Early Medieval Archaeology Research Papers (original) (raw)

- by Massimiliano Ghilardi
- •
- History, Ancient History, Archaeology, Roman History

Mit 21 lokalen, regionalen und überregionalen Studien bietet der Sammelband einen Querschnitt durch die Erforschung frühmittelalterlicher Zentren und Siedlungsstrukturen vornehmlich des bayerisch-ostfränkischen Raumes und benachbarter Landschaften. Das thematische Spektrum reicht dabei von überregional bedeutsamen Zentren wie Pfalzen und Bischofssitzen zu solchen ländlicher Gesellschaften, z.B. Mühlen oder Pfarrkirchen. Der zeitliche Rahmen spannt sich von der Spätantike bis in das beginnende Hochmittelalter. Im Mittelpunkt des Interesses stehen Kriterien für Zentralität, methodische Probleme wie die Abgrenzung von Zentrum und Peripherie, Ursachen für strukturellen Wandel von Zentren sowie die räumliche Verteilung zentraler Funktionen innerhalb überörtlicher zentraler Räume.

This paper argues that the large cremation cemeteries of eastern England in the fifth and sixth century can be interpreted as central places where different households and communities congregated for mortuary rituals, ancestral ceremonies and other social activities. Through their size, early date and the predominant use of cremation, these sites were social and sacred foci where a distinctive mortuary ideology was developed that forged powerful relationships between place, identity, myths and memories. The places selected for these large cremation cemeteries also encouraged this role. By examining four cremation cemeteries in Lincolnshire it is shown how, in different ways, each of them encouraged perceptions of both centrality and liminality. This was achieved through their location in relation to routes, ancient monuments , topography and contemporary settlement patterns. It is argued that while societies of the fifth and sixth century may be regarded as less 'complex' and more regionally varied than those coming before and after, social complexity is revealed in part through the role of mortuary practices and burial rites in strategies for reproducing political and sacred authority, social structures and perceptions of group identities and histories.

Research on early medieval Cyprus has focused on the late antique " golden age " (late fourth/early fifth to seventh century) and the so-called Byzantine " Reconquista " (post-AD 965) while overlooking the intervening period. This phase was characterized, supposedly, by the division of the political sovereignty between the Umayyads and the Byzantines, bringing about the social and demographic dislocation of the population of the island. This book proposes a different story of continuities and slow transformations in the fate of Cyprus between the late sixth and the early ninth centuries. Analysis of new archaeological evidence shows signs of a continuing link to Constantinople. Moreover, together with a reassessment of the literary evidence, archaeology and material culture help us to reappraise the impact of Arab naval raids and contextualize the confrontational episodes throughout the ebb and flow of Eastern Mediterranean history: the political influence of the Caliphate looked stronger in the second half of the seventh century, the administrative and ecclesiastical influence of the Byzantine empire held sway from the beginning of the eighth to the twelfth century. Whereas the island retained sound commercial ties with the Umayyad Levant in the seventh and eighth centuries, at the same time politically and economically it remained part of the Byzantine sphere. This belies the idea of Cyprus as an independent province only loosely tied to Constantinople and allows us to draw a different picture of the cultural identities, political practices and hierarchy of wealth and power in Cyprus during the passage from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages.

Preface; I. Introduction: I.1 Prelude "To Imitate the Bees"; I.2 Towards an Interpretation of Spolia: Delimitations and Methods; I.3 Reuse The Development of a New Architectural Practice; II. Translatio of Materials: II.1 Fragments and Fragmentation. The Disposition of Spolia in Church Buildings; II.2 Translations and Transferences: Christian Versions of Roman Architecture; II.3 The Aesthetics of Appropriation Eclecticism, Variety, and Antithetical Harmonies; III. Translatio of Meanings: III.1 Breaking Down the Past Rejections of Rationality; III.2 "Seeing the invisible" Towards a New Metaphorical Architecture; III.3 To "Strip Error Bare" The Rhetoric of Transformation; IV. Translatio of Time: IV.1 "Novelty in the Old and Age in the New". The Rhetoric of Renovation; IV.2 Recollecting the Past Spolia and Historical Consciousness; IV.3 Inventing the Past: Spolia and the Ideology of Classicism; Bibliography; List of Illustrations; Photo Credits; Index.

