Back from a very stimulating Annual Meeting in Oslo, I am still amazed by how smoothly this year's conference went and how calmly and efficiently the organizers took care of all concerns - they even provided sunny weather! Well, at least until the start of Saturday's Annual Dinner in the Ekeberg Restaurant over the roofs of Oslo, where we were served a brilliant three course menu accompanied by excellent wine. Those attending the Sunday excursions experienced somewhat more humid conditions (see the Excursion Report). 

As you will have expected, this Winter Issue of your newsletter again features a number of Session Reports from the Oslo meeting. Fifty-nine sessions and round tables ensured that a wealth of topics, archaeological and beyond, were covered, bringing together colleagues from all parts of Europe, the US, and Japan. The overall quality of the papers presented was motivating, stirring many discussions that were continued during the coffee breaks in Radisson's lobby, in the Frokostkjelleren and in Oslo's pubs and restaurants. Many thanks to the Oslo Scientific Committee - and I am sure that the Scientific Committee for next year's Annual Meeting in Helsinki will be eager to at least match, if not outdo their predecessors. 

That said, it comes as no surprise to you that in this TEA issue, the Helsinki organizers provide you with the first information on the 2012 Annual Meeting and invite you warmly to visit the Finnish capital. Please note that the 18th Annual Meeting in Helsinki in 2012 will take place unusually early, due to the early start of the academic year in Finland. It will be opened on Wednesday 29 August and last until Saturday, 1 September 2012, preceded and followed by excursions, as usual. Therefore, the dates for registration are also quite early: please note that session proposals have to be submitted by 1 December! Please have a close look at the EAA Calendar below.

This issue also informs you about this year's winner of the Student Award that was given in Oslo, as well as the Heritage Prize. Among the many EAA Matters that are submitted to you and give you an impression of the vivacity of Europe's major archaeological organization, there is one I am very happy to call attention to: Robin Skeates, the editor of the European Journal of Archaeology, provides you with some details of the new EJA. After successful negotiations with Sage, who published previous EJA issues, we now have agreed to terminate the contract, and Sage agreed that the EAA retains the journal's name. So now we are in full control again and have our journal back! And it returns better and stronger than ever: larger in size, better paper quality, high-quality images, and even colour - imagine that! EJA's issue 14/1-2, a double volume, has been presented to the participants of the Oslo meeting. Currently EAA is negotiating with new publishers and will bring out issue 14/3 later this year.

Bad news, however, come from Hungary's and Britain's governments - the former plans to reduce all rescue excavations to 30 days of trial digging and another 30 days for rescue operations on the entire project area. Resistance is forming in the archaeological community that welcomes support . The latter has cut the budget for English Heritage so that 200 posts will be lost. But there is more in this new legislation, and English Heritage is trying to deal with in an innovative way. Please check the details in the Reports.

Finally, please note that there is a new e-mail address for your submissions of reports, announcements etc. for TEA: TEA.gramsch@yahoo.com. The deadline for the Summer Issue of TEA, No. 37, is 30 April 2012. Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Alexander Gramsch TEA Editor