Originating with the exploration of underwater shipwrecks in the mid-20th century, the archaeology of the modern era (16th–18th centuries) has developed very recently, following the famous excavations at the Grand Louvre that began in 1984, and especially over the past twenty years, notably under the decisive impetus of preventive archaeology. Over the past twenty years, this archaeology of the modern era has been joined by the archaeology of the contemporary era (19th–20th centuries), allowing both disciplines to shed light on the past—periods marked by profound technical, economic, social, cultural, and environmental upheavals that have shaped our world today.

But curiously, even though modern and contemporary archaeology has gained recognition on par with prehistoric, ancient, and medieval archaeology—and even as publications on the subject have proliferated—no national-scale conference has yet been devoted to it in France.
That is why the 10 members of the scientific committee listed below—comprising specialists from INRAP, universities, and local governments—have decided to organize a conference titled “Archaeology of the Modern and Contemporary Periods in France,” to be held at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme – Alpes, on the campus of the University of Grenoble Alpes, from Tuesday, October 6, to Friday, October 9, 2026. The event will be organized by the Rhône-Alpes Historical Research Laboratory (LARHRA, UMR 5190) and by Alain Belmont, professor of modern history and archaeologist at the University of Grenoble Alpes (alain.belmont@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr).

This conference will feature 36 presentations organized into seven themes: the archaeology of the Alpine region; architectural archaeology; material culture and ceramology; agriculture and the environment; industry and crafts; the archaeology of conflict; and the archaeology of the overseas territories and slavery.
The scientific committee decided to include in these presentations both seasoned and particularly well-known archaeologists and doctoral students who are nearing the completion of their dissertations or have just defended them, in order to provide an overview of both the research conducted over the past twenty years and the research currently underway.

The proceedings of this conference will subsequently be published by the University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA Editions).