Symposium

L.A.S. Terra symposium 2026: Cause to celebrate

Date

Thursday 7 May 2026 - Friday 8 May 2026

Address

Van Steenis | Wereldmuseum Leiden | National Museum of Antiquities

L.A.S. Terra’s yearly symposium, in collaboration with A.S.I.A., is proud to present the theme “CAUSE TO CELEBRATE” for 2026! Join us on May 7th and 8th for two days packed full of lectures, museum tours, and workshops. Expect riveting discussions of celebrations in Islamic Spain, protective deities and their festivals in early modern east Asia, prehistoric rituals in Japan, and more. Additionally, we will be providing opportunities for workshops at the Wereldmuseum, as well as tours of collections at the Wereldmuseum and RMO.

On May 7th, speakers will discuss topics relating to Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Levant, with a diverse selection of celebration types. Following this, curator Daniel Soliman will provide a tour of the Egyptian gallery at the RMO in the context of celebratory practices.

On May 8th, we’ll switch to the continent of Asia for more exciting talks from experts in the fields of archaeology and history. Additionally, in the morning there are available tours and Chinese calligraphy workshops at the Wereldmuseum. The program will conclude with faculty drinks open to all.

● No registration is required for lectures at Van Steenis

● Registration is needed for workshops and tours, but all are free

● Coffee and tea breaks are provided!

Schedule day one: Europe, the Mediterranean and the Levant

12:00: Opening of the Symposium

12:15: Superstition at Sea: How celebration and fear have formed maritime cultures, Professor Martijn Manders

13:00: Non-elite dining in early-Islamic North Syria: preliminary results from a rural Euphrates site, Weston Kennedy, PhD

13:45: Community, convivencia, and control in Umayyad al-Andalus, Milena Blokzijl, MA

Coffee Break

15:00: Celebrating past lives: an early medieval cemetery from Dorestad, Professor Letty ten Harkel

15:45: Materialising celebration: Votives, feasting, & funerary display in Central Tyrrhenian Italy, Dr. Martina Revello Lami

16:30: What did the dead drink? A study into Corded Ware and Bell Beaker vessel content, Frank Wiersema, MA

19:15: Evening celebrations tour of RMO’s Egyptian collection by curator Daniel Soliman

Schedule day two: Asia

9:30-11:30: Celebrations tour of Wereldmuseum and Chinese calligraphy workshop

12:00: Opening of Lectures Day 2

12:15: Walking the Buddha’s Life: Narrative, Colour, & Celebration in Gandharan Stupas, Noud Visser, RMA

13:00: Celebrating Arabian Oases: Ancient Heritage Landscapes or Orientalist Lies? Professor Jennifer Swerida

13:45: Celebrations in Prehistoric Japan, Dr. Ilona Bausch

Coffee Break

15:00: Netsuke: immaterial culture in material miniature, Luca van Leeuwem, LU alumni

15:45: Celebrating the Demon Queller Zhong Kui/Shōki in Early Modern East Asia, Dr. Fan Lin & Dr. Doreen Müller

16:30: Islamic Coins, Lasting Insights: Celebrating the People and Scholarship Behind the Field, Jonathan Ouellet, PhD

17:15: Drinks reception at Van Steenis

Registration and practicalities

All lectures at Van Steenis are walk-in. Tours and workshops with the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden and Wereldmuseum are free with registration. For more information on registration and practicalities, please check our website

L.A.S. Terra website