15th International Congress on the Archaeology on the Ancient Near East, Tbilisi 4-8 of May, 2027
The Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and the Georgian National Museum are proud to organize the 15th ICAANE from 4th to 8th May, 2027. We look forward to hosting you in Tbilisi, a city that bridges East and West and which offers a unique historical and cultural backdrop for meaningful scholarly exchange. The Organizing Committee invites all scholars working on subjects relating to Near Eastern Archaeology (from Central Asia to the Eastern Mediterranean) to participate in the 15th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (15th ICAANE). As the first venue outside of Schengen Europe, the participation of our scholarly community from the Near East is especially encouraged. The congress themes (for which see the First Circular) have been selected in an attempt at representing the current breadth and urgency of global challenges and research perspectives in the Archaeology of the Near East and the Caucasus. We will be grateful if you can please circulate this announcement through your contacts and social media.
General information. The congress will start on Tuesday morning, the 4th May, 2027 (plenary session), and will last until the morning of Saturday, the 8th of May. Sessions and workshops will span the whole day (9 am-1 pm, 2 pm-6 pm), with a half day reserved to the presentations of invited Directors General of Antiquities from Middle East and North Africa countries.
Sessions and workshops will terminate earlier on Friday 7th, at 3.30 pm, since the second part of the afternoon will be dedicated to the poster session until 6.30 pm. The winner for the 15th ICAANE Best Poster will be proclaimed at the social dinner scheduled in the same evening.
Call for Abstracts / Submission Guidelines
Submission of Workshop Proposals, Paper and Poster Abstracts are NOW OPEN and will be possible until September 20th, 2026. Preliminarily accepted papers and posters will be communicated to the organizers by October 31st 2026. It is mandatory that all contributing participants register themselves before December 1st 2026 in order that the proposed paper or poster receives confirmed status. All papers and posters must follow the UNESCO convention of 1970. No presentations or posters dealing with material or work from occupied or contested territories as defined by international law will be accepted without evidence that permission of the national authority of the occupied territory has been obtained by the researcher. Reporting on Salvage work may be presented if it is protecting or safeguarding heritage under threat.
How to submit: All abstracts must be submitted online through our official website portal https://15icaane.tsu.ge/submissions/. They should be uploaded to the website in Word or PDF format.
Workshop Proposals must include a description of the workshop, topic and the names, titles and abstracts of at least 6 speakers, with a maximum 12 speakers. Abstracts are limited to a maximum of 300 words. Each paper should not exceed 20 min plus 10 min for discussion.
Workshops cannot last more than one day.
We strongly encourage the proposals of workshops dealing with the congress themes which will be integrated (and marked as such) within the theme schedule keeping the workshop papers together, with the chair of the relevant session(s) assigned to the workshop organizers. Proposals dealing with themes other than the official ones will be organized in separate sessions and, likely, spaces.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF WORKSHOP PROPOSALS: September 20th, 2026.
Preliminarily accepted workshops will be communicated to the organizers by October 31st, 2026. It is mandatory that all participants of a given workshop register themselves before December 1st, 2026 in order that the proposed workshop gets confirmation status. Organizers will thus take care of informing participants about this stringent deadline.
Paper proposals must include the author’s name, paper title and an Abstract, limited to a maximum of 300 words and should select the two preferred Scientific Themes (1–11) for the paper.
Guidelines for papers (Thematic AND Workshop):
1. Speakers are not allowed to present more than one paper as the primary author. Individuals can be co-authors on other papers.
2. Results from excavation or survey projects must be presented through a single excavation report; however, additional special studies about sites and the evidence collected therein are allowed.
3. Each paper will be allotted a maximum of 30 mins. (Strictly 20 mins. for presentation and 10 mins. for discussion)
4. Speakers must prepare their presentation in PPT or PDF format on a USB flash drive.
Presentations will be uploaded to a computer in the scheduled room prior to the beginning of the session/workshop. Presentation systems such as Keynote or Prezi must be saved in advance in PPT or PDF formats.
