A colloquium titled Rural funeral spaces in Roman Gaul (1st century BCE to 6th century CE) will take place from September 30 to October 3, 2026, as part of the XVIIth Colloquium of the Association for the Study of the Gallo-Roman Rural World (AGER). This academic event will explore the connections between the living and the dead in the rural areas of Roman Gaul, a region that encompassed parts of modern-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland during the Roman Empire. The colloquium will investigate how people lived and how they treated the dead, looking at the different ways homes and burial sites were organized across various times and places. Archaeologists will discuss what is currently known about rural areas in the Roman provinces of Gaul, focusing on how domestic life and burial practices were connected. While it can be difficult to prove a direct link between where people lived and where they were buried based on archaeological evidence, the event will aim to map out the "funerary geography" of rural areas over several centuries. This includes examining how the placement of graves might reflect social structures, beliefs, and cultural practices. The event will be organized by a group of experts from various French research institutions and archaeological services. These include Frédérique Blaizot from the University of Lille, Gaël Brkojewitsch from the Eurométropole of Metz, Patrick Digelmann and Sébastien Ziegler from the Archaeology Service of the Var Department, and Bérangère Jossier from the Archaeology Service of Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis. Together, they will bring a range of perspectives and expertise to the discussion. The colloquium will also consider how the social and cultural spaces in rural areas were constructed, the role of the deceased in society, and how these roles influenced the landscape. It will look at how people interacted with the dead between the 1st century BCE and the 6th century CE, shedding light on the ways in which these interactions shaped the physical and social environments of the time.