The eighth annual Post-Medieval Archaeology Congress (PMAC26) will be hosted by the University of Reading in Reading, UK, on 15-17 May 2026.
Click on the headings below to find out more!
> READING HIGHLIGHTS
Reading has a lively history. By the 6th century CE there was a ford across the River Kennet. An account dated 4 January 871 of a battle between the Danes, King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great mentions ‘Readingum’. The Domesday Book records Reading as a substantial English town (in the largest 20%).
The town prospered with the founding of the Abbey in 1121 by Henry I. He requested to be buried within the Abbey grounds. Other royalty buried in the abbey include Empress Matilda, William of Poitiers and Constance of York. Henry III often visited a few times each year. The royal patronage of the abbey made it a pilgrimage centre. It became one of the richest and most important religious houses of medieval England. Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries destroyed much of the religious structures in 1538.
More recently, Reading is famous for the ‘four Bs’ – beer, bulbs, biscuits, and bricks. The Bs refer to the companies H & G Simonds (beer), Sutton and Sons (bulbs), Huntley & Palmers (biscuits), and S & E Collier (brickmakers). These businesses developed from the late 18th Century and continued in the town into the late 20th century.
> THINGS TO DO
Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) is the pre-eminent museum and archive for the study of the history of British agriculture, the countryside, and rural society. Museum exhibits feature objects relating to agricultural practices, rural crafts, technological innovation, and the diversity and complexity of rural life. MERL archives include documents and ephemera of agricultural engineering firms such as Ransomes, seed producers such as Suttons, and trade literature. Many landscape architecture businesses record hundreds of individual farms across the UK. They reveal day-to-day farming routine dating back to the 17th century. Records and testimony made by people include the memoirs of children evacuated to the countryside during the Second World War; research papers of scientists Hugh Macdonald Sinclair and R.G. Stapledon and the historian W.E. Tate; and documents from the author H.E. Bates and the poultry expert David Scrivener.
Reading Museum in the city centre has excellent permanent galleries and changing exhibitions throughout the year. Outstanding collections include the contemporary Aldermaston Pottery, 300 Huntley and Palmer biscuit tins, and a fine Victorian copy of the Bayeaux Tapestry. The Sir John Madejski Gallery is home to a wonderful art collection. The Silchester Gallery displays finds from the Roman town. The Story of Reading begins in prehistory but also has major medieval and post-medieval archaeology collections on show.
The University of Reading Whiteknights campus was known during the Norman Conquest as the Manor of Earley. The Marquess of Blandford acquired the estate in 1798. He invested substantially in library acquisitions and elaborate gardens. The legacy of his interest in the diversity of plants is an impressive range of tree plantings that visitors can enjoy in a self-guided campus Tree Walk. PMAC26 conferencegoers can also enjoy a self-guided nature trail, including getting lost in the Wilderness, feeding the ducks that call Whiteknights Lake home, and looking out for springtime butterflies on the Meadows and bees on the Pollinator Lawns,. Visit the Rewilding Area to see the change over time, and enjoy the Wooded Meadows. The beautiful cherry trees of the Harris Garden will be in bloom in May. The trail takes roughly 30 minutes to walk around and can be completed as a circular walk, starting and finishing close to central campus bars and cafes, or visited in sections.
Park House on the Whiteknights Park campus of the University of Reading. By Chris j wood – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Cherry tree circle at the Harris Garden on the Whiteknights Park campus of the University of Reading. By Chris j wood – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
> CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Ticket prices for PMAC26 will be available when registration opens. Keep in mind, join the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology to benefit from significantly discounted ticket prices, plus all the benefits of membership.
A preliminary programme for PMAC26 will be published here once registration closes. All papers at PMAC26 will be delivered in person.
> TRANSPORTATION AND LODGING
Reading is conveniently located west of London and is a transportation hub, with train and bus connections to all of the London-area airports, including 24-hour RailAir bus service from Heathrow Airport and trains from Gatwick to Reading. The local Reading bus service also has 24-hour service from Reading town centre, including Reading Station, to Whiteknights campus (a 10-15 minute trip). The town centre and Whiteknights campus area have many options for dining and lodging. These hotels are all within a 5-minute drive or bus journey to the University of Reading. The University has also negotiated the best rates with some of the hotels so PMAC26 attendees can book directly with the hotel.