Call for papers

Building on past editions of the International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies, the Malta gathering is intended to bring together scholars, early-stage researchers and students working in the field of Phoenician and Punic studies. Presentations will be delivered in a number of parallel sessions.

The overarching theme of the Congress is intended to put emphasis on the fact that the Phoenician and Punic story unfolds in a millennium marked by the most culturally diverse settings in Mediterranean history. The varied responses to Phoenician presence and settlement are challenging the neat narratives of historical reconstruction which favoured cultures as homogenous entities. How do we marshal the material record of archaeological evidence to counter the views of the Mediterranean world of the first millennium BCE as “Graeco-Roman”? How do processes of social interaction map out archaeologically at different scales of analysis, from the level of the local site to a region and beyond? How does one explain variation at the different levels of lived experience, in politics, religion and ritual, music, art and craft, exploration and trade? How aware are scholars of the ideological biases that may have conditioned modern historiography on the ancient Phoenicians?

We especially invite Congress participants to submit  200- word abstracts for papers and posters which address these issues, directly or indirectly. A session will be devoted to doctoral researchers.

The official languages of the Congress will be English, French, Italian and Spanish. If accepted, papers need to be delivered in the language used for the submitted title and abstract.  

The Organizing Committee of the 11th International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies to be held in Malta in November 2026 has agreed to extend the abstract submission deadline.  This will allow those who missed the previous announcements on 15 December, 12 January and 25 January to submit an abstract by completing the online form and uploading it through the form below. At this point, abstracts for presentations and posters will be accepted until the limits of available space and time are met.

 The CALL FOR ABSTRACTS is now closed. 

Whoever submitted an abstract for the 11^th International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies was asked to read the following statement:

Malta statement on archaeological responsibility and the abuse of the past

Pursuant to the motion passed by the Senate of the University of Malta on 26 June 2025 

Recalling the statement in the UNESCO Constitution that ‘Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed',

Mindful that archaeology has too often been used as an instrument to legitimise systems of oppression,

Deeply concerned that distorted narratives about the past continue to be used today,

Committed to the study of the rich tapestry of cultural diversity, interaction and hybridity that enriched the ancient Mediterranean world, and continues to enrich it today, and

Eager to uphold the good name of the discipline of archaeology,

We the organisers of and participants in the 11th International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies, taking place in Malta in November 2026:

•  dissociate ourselves from the misrepresentation of the past to serve ideological purposes;
•   condemn narratives of the past that ignore, exclude or deny the evidence of some cultures to give primacy to others;
•  condemn all forms of abuse of archaeology and the past to incite or justify violations of international law, including international humanitarian law;

We consider the above principles to be self-evident, and embrace them as a fundamental  and necessary precondition for the responsible practice and debate of archaeology today.