The UISPP Commission on Archaeometry of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Inorganic Artefacts, Materials and their Technologies hosted its annual Archaeometry Conference on Stone, Glass, Ceramics and Metals at the Archaeological Museum of Chania in Crete (Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Χανίων) on November 6–8, 2025. The Commission on Archaeometry belongs to the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences based in Paris, France (UISPP). The conference included participants from several other UISPP commissions and from other institutions located in a total of 25 different countries. Recordings of the livestream can be found on the museum’s YouTube channel Archaeological Museum of Chania – YouTube. The conference was supported by: the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, Crete, and the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, both of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture; the Region of Crete; AGM Archeoanalisi, Merano, Italy; INSTAP Academic Press, Philadelphia, PA, USA; and the University of Miskolc, Hungary.
Presentations spanned across time periods, continents, and different types of media and scientific analyses from neanderthals in the Caucasus and their exploitation of flint to a precious medieval almandine jewel from Great Moravia, from Bronze Age stone molds for metal axes found in Spain to the investigation of bronze artifacts from Japan. Many papers focused on the archaeometric examination of Minoan artifacts from several sites in Crete including: Late Minoan I Poros and Late Minoan II Knossos in Herakleion; Middle Minoan III Kastelli in the Pediada; Middle Minoan IA Petras, Late Minoan IB Siteia, and Late Minoan III Chalasmenos, all in eastern Crete; and Late Minoan III Maroulas near Rethymnon in western Crete.