Völkerwanderungszeit

. The objects here considered are buckles with relief zoomorphic and anthropomorphic decoration
(late 5th – mid-6th century) indicating contacts between the eastern part of the Baltic Sea basin and the Eastern
Roman Empire during the later phase of the Great Migration period. These buckles directly or indirectly reflect
the connection between the Baltic region and Byzantine Empire and, perhaps, were introduced with the
appearance of the Scandinavians in the territory of the Empire. With the Byzantine-Baltic contacts, the spread
of the prestigious military fashion was possibly related and they can have been realised via Central Europe,
the famous ‘Amber Route’ and further on through the system of the circumBaltic riverine and sea routes

A. V. Mastykova, G. L. Zemtsov
A «princely» female burial in the Mukhino-2 settlement
from the Hunnic period in the upper reaches of the River Don
Abstract. This article focuses attention on female burial № 1 discovered in the multilevel
settlement of Mukhino-2 (Zadonsk District of the Lipetsk Region) on the left bank of the River Snova not far from the point where it flows into the River Don (Fig. 1). The burial
from Mukhino contained a striking range of grave goods: facings made of gold leaf of
various shapes and gold long beads; a metal lunular pendant, a mirror, a toilet set, tweezers
and a bracelet; an iron knife faced with embossed gold leaf; glass and amber beads
(Figs 3–4). A range of female jewellery of this kind complete with gold appliques would
have originated from the North Pontic region. The burial numbers among the «princely»
finds from the Hunnic period. The burial from the Mukhino-2 settlement can be dated to
either the end of the D2 period or to the beginning of the D2/D3 period of «barbarian»
European chronology, i.e. to approximately 430–450 AD. Anthropological examination of
the skeletal remains has revealed that they belong to a woman aged between 20 and 29.
The absence of any enamel hypolplasia of teeth shows that her childhood had been a fairly
prosperous one. Atomic absorption analysis made it possible to assume that the woman
had spent most of her life in rather arid landscapes. This is still the only «princely» burial
from the Hunnic period which has been found in the upper reaches of the Don. It substantially
changed our ideas about the spread of prestigious cultures centred on «leaders» of
the Untersiebenbrunn type.
Keywords: Hunnic period, Untersiebenbrunn horizon, «princely» female burial, Late
Classical centres of the North Pontic zone.

Die wenigen überlieferten Funde eines Urnenfriedhofes der älteren und der jüngeren Kaiser- und der Völkerwanderungszeit aus Kirchgellersen scheinen die Annahme zu bestätigen, dass selbige nicht selten nur in geringer Entfernung voneinander angelegt wurden. Im Vordergrund der Betrachtung stehen je eine völkerwanderungszeitliche Goldmünze aus Kirchgellersen und aus Adendorf.

The aim of this article is: on the one hand, to examine the state of research on the archaeological traces of the "princely costume" of the eastern Germanic or "ponto-Danubian" tradition at two fibulae of sheet metal from the first half and the middle of the 5th century on the territory of the Visigoth kingdom; on the other hand, to identify its repercussions in the "Hispano-Visigoth" costume of the so-called "middle class", with silver-plated fibulae of the second half of the 5th and the first half of the 6th century. We examined here the "princely" discoveries of the first half and the middle of the 5th century in Southern Gaul and Spain, as well as the most visible reminiscences of the "princely" eastern Germanic costume in the necropolis of the Hispano-Visigoth kingdom First of the middle 5th century and the first half of the 6th century. The female tombs of the Hispano-Visigoth kingdom containing fibulae in silver plate correspond to the notion so-called as "middle class". The question of the ethnicity of the porters of this costume is in this case totally relevant. Women's costumes, as an ethnographic index of traditional societies, are among the most stable. However, at the high social level, the costume resulting from an ethnographic tradition can also become an indication of belonging to the "ruling class". In this case, the costume of prestige, whatever its origins, sooner or later begins to be imitated by the "ordinary" population. The village communities of Visigoth Spain were predominantly Roman, then it can be concluded that the diffusion in this milieu of the "Barbarian" ponto-Danubian fashion shows the beginning of the fusion of the material culture of the Visigoths and Hispano-Romans. Identity is then used "at convenience", according to the socio-political context, both by the elites and by a large part of the Hispano-Roman population, to show their belonging to a specific social status and/or as a symbol of prestige and power.

