Dear colleagues,
The first green tips of snowdrops are just about peeking through the earth here under the box hedges
and flower plots in Copenhagen. We find their presence an apt emblem for the start of 2022. Although
blustery winds and evening frosts still mark the days, there emerge bright spots of green pushing
hopeful fingers up towards the winter sun. These snowdrops are what we wish for you in 2022: that
the new year be filled with hope, and the will and opportunity to thrive.
Like the transition from the depths of winter towards spring, this issue of TEA also marks a slight shift
in the newsletter’s direction. At the close of 2021, we conducted a poll on social media in which we
asked EAA members to give us their thoughts and suggestions on the newsletter’s content and scope.
We are grateful to everyone who took the time to participate! Your input was incredibly useful! While
many readers are relatively satisfied with the current format and content, you also gave us some great
suggestions about new and interesting kinds of content to include. Roughly 85% of those polled
showed average to very high interest in seeing opinion pieces and session reports, 90% have similar
interest in seeing debate pieces, and 95% would like to see more short and discursive research articles.
You also suggested a wider range of shorter pieces and segments overall. As archaeology and
archaeologists continue to diversify their interests, it is difficult to keep an overview of current goingson
across the many specialisms. Thus, this issue and those that follow will attempt to reflect those
desires in their contents lists. However, to do this, we will need your help. Please consider contributing
to TEA and feel free to contact us with ideas or inquiries on the types of offerings that may be of
interest. We look forward to hearing from you!
The deadline for the EAA Budapest 2022 submissions is fast approaching (10 Feb.). As a follow‐on to
the online event arranged by the EAA in collaboration with the Háttér Society (Hungary’s oldest and
largest LGBTQIA+ organization), Róbert Buzsáki from their legal program brings us up to speed on the
current state of affairs for LGBTQIA+ rights and safety concerns in Hungary prior to the AM in Budapest
this year. Staying in Hungary, we also report on recent controversy surrounding the “Kings and Saints:The Age of the Árpáds” exhibition set to open at Szent István Király Museum in Székesfehérvár in
March 2022.
Climate change remains at the forefront of our minds. In this issue, Hollesen et al. provide us a glimpse
of the effects of climate change‐driven deterioration of archaeological heritage in Greenland ,
summing up some of the main findings from the REMAINS of Greenland Project, which was awarded
EAA’s Cultural Heritage Award in 2020.
We have already included some new features in this issue as a direct response to your kind comments
and answers from the survey. These include the ‘In Case You Missed It… ’ section which we have
assembled in collaboration with EAA’s social media team. ‘In Case You Missed it’ is intended to
highlight a small selection of the most exciting highlines in the world of European archaeology that
occur each quarter.
As a follow‐up from the 2021 virtual Annual Meeting in Kiel, Marianne Moen from the Museum of
Cultural History at the University of Oslo offers a session overview of ‘Sacrifice and Value: Seeking ananthropological archaeology of sacrifice.’ Between time of printing and the 28th Annual Meeting, we
would like to encourage similar contributions by session organizers and participants for inclusion in
future TEA issues. As is so often the case with any large conference or meeting, it is impossible to
attend every session, and we hope these overviews might provide an overview of sessions that readers
may have missed.
Also following up from the 2021 Annual Meeting, the Archaeology and Gender in Europe Community
(AGE) offers a short review of their year which also includes a brief overview of the community, and
highlights the community’s events and outputs. We thank the AGE Board for including this overview
in TEA and we look forward to other communities following their example. Did you know that EAA has
no less than 22 active Communities, comprising a broad spectrum of interests? Check them out here.
Speaking of community, sadly, we conclude with obituaries for three members of our European
archaeology community: George Eogan, Marie Zápotocká, and Caroline Wickham‐Jones. May they –
and all those that we have lost in 2021 – be remembered fondly and with gratitude. We express our
sincere condolences to colleagues, friends and family.
In mourning departed colleagues as well as facing the as‐yet‐unknown challenges of 2022, we come
together in an atmosphere of support, professionalism, and above all, care. As individuals and
colleagues, as an organization and as a community within a broadly‐focused discipline, we are all in
this together. So, cross your fingers, mask‐up and sharpen your trowels. 2022 lies ahead, let’s face it
together.
Samantha S. Reiter and Matthew J. Walsh