UGD Organizes Second Symposium on Theoretical Mediterranean Archaeology
The UGD Symposium will be attended by the founder and long-time president of the Spanish Institute for Cultural Heritage, as well as former president of the European Association of Archaeologists, Professor Felipe Criado Boado, European and Dutch academician Warschaus, as well as heads and professors from the world’s highest-ranked universities in the field of archaeology and ancient history: Sapienza, Leiden, University College London, Max Planck Institute in Florence, University of Gothenburg, Polish Academy, Austrian Academy, UNESCO Chair for the Heritage of the Future and several European and regional universities and research centers.
The Symposium on Theoretical Mediterranean Archaeology has been putting Ohrid and Macedonia on the world map of archaeological research and debates for the second year running. The Institute of History and Archaeology of the University “Goce Delcev”, in cooperation with the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and the Ohrid Museum, as well as several partners from Macedonia and the world, is organizing the Symposium, whose first gathering in 2025 was attended by over sixty participants from several universities from the USA, Europe and Asia, as well as professors from six Macedonian universities and several Macedonian museums and scientific institutes.
This year, the International Scientific Symposium on Theoretical Mediterranean Archaeology “Lychnis” will be held from 18 to 20 September at several top locations of the Ohrid and Macedonian cultural heritage. The opening of the Symposium will take place in the Ohrid Icon Gallery, the scientific sessions in the House of Robevci and the House of Uzunov, and the ceremonial closing in the Memorial House of Prlicev. The theme of this year’s symposium is “Mediterranean Archaeology between Empires and Imperialism”, and according to the director of the Symposium and head of the Institute of History and Archaeology at the University “Goce Delcev”, Professor Tevdovski, an international scientific publication is already in preparation that will include contributions from eminent guests and scientists from the country and the world.
The opening of the International Symposium also marks the official celebration of the European Heritage Days in Ohrid, the city of UNESCO. The heads of the University “Goce Delcev” will give their addresses at the opening, and ministers from the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, the director of the Cultural Heritage Administration, the mayor of Ohrid Kiril Petsakov, Metropolitan Georgij, the president of the Chamber of Commerce Branko Azeski and other distinguished guests are expected to attend and address the event.
Notable lecturers at the International Symposium
Prof. Ph.D. Felipe Criado Boado
The first time in Macedonia will be in the period 14-21 September 2026. The stay in Macedonia is at the personal invitation of Prof. Dr. Ljuben Tevdovski, Head of the Institute of History and Archaeology at the University “Goce Delchev”.
The occasion of the visit is the celebration of the European Heritage Days and the ceremonial opening and participation in the 2nd International Symposium on Theoretical Mediterranean Archaeology “Lychnis” in Ohrid.
Prof. Dr. Felipe Criado Boado is a world-renowned scientist and social activist.
Boado is the founder, creator and for more than 15 years the director of the Spanish National Institute for the Study of Cultural Heritage (INCIPIT), which is part of the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).
Boado was the coordinator for humanities and social sciences at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) for many years.
Boado was the president of the European Association of Archaeologists in the period 2015-2021.
Winner of top scientific awards in Spain and internationally.
Professor Boado has taught at the University of Cambridge and the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Professor Boado is the coordinator and principal investigator of the European Research Council (ERC) “Material Minds” project funded by the European Union with 10 million euros. In his project, 5 European institutions with 42 scientists and laboratories are creating a large virtual database and investigating the psychological impact of cultural heritage.
Boado was one of the main protagonists of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 project (European Commission), a member of the European Commission’s Stakeholder Committee and a member of the EU Scientific Committee for the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change.
Academician Miguel John Versluys
Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and Arts (KNAW) and the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea), formed by the British Royal Society.
Head of the Institute for Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology and Director of Doctoral Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, one of the top five universities in the world rankings for more than five years in a row in the field of archaeology and ancient history.
Winner of one of the most prestigious world awards in science, the Humboldt Research Award in 2025.
Editor-in-chief of the Religions of the Greco-Roman World edition of the world-prestigious publisher Brill, editor of fifteen world-prestigious journals in the field of Mediterranean archaeology.
Member of the board of internationally prestigious museum and scientific institutions, such as the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie (Mainz) and the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (National Museum of Antiquities – Leiden).
Holder and principal investigator of the largest European Research Fund (ERC) projects and other major international projects.
Prof. Dr. Emanuela Borgia
Professor of Roman Archaeology and member of the committees of doctoral studies and international projects at Sapienza University in Rome. Its Institute of Ancient Sciences is the absolute world champion ahead of Oxford and Cambridge.
Sapienza University has been ranked first in the world in the field of ancient history for the last six years and in a fight for first place with Cambridge for the last ten years. In the fields of archaeology and art history it is currently the seventh-ranked university in the world.
Professor Borgia has been the leader and member of archaeological teams and international projects at Sapienza for several decades throughout the ancient world (from Italy and Algeria, to Turkey and Iraq).
Professor Andrew Gardner
Professor of Roman Archaeology at the third-ranked university in the world in the field of archaeology, UCL (University College London).
Co-Chair of the University Archaeology Organisation of the United Kingdom, which coordinates 36 Institutes of Archaeology in the United Kingdom.
Co-founder and board member of the world Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC)
International project leader and editor of prestigious British and international journals such as Britannia and Papers from the Institute of Archaeology (PIA).
Prof. Dr. Roderick Salisbury from the University of Buffalo, USA, Fellow of the Austrian Academy and the Comenius University in Bratislava. Editor of prestigious journals such as The European Archaeologist (TEA), Journal of World Anthropology and others.
Dr. Lukasz Sokolowski from the Max Planck Institute in Florence and the Polish Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Prof. Dr. Lejla Papoli Jazdi, UNESCO Chair in Heritage of the Future and University of Gothenburg.
Prof. Dr. Elif Koparal, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the prestigious Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, winner of the prestigious Newton Prize of the British Academy, founder and first secretary of the Theoretical Archaeology Conference of Turkey.
MA Darko Kovačević, UNESCO expert from the Saint Martin’s Institute in Malta and the Center for Archaeology at the University of Montenegro, and leader and participant of European archaeological projects in Egypt, Lebanon, Malta, Greece, etc.
And other professors, scientists and researchers from Europe and the region.