Excavated in the 1990s, the site of Buschow 8, Havelland region, Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany, until recently had primarily been known for its Roman to Migration Period wells.
This Article gives a short summary of the author's PhD-thesis, in which he was able to show, that the site had been in use several times in the course of Pre- and Protohistory.

https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/61233

Having settled in Imperial territory for the first time between 409 and 428 in the provinces of Hispania, and advanced on the African provinces in 429 until the conquest of Carthage in 439. Vandals had settled in the richest regions of the Western Roman Empire, and quickly occupied a prominent place in Roman historiography, attracting the attention of clergymen who dedicated to denouncing the political-religious conduct of the Vandal kings throughout the 5th century, such as Hydatius and Victor of Vita. However, we note that among clerics, these narrative and rhetorical disputes did not achieve cohesion, because Salvian represented Visigoths and Vandals as societies more compatible with the wishes of God, a perspective that we believe to be influenced by the teachings of Augustine who judges the actions of the Goths of Alaric as examples of Christianity, in contrast to the Romans who remained in sin and therefore suffered from the divine scourge. Thus, throughout the sixth century, it is possible to see a great increase in secular literary production, especially of poets who dedicated to representing the Vandal aristocrats in their panegyrists, a period that was named by recent historiography as 'Vandal renaissance'. Finally, our research ends when we evaluate the work Procopius's Wars, and how it transmits the understanding of the identities and the Vandal kings, emphasizing the rivalry between Hilderic and Gelimer, which provided the fragmentation of the Vandal Kingdom, which justified Justinian's intervention. This is because, Hilderic is characterized as a member of the Imperial family, and portrayed as very close to Roman interests, while Gelimer, is represented as a king who wished to maintain the autonomy of the Vandal Kingdom about the Roman Empire. Thus, the main objective of this research is to understand how the narrative models about the Vandal identity, had appeared in the 5th century, mainly due to the influence of religious debates, and that later, in the 6th century, they are reorganized based on works, so-called ‘secular’.

Zahlreiche Befunde bezeugen am Siedlungsplatz Groß Meckelsen die Eisengewinnung während der Römischen Kaiserzeit und Völkerwanderungszeit. Nach dem derzeitigen Stand der Auswertung im Rahmen eines Dissertationsvorhabens, deren Ergebnisse in Teilen noch als vorläufig gelten müssen, scheint die Verhüttungsaktivität den Modellen zur frühen Eisenmetallurgie in Norddeutschland zu entsprechen. Im Gefüge der Eisenmetallurgie Norddeutschlands nimmt der Fundplatz Groß Meckelsen aufgrund seines fast vollständig ergrabenen Areals, der großen Zahl seiner Befunde und seiner langen Belegungsdauer eine bedeutende Rolle ein. Dass diese Bedeutung in einem gewissen Widerspruch zu dem Charakter der Siedlung als gewöhnlichem Weiler oder kleinerem Dorf steht, wie es Tausende in der Germania magna gegeben hat, wirft ein Licht auf den immer noch sehr fragmentarischen Forschungsstand insbesondere für Niedersachsen.

A tanulmány a csákberény-orondpusztai avar kori temetőben 2019-ben folytatott tervásatáson nagy számban megfigyelt sírépítményeket mutatja be. A feltárt sírok kivétel nélkül a 7. század közepétől a 8. század elejéig, tehát az ún. közép avar korra keltezhetők. A sírépítmények négy fő típusba és további altípusokba, illetve változatokba sorolhatók. Három típusnál a tervásatás eredményei alapján – a párhuzamok figyelembevételével – lehetséges rekonstrukciókra is lehetőség nyílt.