Poster proposals must include the Author’s names, Poster Titles and abstracts (Max 300 words). Guidelines for posters:
1. Participants are allowed to present up to two posters;
2. The poster must be drafted in A0 format (1189×841 mm);
3. Posters can be put on display from Tuesday noon onwards in the main venue of the Congress on 1 Ilia Tchavtchavadze Avenue.
The official language of the Congress is English. However, following ICAANE tradition, French, German, Spanish and Italian are also accepted.
Publishers
Scientific publishers of subjects relating to Near Eastern Archaeology (from Central Asia to the Eastern Mediterranean) are invited to participate. Only academic books may be sold, different genres, such as novels, can not be accepted.
We ask to publishers/booksellers to register with a specific “sponsorship” contract which in fact covers a regular enrollment fee of €300 for every unit of personnel who will be present (the fee includes also access to social events and coffee breaks) and in addition to pay for each table they need. The cost of each table is €80 (maximum allowance per publisher is 2 tables) for the whole period of 4-8 May. A chair will be provided for each registered unit of personnel; however, we recommend you to bring your own cushions (as well as tablecloths if desired).
If a publisher wishes to include printed materials in the participants’ bags, the cost of up to two sheets or two flyers or a small booklet corresponds to one regular enrollment fee (€300 ) independently of the actual presence of the publisher at the congress. This kind of fee does not entail any additional participation to social events.
Publishers must adhere strictly to the EU fiscal regulations for the acceptance of payments and the consequent immediate release of receipt/invoice. There is no other special service provided to publishers except for the access to electric plugs. Books may be brought into the venue (1 Ilia Tchavtchavadze Avenue) beginning May 4th at 09:00 and must be removed before the 8th May at 12:00.
Registration
Conference Registration will be open starting September 1, 2026. Registration is NOT required for a Workshop, Paper or Poster submission, but is a requirement upon acceptance.
Fees are as follows:
| STUDENT | REGULAR | |
| until November 1st, 2026 | € 120 | € 250 |
| After November 1st, 2026 | € 150 | € 300 |
One day participation: € 170
Students are considered all those regularly enrolled in universities at undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels, including doctoral candidates and master courses. To qualify for the student rate, a valid proof of student status (e.g., Student ID or an official letter from the university) must be uploaded during registration or sent via email. Without this verification, the regular fee will apply.
Positions as post-doc grantees, independent scholars, faculty staff etc. fall into the Regular category.
People accompanying registered participants may pay a special fee to attend the two social events (Tuesday and Friday evenings) as well as the plenary session. Note, however, that they will not be allowed into the rest of the congress and at its coffee breaks.
| Until November 1st, 2026 | € 100 |
| After November 1st, 2026 | € 130 |
Payment will be possible by credit card or bank transfer via on the dedicated Registration Page, beginning September 1st, 2026. Correspondence regarding registration issues should be addressed to 15icaane_registration@tsu.ge.
NOTE: We are aware of the financial obstacles which hinder sending money abroad from Iran, we are working on options for colleagues from this country to be able to pay their fees. As soon as they are established, we will share the information to the appropriate individuals.
Cancellation Policy:
Cancellation until March 20th, 2027: Full refund (minus bank/administrative fee).
Cancellation until 5th of April, 2027: 50% refund (minus bank/administrative fee).
Cancellation after April 5th of April, 2027: No refund.
Information about accommodations and general logistics are available on the 15 ICAANE website under “Practical Information”
Summary:
-Submission of Workshop Proposals, Paper and Poster Abstracts are open NOW.
-Registration opens September 1st, 2026.
– Academic researchers, professors and independent scholars will pay a registration fee of € 250, rising to € 300 after November 1st, 2026.
-The registration fee will cover the Congress materials, attendance to all the sessions and workshops, all the coffee breaks and social events in the program.
– Accompanying persons will pay a fee of € 100 , rising to € 130 November 1st, 2026. This fee will only cover admission to social events (welcome cocktail and final dinner).
– Information about accommodations and general logistics are available on the 15 ICAANE website under “Practical Information”