-asso.fr
Scientific and financial partners : DRAC NormandieUMR 6273 Craham UMR 6298 ArtehisInrap