The planned excavation of the Avar Age cemetery in Csákberény-Orondpuszta continued about 80 years after the excavations of 1936–39 were completed. The 53 graves uncovered in 2019 could be dated to the Middle Avar Age (between the middle of the 7th century and the early 8th century). Traces of wooden constructions were observed in almost two thirds of graves (62 %, 33 graves). In the 1930s, not enough attention was paid to observing traces of timber constructions, as only in 8 of the 452 uncovered graves were mentioned postpipes. The wooden constructions documented in 2019 could be classified into 4 main types: 1. Graves with wooden piles (timber cover underpinned with piles): in 16 graves; 2. Timber cover without piles: in 14 graves; 3. Wooden burial chamber without piles: in 1 grave; 4. Two horizontal beams perpendicular to the longer sides, vertical piles in the corners and rafters (?): in 1 grave. Within type 1 three subtypes (a–c) were separated depending on the number of piles (postholes) along the longer sides of the graves (1-1, 2-2 or 3-3). Within each subtype, variants were distinguished by the absence (variant v0) or the existence (all the way on the sides of the grave: variant v1; discontinuously: variant v2) of horizontal channels at the level of the piles’ top. In the case of type 2, no piles (postholes) were found, but horizontal channels could be observed all the way on the sides (variant v1) or discontinuously (variant v2). In the only grave of type 3, we could observe a timber burial chamber without postpipe. There was at least 110 cm high. Thanks to our observations and the Avar Age analogies, the wooden grave constructions of type 1–3 can be reconstructed. However, in the case of the special type 4 – without exact analogies – the reconstruction was unsuccessful.

The present research has focused on the comparative history of the Gepidic Kingdom in the Carpathian Basin from the early migration period till the disintegration of its political structures. The Gepids, who spoke an Eastern-Germanic language, ruled the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin between the Hunnic and Avaric periods. Moreover, they controlled such formerly great cities as the imperial capital, Sirmium. The research into the German ethnicities in the early medieval Carpathian Basin relied on the simultaneous examination of written sources and archaeological findings. Hence, this predominantly interdisciplinary approach enabled to transfer the thus far hypothetical elements of each discipline as paradigms into related co-disciplines. Although some scholars (Herwig Wolfram, Walter Pohl) had already identified the problematic inherent in this phenomenon, as expressed in the terminus technicus (“gemischte Argumentation”; mixed argumentation) of German works, the “mixed argumentation” often appears in other international studies as well. Therefore, during my work I endeavoured to avoid creating further preconceptions and to examine the results of the two disciplines separately. Moreover, I analysed only those results comparatively which were gained in due accordance with the proper methods of particular disciplines in order to avoid the contradictions between the argumentations of various fields.

The plate fibulae that are the subject of this article come from two sites of the Olsztyn Group in the West Balt Cultural Circle. Morphological features of the artefacts discussed indicate that they are probably a pair made in one workshop. Both fibulae were made of copper alloys. The unusual design of the ornaments presented is worthy of note. Artefacts with finger-like protrusions crowning the head plate, made of three circles forming a triangle (German: Dreirundel Motiv), are rarely encountered in the Baltareas.The unique form of the brooches, stylistically different from the known types of plate fibulae, served as a basis for distinguishing the Robawy-Dłużec type. The brooch from the cemetery at Dłużec, site I, Mrągowo District (former Langendorf, Kr. Sensburg), known from the archival material of the former Prussia Museum, is a stray find. Based on the design of the foot terminal, representing Bernhard Salin animal style I, it was dated to the beginning of the 6th century. The second fibula, which is also a stray find, was discovered at the cemetery at Robawy, site XXIII, Kętrzyn District (former Robbawen, Kr. Rößel). The site is located in a cultural border zone. The excavated archaeological material shows the influence of both the Olsztyn Group and the Dollkeim-Kovrovo Culture. The article presents selected European artefacts employing the three-wheel motif. Dreirundel Motiv appears mainly on items of Scandinavian provenance. Robawy-Dłużec-type fibulae were probably manufactured locally, under a strong Scandinavian influence.

On t h e Or igin Of t h e Sh i eld BOSSeS of t h e t y p e DobroDz i eń m i c h e l k a Z a n s k i The shield bosses of the type Dobrodzień possess typical longitudinal flutes or facets on the calotte. These artefacts are well known in the Barbaricum, particularly in the Middle Danube area and to the north of the Carpathians, with a few isolated finds documented to the east of the Carpathians, on the eastern Black Sea coast, and on the Roman empire's Danubian frontier. The images of the shield bosses of the type Dobrodzień rarely occur on the Roman pictures (the Monza diptych) and on the metalware discovered in the Barbaricum (horse tack plates from Untersiebenbrunn). The period of existence of the shield bosses of the type Dobrodzień as a whole corresponds to 370s-430s. The article suggests the Roman origin of this weaponry: most likely, it was manufactured in a workshop in the Middle Danube area. Moreover, it is still possible that there were some Germanic prototypes for faceted shield bosses were known in the Germanic context already in the late 1 st and 2 nd c.

