The Centro Congressi, nestled on the northern shores of the captivating Lake Garda, played host to a gathering of European scholars, presenting 26 thought-provoking lectures thoughtfully organised into six sessions, each featuring two keynotes.
Amidst the conference discussions, it was rather challenging to remain fully focused given the alluring scenery offered by Riva del Garda, with its narrow meandering streets and lively, colourful buildings inviting visitors to wander aimlessly and discover its charm without the constraints of maps or predetermined paths. Despite being off-season, the terraces still accommodated tourists sipping cocktails while admiring the imposing mountain overseeing the town. Hotel Portici served as a temporary home for many conference participants, providing not only a comfortable stay but also a breath-taking panorama of the lake. Each morning, before the presentations commenced, attendees would steal a few moments to contemplate the beauty of misty autumn mornings, creating a surreal atmosphere.
On Friday, after the conference ended, participants embarked on a journey to the remarkable pile-dwellings archaeological site in Fiavé, a UNESCO heritage site. The road from Riva del Garda to Fiavé offered a memorable experience with its never-ending curves and astonishing views. Upon reaching Fiavé, the impressive landscape and the awe-inspiring archaeological site captivated everyone. The experience was complemented by visiting the reconstruction of an ancient pile-dwelling settlement at the Archaeological Park "Archeo Natura" of Fiavé – Trentino, and the Fiavé Pile-Dwelling Museum where artifacts discovered during the archaeological research of the site are exhibited. The remarkable preservation of wood at this site provides a glimpse into the diverse objects prehistoric communities used, a perspective often missed in typical archaeological excavations.
Upon departure, all conference participants enthusiastically voiced their appreciation for this exceptional experience, declaring that the conference in Riva del Garda was truly one to remember!
As a legacy from the conference, 28 recorded lectures from the conference are now available on HUN-REN Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont's YouTube channel. The following lectures by distinguished experts can be found on the channel:
- Franco Nicolis & Volker Heyd: Introduction (The Transformation of Europe in the Third Millennium BC)
- Ian Armit: A sea change? Mobility,genetics and the Beaker Complex in Britain
- Ana Catarina Basílio and António Valera: We don’t want those pots
- Marie Besse, Jessica Ryan-Despraz, Florian Cousseau, Claudine Abegg: When craftspeople move
- Elisabetta Borgna and Giulio Simeoni: Maritime and Alpine impactful cultural components in the northern Adriatic at the dawn of the Early Bronze Age
- João Luís Cardoso: The necropolis of the Verdelha dos Ruivos cave and the genesis of the Bell Beaker Complex in Portuguese Extremadura
- Neil Carlin: Understanding Bell Beaker identities in Ireland - people, places and identities
- Maria de Jesus Sanches & Maria Helena Lopes Barbosa: The Bell Beaker phenomenon in Northwest Iberia
- Eve Derenne and Delia Carloni: Beakers, jars and dolmens: A history of Western Alpine societies
- Quentin Favrel: Beyond the standard: the organisation of Bell Beaker ceramic production
- Stašo Forenbaher: The puzzle at the crossroads: Cetina style, culture and phenomenon
- Martin Furholt: Do Bell Beakers actually have an origin?
- Maja Gori: Living in the borderlands without perceiving the borders:the Bell Beakers and the Balkans
- Ralph Grossmann: Bell Beaker, Corded Ware, Schönfeld: Material links and the Reflux Theory
- Wolfgang Haak, Sandra Penske, Luka Papac, Adam Ben Rohrlach: The genomic profiles of Bell Beaker-associated individuals in central and eastern Europe
- Volker Heyd: The Trinity of the Bell Beaker Phenomenon or a network of the Rising Sun?
- Guus Kroonen: Tracing the major Indo-European groups of Europe
- Olivier Lemercier: Humans and Cups: an archaeological perspective
- Alfredo Mederos Martín and Thomas X. Schuhmacher: Social and Ideological Changes with the first Bell Beakers in Iberian Peninsula (2550-2400 BC)
- Alissa Mittnik, Claudio Cavazzuti et alii: Investigating the 4th-2nd millennium BCE transition in Italy
- Franco Nicolis & Elisabetta Mottes: Relations, connections, interactions, resources, human mobility
- Iñigo Olalde: The arrival of Steppe ancestry to the Iberian Peninsula
- Mike Parker Pearson: Transformations and continuities in subsistence and society
- Pilar Prieto Martinez: Defining levels of identity through materiality
- Giulia Recchia: Cross-cultural encounters and transformation
- Eni Soriano: From east to west: sex/gender system in Bell Beaker elite
- Marc Vander Linden: Places of shared belief, places of collective action
- Karsten Wentink: Travelling through space & time. Burial Mounds, Stereotypes & Bell Beaker Cosmology