Written by: Sonja Perić, senior curator
At the end of last month, from May 25 to 27, 2023, the 46th annual meeting and assembly election of the Serbian Archaeological Society was held in Sombor. The City Museum of Sombor was the host and in the best way, with perfect organization and superb hospitality, enabled the gathering of over a hundred experts from the country and the region, who presented new discoveries and achievements in archaeological science in five sections and one session.
The jubilee year, 140 years since the founding of the Serbian Archaeological Society and the founding of the City Museum of Sombor, was marked by work in the sections for prehistoric, classical and medieval archaeology, the section for the protection of archaeological heritage, the section for archaeometry, archaeology, geoarchaeology and experimental archaeology, the section for bioarchaeology and at the session “Living twice” – secondary use of objects and space in the archaeological record.
On the first day of the meeting, after the ceremonial opening, welcoming remarks by Anita Stojakov, member of the City Council for Culture and Education, David Firanja, director of the City Museum of Sombor, and Adam Crnobrnja, president of the Serbian Archaeological Society, and introductory speeches, the work continued at several locations in the city: in the museum, the “Laza Kostić” Cultural Center and the City Hall. Before the opening of the exhibition “The circle of life and death – analysis of other perspectives” and the presentation of the exhibition “The circle of life and death – medieval rings from the archaeological collection of the City Museum of Sombor” and accompanying catalogs, which were authored by Anđelka Putica and Viktorija Uzelac, senior curators archaeologists of the City Museum of Sombor, in the courtyard of the Museum the info panel “Year of Archeology 2025” was held.
On the second day of the meeting, about forty presentations were presented in the morning and afternoon working part, and one of them at the section for the protection of archaeological heritage was the presentation “Systematic archaeological prospecting of the Jagodina region: basic guidelines of the project, principles and methods of research”. The authors of this presentation Petar Milojević, Sonja Perić and Aleksandar Kapuran presented the comprehensiveness of the project that was launched at the beginning of last year in cooperation between the Regional Museum of Jagodina and the Archaeological Institute of Belgrade.
Between the two working parts, the 46th regular Assembly of the Serbian Archaeological Society was held, which was electoral as well. Also, the year 2025, as the jubilee year marking 170 years since the first archaeological research in Serbia, was established as the year of archaeology. In the course of 2025, the intensification of our activities is planned, starting with field research, through museum settings, the presentation of immovable and movable archaeological heritage, to the publication of material and greater presence in print and electronic media. The meeting ended with a visit to the Batina Memorial House.
In addition to the exchange of experiences and acquaintance with new discoveries and results in archaeological science, the participants of this meeting also brought wonderful impressions from the beautiful, hospitable and, in those days, sunny Sombor.
Photos: Jožef Išpanović, Anđelka Putica, Viktorija Uzelac