Rhine-Danube. The Saddle appliques with Cloisonne Decor from the ancient Merovingian Period and their eastern Parallels. Three discoveries of metal saddle appliques have been unearthed in Western and central europe: krefeld-gellep, ravenna and Sárvíz. our aim is to list the parallels of saddle appliques with a similar shape, to determine the origin, datation and function of these items. These appliques have many parallels to the east, in eastern europe and more scarcely in kazakhstan, in the post-hunnic period (from the middle of the 5 th to the middle of the 6 th century). The reconstruction of saddles with metallic appliques is well established based on the discoveries made in the horse tombs in the necropolis of Dyurso, in the northeast of the Black Sea, belonging to the goths-Tetraxites of the second half of the 5 th and the 6 th centuries. We can assume that a common prototype existed for these saddles, as shown by findings in the north caucasus. We can therefore assume the 'oriental' origin of the saddles with metallic appliques. Western appliques (krefeld-gellep, ravenna and Sárvíz) differ from those in eastern europe and kazakhstan, suggesting the existence of various manufacturing centers. indeed, the cloisonné decor of appliques in the West suggests they were manufactured in Mediterranean or Byzantine workshops. lastly, in the funerary context, the presence of saddles with metallic appliques is most often the sign of the privileged nature of the burial. it is a common 'princely fashion' of barbarians from different parts of europe and even asia.

Two crossbow fibulae, belonging to the clothing tradition of the Eastern Germans, were unearthed in a tomb (n ° 94) in the necropolis of Saint-Chéron, in Chartres (France). These fibulae are derived from those of the Ambroz 16/4-III type, belonging to the late Roman period and characteristic of the Chernyakhov culture (in the southern part of Eastern Europe), i.e. Germanic and non-Germanic population (the Goths and their allies). These fibulae are attested, yet more scarcely, on the sites of the cultures of Wielbark and Przeworsk in the Vistula basin, belonging to the Eastern Germans. These fibulae from Eastern and Central Europe are dated from the 3rd and the 4th centuries. Concerning the time of the Great Migrations, mainly for the 5th century, crossbow fibulae derived from those of Ambroz 16/4-III are rare and attested outside of the main area of ​​distribution of their prototypes: in the North-East of the Black Sea (1 site), in Spain (1 site), in Italy (1 site) and especially in Gaul (3 sites). Fibulae of the Ambroz 16/4-III type and their derivatives were found mainly in the area of ​​activity of the Goths during the Roman Period and the Great Migrations, between the Vistula, the Black Sea and the Iberian Peninsula. The few fibulae of this type discovered elsewhere, in Northern Gaul for example, probably attest to the displacement of isolated individuals. Indeed, in the tomb of Saint-Chéron, the position of the pair of fibulae, on the thorax, is entirely in accordance with that adopted by the Eastern Germans in Roman times.

There are two objectives behind this article. First, it seeks to trace down the pedigree of a theory described in scholarly discourse as the 'ethnogenesis model'. As is often believed, the theory originally was, essentially, an innovative concept proposed by Reinhard Wenskus, the German researcher. My article puts forth the idea whereby it was Walter Schlesinger who had laid the foundations for the theory, whose concept was further developed by Wenskus. My other purpose was to verify the basics of the theory itself, based on relevant empirical material; specifi cally, I mainly deal with original sources reporting on the ethnic composition and history of the Vandal people.

