The members of the organisation of the IV International Congress on Ancient Thermalism, to be held in Vichy (France) on 26, 27 and 28 May, on the theme of ‘The present and future of Roman healing spas: Investigation, promotion and protection of thermal heritage’, is pleased to share with you the provisional programme of this event that will be updated regularly on the Congress webpage.
We are very grateful with the response to this congress, as we have received a very large number of proposals for papers!!! They have been evaluated by our scientific committee to verify the relevance of the proposed topics, as well as their suitability for a congress mainly focused on archaeological studies of classical buildings for the use and exploitation of mineral-medicinal waters since ancient times. We would like to thank you very much for your interest in participating in this ‘thermal meeting’ with such suggestive and high quality proposals that will surely be a source of inspiration and constructive discussion for the present challenges on this heritage.
Please, remember that if you want to participate, you have to inscribe yourself at the same site of the Congress. Registration is compulsory and free of charge. Please do so as soon as possible for organisational reasons. The deadline for registration is 10th May.
Thus, the congress will start with a visit to the interesting and historical thermal village of Néris-les-Bains on Sunday 25th, a site particularly rich in terms of materials from the two Roman thermal complexes discovered there. After, from Monday 26th to Wednesday 28th, the thematic sessions will take place at the Vichy campus of the Université Clermont Auvergne, 1 avenue des Célestins.
The conference has been divided into 3 thematic sessions, including a special poster session about the legacy of Antiquity and thermalism today. The subjects will be:
1. Studying ancient healing spas: a new look at old data and interpretations in the light of recent research
2. Studying ancient healing spas: new tools, new approaches
3. Preserving, restoring and promoting thermal heritage: challenges and strategies
Also, on Tuesday 27th, we will celebrate a General meeting and discussion about the archaeological thermal network, in order to share and discuss about the different ways to reinforce our international collaboration.
Furthermore, as the title of this IV Conference presents, this meeting is focused on ‘The present and future of Roman healing spas: Investigation, promotion and protection of thermal heritage’. In fact, we understand that it is a very fragile heritage that must be widely studied in order to know it better and thus be able to protect it and enjoy it for us and our future generations. So, this congress can be a wonderful opportunity to identify problems and gaps in our research, and to point out new solutions to the challenges of studying ancient thermalism.
We look forward to discussing all these issues at Vichy and to exchanging experiences, challenges and opportunities within the “thermal family” we are creating.
See you in Vichy !
Elise, Lise and Silvia
