Nothing begins life as a relic. This day conference will explore the processes surrounding the creation of relics, their significance within history and antiquarianism and the various ways that they have been venerated, interpreted and preserved over centuries. Central to this is the idea of sanctity itself and how it is expressed through material objects and places that have been in proximity to a sacred person, whether the bones of a martyr, a scrap of cloth, a jewel encrusted reliquary or the churches built to mark the spot where early saints were martyred.

This conference is sponsored and hosted by the Society of Antiquaries of London in its apartments at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. The Society records the proceedings and, with permission of the speaker(s), made them available online here. All rights reserved.