On this page are published the different lectures and conferences given out on the several ways of writing history and the different issues which can emerge : the relationships between Memory and History, the historiographical trends and currents such post-colonialism, the use of other disciplines such as archeology and ethnology, etc.

Reconstructing History of religion when written sources are missing : the case of Archaelogy (Prof Piotr Plisiecki, Catholic University of Lublin)

Download the video from this lecture by clicking HERE

This lecture discussed the method of using archaeology in reconstructing history of religion in a situation of absence of written sources. Archaeological excavations often help discover the remains of religious structures – remnants of religious systems that were practiced by the members of prehistoric societies. Those remnants are not limited to constructions and prehistoric sacred sites but also can be found in the prehistoric applied technologies (tools’ production) or funeral rites. Archaeology helps to reconstruct the religious beliefs and practices in the absence of written sources. A good example is when archaeology is used to discover the origins of Christianity in Early Medieval Central Europe, as there are limited written sources that can provide adequate information. Archaeology helps to distinguish the Christian burial grounds from the pagan ones. It also determines where the New Faith was introduced in a fast mode and where it was just the beginning of the long process? The analysis of the burial construction and its equipment (i.e. this, what we can find inside the grave) from archaeological perspective may also clarify this problem.