FIBULAE OF EAST GERMANIC TRADITION
FROM SAINT-CHÉRON IN NORTHERN GAUL
For the late Roman Period and the beginning of the Great Migration Period on the territory of the Western Roman Empire, and in particular in Northern Gaul, a series of items was revealed — primarily fibulae and combs that belonged to the East German, and primarily Cherniakhiv tradition. Among them there are two braided crossbow brooches with an extended stem, found in one of the burials (No. 94) of the Saint-Cheron burial ground in Chartres (France), and two braced crossbow brooches with an expanded stem. They are derivatives of the Ambros 16/4-III type fasteners from the late Roman period. Similar fasteners in the late Roman time are quite well represented in a wide geographic zone from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Such fibulae are especially typical for the Cherniakhiv culture, that is, for the German and non-German population, identified with the Goths and their allies. In the Cherniakhiv area, such fasteners are best represented in its western part, to the west of the Dniester. That is, in the territory where, according to written sources, Visigoths are localized. These brooches are also found, although much less frequently at the sites of the Wielbark and Przeworsk cultures in the Vistula basin, which also belonged to the East Germans. These fasteners in Eastern and Central Europe are dated by the 3rd—4th centuries. The fibula from the Saint-Chiron burial ground differs from the «eastern» analogs of the Roman time by the rounded section of the back, while in Eastern and Central Europe similar fibulae have a back in the shape of a flattened faceted rod or plate. It seems that the Cherniakhiv, Welbark and Przeworsk brooches are the prototypes of agrafes from the Northern Gaul. Concerning the time of the Great Migrations, mainly for the 5th century, crossbow fibulae derived from those of Ambroz 16/4-III are rare and attested outside of the main area of distribution of their prototypes: in the North-East of the Black Sea (1 site), in Spain (1 site), in Italy (1 site) and especially in Gaul (3 sites). Fibulae of the Ambroz 16/4-III type and their derivatives were found mainly in the area of activity of the Goths during the Roman Period and the Great Migrations, between the Vistula, the Black Sea and the Iberian Peninsula. The few fibulae of this type discovered elsewhere, in the Northern Gaul, for instance, probably attest to the displacement of isolated individuals. Indeed, in the tomb of Saint-Chéron, the position of the pair of fibulae, on the thorax, is entirely in accordance with that adopted by the Eastern Germans in Roman times.

Der verstorbene Doyen der Sachsenforschung, Albert Genrich, dem dieser Band gewidmet ist, hat sich wiederholt mit der Frage beschäftigt, woher die Anregung kam, Körpergräber anzulegen. Die Herkunft des Impulses zur Änderung der Bestattungssitte ist umstritten. Genrich (1939; 1956, 188; 1970, 111; Tischler 1954, 104 ff.) vertrat die Auffassung, daß die Sitte aus dem südjütischen Raum nach Schleswig-Holstein und Niedersachsen (Elb-Weser-Dreieck) vermittelt wurde. Auf der anderen Seite werden die heimkehrenden Söldner aus dem Römischen Reich genannt, die diese Bestattungssitte nach provinzialrömischem Vorbild einführten (Roeder 1933, 17 ff.; Raddatz 1968, 127; Böhme 1974; Laux 1995, 80).
Die Lösung dieser Frage ist nur möglich, wenn die zeitliche Stellung und die kulturellen Bezüge der in Frage kommenden Gräber und ihrer Beigaben geklärt werden. Da Schleswig-Holstein aufgrund seiner Lage eine Brückenfunktion einnehmen müsste, verdienen die Körpergräber aus diesem Raum eine besondere Betrachtung. Sie stellen hier genauso wie in Mecklenburg und in der Altmark eine Rarität dar. Im angrenzenden niedersächsischen Gebiet sind in den letzten Jahren zahlreiche völkerwanderungszeitliche Körpergräber geborgen worden. Hier gehen die großen jüngerkaiserzeitlichen Urnenfriedhöfe allem Anschein nach in Körpergräberfelder über. Dieser Prozess zieht sich über mehrere Generationen hin und setzt etwa in der Mitte des 4. Jahrhunderts ein.

The Mediterranean in Barbaricum: the privileged burials of Cimmerian
Bosphorus in the post-Hunnic period (second half of the
5th-first half of the 6thcenturies).
During the second half of the fifth and the early sixth century, a restricted
number of tombs appear in the Cimmerian Bosphorus containing ceremonial weapons, harnesses and tack for horses and articles of male
clothing: swords, horse bits and buckles (Kerch, tombs 163.1904 and
6.1905; Djurga-Oba, tomb 40; Taman peninsula, tomb of 1912).
Similarly, there are female burials with items of luxury clothing (Djurga-
Oba, tomb 40). These prestige artefacts show that these burials
belong to individuals who were members of the ruling class of the
region in the period following the break-up of Hunnic power. Similar
tombs from the same chronological phase have emerged in central and
western Europe and reflect the “princely” nature of the “barbarian”
kingdoms in the Early Middle Ages. Even older aristocratic burials
(late fourth-early fifth century) have also been found in the Cimmerian
Bosphorus which show the cultural continuity of the local aristocracy
during the period of the Great Migrations.
Keywords: Cimmerian Bosphorus, post-Hunnic period, aristocratic
burials, weapons, harnesses and tack for horses; articles of luxury
clothing.