Archaeological Conferences

conferences of Russian archaeologists. These conferences were held in various cities; the dominant subjects of the reports presented were connected with the history and archaeology of the region in which the particular conference was being held. The archaeological conferences issued Trudy, in which reports and accounts of archaeological operations were published. The following archaeological conferences were held: first—in Moscow in 1869, second—in St. Petersburg in 1871, third—in Kiev in 1874, fourth—in Kazan in 1877, fifth—in Tiflis in 1881, sixth—in Odessa in 1884, seventh—in Yaroslavl in 1887, eighth—in Moscow in 1890, ninth—in Vil’no in 1893, tenth—in Riga in 1896, 11th—in Kiev in 1899, 12th—in Kharkov in 1902, 13th—in Ekaterinoslav in 1905, 14th—in Chernigov in 1908, and 15th—in Novgorod in 1911. The 16th archaeological conference, which was planned for Pskov in 1914, did not take place because of the onset of World War I.

Prior to each conference, intensive archaeological operations would be carried out in the region in which the conference was planned. Archaeological exhibitions were prepared for the conferences, and archaeological excursions and expeditions were arranged. These conferences usually attracted several hundred participants. The sessions lasted about two weeks, with several sections meeting simultaneously. In addition to purely archaeological questions, reports were presented on historical geography, ethnology, art history, the history of language and literature, numismatics, and so forth. The archaeological conferences aided the development of archaeological and historical studies in Russia as well as the spread of interest in archaeological remains to the general public.

In the USSR the archaeological conferences have been replaced by the annual sessions of the history department of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the plenums of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which are devoted to the results of field research. At these sessions and plenums, reports dealing with the results of archaeological expeditions and problems in archaeology are presented. Exhibitions of archaeological materials are also arranged. Archaeologists from every Union republic take part in the work of these sessions.