33rd Congress of the Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores

The RCRF or Fautores (https://www.fautores.org/) is an international learned society dedicated to the study of Roman pottery. It was founded in 1957 and nowadays it has more than 250 members in over 25 countries, and around 100 institutional members. Every 2 years a congress is organised, within the borders of the former Roman Empire, where the study of Roman pottery in all its facets is central.

The RCRF-congres was organised in the Netherlands once before in 1971. Back in that day it was organised in Nijmegen by A.V.M. Hubrecht. At that congress there were 70 participants, nowadays the congres has doubled in size and provides an intellectual environment where starting and experienced specialists meet.

The organising committee is delighted to inform you that the 2024 Fautores Congress will be organised in the Netherlands again, more specifically in Leiden from 15-22 September. Partners in the organisation are the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University and the National Museum of Antiquities, and both institutions have a long history with Roman pottery studies and will be visited during the congress. The congress theme is:

(CULTURAL) CONTACTS & CERAMIC CONTEXTS

We are continuously presented with a wealth of archaeological remains and artefacts from across the enormous area once covered by the Roman world. This growing richness continues to provide us with new research challenges as well as opportunities. Pottery was an omnipresent medium, and in certain respects we can speak of empire-wide phenomena, such as the production of terra sigillata/red slip ware. When looked at more closely, however, we are increasingly aware that pottery was highly heterogeneous in terms of production technique, typological and decorative style, exchange range and intensity, and so forth. This perspective allows us to ask a variety of questions, for instance concerning the origin and connectivity of objects and styles (e.g., ‘local’ vs ‘non-local’; distributed/absorbed via military presence), the spatial/regional extent of certain styles and customs (e.g., urban-based; a regional feature), or which factors are thought to have played a role in shaping regional styles and patterns (e.g., landscape; production capacity; transport possibilities).