1Himalayan archaeology has mainly been shaped by Western scholars who have influenced research agendas and have produced widely read reconstructions of the past. A significant part of these endeavours relies on contributions from archaeologists working at a national or local level, who have had limited opportunities to engage in open-minded dialogue with their Western counterparts. Furthermore, local and indigenous peoples of the Himalayan region are seldom consulted when it comes to archaeological research initiatives. In light of these observations, twelve archaeologists with expertise in Himalayan archaeology and hailing from Pakistan, India, Nepal, China as well as France, the USA and Australia, gathered for a five-day workshop at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in November 2023. The group was made up of seven Asian and five Western academics consisting of young researchers, (including PhD students and postdoctoral researchers), and early- and mid-career researchers, as well as an emeritus professor. The venue in the United Arab Emirates served as a neutral forum to foster dialogue about archaeological practices within the context of decoloniality in the politically sensitive Himalayan region (see Lemos et al, 2025).

2The event was held between 13 and 17 November 2023 with the aim of facilitating open exchanges. On the first morning, following an inaugural address by the organisers, a round-table provided each participant with the opportunity of briefly presenting their individual career path, research focus, ongoing projects and to frame their expectations for the workshop. In the afternoon the organisers introduced the first topic with the presentation: ‘What is the current state of the discipline in the Himalayas?’. Participants split up into three small groups to reflect on the question. Each group subsequently shared the results of their deliberations, which then led to a broad general discussion. The day ended with an online presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session, led by Professor Tiatoshi Jamir (Nagaland University, India) with a focus on community archaeology in South Asia, a theme that was to be discussed in detail the following day.

3On the morning of the second day the organisers broached the second topic via the presentation: ‘How to move archaeological practice to create a collaborative or community-based archaeology?’ Participants shared their personal stories and experiences during round-table discussions. Like the format used for the first day’s topic, the afternoon began with the creation of three small discussion groups centred around this second theme. Each group then presented their conclusions, which led to a general discussion. The day ended with an online presentation delivered by Tara Sharma, an ICOMOS (India) expert, to address the topic of working with living heritage in the Himalayas, followed by a question and answer session.

4The third morning was given over to a lecture on Himalayan archaeology, which the organisers delivered to members of the staff (curators, restorers etc) of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Participants were free to use the afternoon as they wished.

5On the fourth morning, following the online lecture by Tara Sharma, three small group discussions were organised to address the third topic: ‘Working with living heritage’. This was followed by individual group reflections and ended in a general discussion. The afternoon session started with the introduction of the fourth topic: ‘How to develop a set of best practices for Himalayan archaeology that reflect a range of voices and perspectives along with the realities of on-the-ground research in respective nations?’ Three discussion groups were set up and tasked to work together on developing an imaginary archaeological research initiative in the Himalayas that would take into account various types of knowledge. As before, this was followed by an exchange about the different ideas and insights the groups had garnered, which led to a general discussion on whether or not an overall strategy was emerging for the whole of the Himalayan region. The day concluded with an online presentation by Professor Luca Maria Olivieri (Ca’ Foscari University, Italy), which addressed community archaeological projects led by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat (Pakistan), and was followed by a question-and-answer session.

6On the fifth and final morning, each participant reflected on what they had got out of the workshop. Everyone agreed that the format had facilitated meaningful exchanges, with time allocated to both collective and group discussions on themes introduced by the organisers or outside experts via online conferences. Later in the morning, participants enjoyed a private tour of the museum given by one of its curators. In the afternoon, participants discussed potential ways of pursuing these exchanges, with specific reference to the organisation of future events and training sessions for students, in addition to the authorship of collective publications. The workshop was brought to a close with a farewell dinner.

7This inaugural pan-Himalayan workshop on archaeology proved a highly engaging event. Participants agreed that there was no single approach to developing an effective community-based archaeology that could be implemented across the range of complex Himalayan landscapes, but all recognised that building trust among communities was essential. Just how to build that trust was seen as the primary challenge in building an effective approach to community-based archaeology. Participants shared some of their own past successes and failures in creating trust, and the observation was made that projects lasting longer – over several years or more of work within a community – offer more opportunities for building trust to promote the success of a project compared to projects where a shorter period of time is spent in the field.

8Now, two years on, the international network of researchers, set up thanks to the workshop, remains active by sharing publications and through events organised by its respective members (exhibitions, conferences, training sessions) on the topic of Himalayan archaeology. The workshop facilitated links between academics who were previously unacquainted. These projects encompassed postdoctoral research in the domain of community archaeology and bilateral mobility initiatives. Unfortunately, attempts to publish a collaborative article on the proceedings of the workshop in an international journal proved unsuccessful due to various problems. Regardless of this, it is to be hoped that the international gathering has laid the groundwork for a more inclusive approach to Himalayan archaeology in the future.

9The workshop was jointly organised by Laurianne Bruneau (EPHE-PSL and CRCAO, Paris) and Mark S Aldenderfer (University of California, Merced) with organisational and research support provided by Alexandra Vanleene (PhD in Archaeology). All costs related to the event were covered by grants from the Wenner Gren Foundation (USA) and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, France) as well as financial support from the East Asian Civilisations Research Centre (CRCAO, France). The organisers wish to thank members of the staff at the Louvre Abu Dhabi for their kind assistance and for providing space to host the event at the museum’s Resource Centre.

List of participants:

• Dr Samara Broglia de Moura, Eveha International, France
• Dr Abdul Hameed, assistant professor, Hazara University, Pakistan
• Dr Manjil Hazarika, assistant professor, Cotton University, India
• Ram B Kunwar, spokesperson, Department of Archaeology, Nepal
• Dr Hongliang Lü, professor, Sichuan University, China
• Marion Poux, PhD student, EPHE-PSL, France
• Dr Nagendra Rawat, assistant professor, HNB Garhwal University, Republic of India
• Dr Mohammad Ajmal Shah, assistant professor, University of Kashmir, India
• Dr Michael Spate, lecturer, La Trobe University, Australia
• Dr Mumtaz Yatoo, assistant professor, University of Kashmir, India