ARCHÄOLOGISCHE GRUNDBEGRIFFE:

7

16.–17.7.2026

Numbers encode and unlock reality. They connect the visual and material worlds with the realm of ideas and function as fundamental epistemic tools for organising and communicating belief systems and worldviews.

Numerical frameworks shape mythology, theology, and demonology; cosmo- and astrological concepts; ritual, magic, and mantic practices; geometric and arithmetic figures; and, not least, the design of objects and spaces. Across these domains, numbers operate as ordering principles mediating between perception, knowledge, and value.

Focusing exemplarily on the number 7, the workshop invites concise case studies that examine the numerical and numerological structure of abstract concepts as well as visual and material phenomena in Graeco-Roman antiquity and beyond. The number 7 will be treated as a heuristic and analytical Grundbegriff: a basic conceptual tool through which societies articulate cosmic order, social organisation, political authority, ritual sequence, epistemic practices, and philosophical thought.

The aim is to shed light on the age-old impulse to translate the world into numbers and uncover meaning in numerical codes – a notion that continues to reappear in successive metamorphoses from antiquity through medieval and early modern traditions to the digital media cultures of the present.

In order to obtain a common ground of discussion, we kindly ask to refrain from free-floating numerological speculations.

Inspiring papers will be suggested for submission to the peer-reviewed journal Zeitschrift für archäologische Aufklärung.

Organisation: Andreas Grüner, Elisa Bernard, Julian Schreyer.

With contributions by Elisa Bernard (Classical Archaeology, Erlangen), Gabriele D’Anna (Philosophy, Udine), Nikolaus Dietrich (Classical Archaeology, Heidelberg), Martin Düchs (Architecture and Philosophy, St. Pölten), Lisa Giombini (Philosophy, Rome), Andreas Grüner (Classical Archaeology, Erlangen), Karl Hepfer (Philosophy, Erfurt), Joachim Knape (Rhetoric, Tübingen), Nadia Koch (Rhetoric, Salzburg), Wiebke Leister (Royal College of Art, London), Riccardo Olivito (Classical Archaeology, Lucca), Andreas Pastoors (Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Erlangen), Alessandro Poggio (Classical Archaeology, Lucca), Thomas Schirren (Greek Philology, Salzburg), Julian Schreyer (Classical Archaeology, Erlangen), Thorsten Uthmeier (Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Erlangen), Ute Verstegen (Christian Archaeology, Erlangen), Eleonora Voltan (Classical Archaeology, Madrid), and Carina Weiß (Classical Archaeology, Würzburg).

The workshop is part of the series Archäologische Grundbegriffe.