This paper will summarise the evidence for the development of ‘Christian’ burial places in Scotland from AD 400-1100. A body of radiocarbon dates now allows us to track developments in burial practice in unprecedented chronological detail. Scotland’s burial evidence comes mainly from field cemeteries not associated with churches, but these can now be compared with burials from recently-published excavations on early monastic sites. The material culture of death, burial and Christian worship were integrated and interacted with existing physical and mental landscapes. 'Christian' burial places did not begin as founder's graves or shrines over saint's tombs, and it is argued here that the familiar concept of a 'Christian cemetery' did not arrive fully formed with monasticism, but was formed by adapting existing burial rites to a new social setting. Only by tracing the processes of creating, maintaining and often forgetting burial places across the early medieval period can we shed new light on conversion and the eventual consolidation of Christendom in the post-Roman west.

Earlier studies carried out on Sungbo’s Eredo (embankment) showed that it is about 165 km in circumference and surrounds the whole of Ijebu Kingdom. From the date obtained by Aremu et al. (2013: 17), the structure is thought to have been built around 5000 years ago. However, it is possible that the site was also occupied during the medieval period, as evidenced in the remains around the sacred grove. This paper reports on a GPS survey of the site and excavations carried out during 2014 fieldwork archaeology intended to confirm or refute the dates previously obtained from the embankment. It examines the cultural materials recovered from the excavation, including Late Stone Age materials and those of the Neolithic period. Analysis of the Neolithic and Late Stone Age materials suggests that the site may be of greater antiquity than earlier reported and that this forest zone of West Africa was occupied at different time periods.

Kniha byla vydána v Praze roku 1999 / The book was published in Prague in 1999.

- by Digital library Bohemia
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- Archaeology, Medieval History, Museum Studies, Medieval Studies

The Royal manor Avaldsnes in southwest Norway holds a rich history testified by 13th century sagas and exceptional graves from the first millennium AD. In 2011–12 the settlement was excavated. In this first book from the project crucial results from an international team of 23 scholars are published. The chapters cover a wide array of topics ranging from building-remains and scientific analyses of finds to landownership and ritual manifestations. It is suggested that Avaldsnes was a prominent base for sea kings that operated along the West-Scandinavian coast in the first millennium AD. The martial competence developed through the centuries in the sea-king environment was the basis of the Vikings' military success in the 9th–10th centuries.

- by Dagfinn Skre and +11
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- Maritime Archaeology, Maritime History, Early Medieval Archaeology, Early Medieval History

R. Schot, C. Newman and E. Bhreathnach (eds), Landscapes of Cult and Kingship. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2011.

- by Roseanne Schot and +1
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- Mythology And Folklore, Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Cosmology (Anthropology)

The recent salvage excavations in Slovenia have brought to light a number of early medieval settlements. One of the most important is Nova Tabla, near Murska Sobota. A relatively large number of radiocarbon dates obtained from charcoal samples collected from that site have encouraged speculations about the date of the Slavic settlement in Prekmurje (the region along the river Mura). However, both the collection and the publication of the radiocarbon dates are faulty, and the conclusions drawn on such a basis are therefore wrong. The paper addresses those notions and suggests a new interpretation of the site. Over the last few decades, salvage archaeology has completely changed the understanding of the early medieval settlements and cemeteries of East Central Europe. Large-scale infrastructure programs, such as the construction of highways, have led to the discovery of many new sites. In Slovenia, archaeological excavations carried out between 1995 and 2008 along the route of the highway segment between Celja and Lendava (central and eastern Slovenia, respectively) have brought to light a relatively large number of settlement sites in the valley of the river Mura (part of the region known in Slovenia as Prekmurje), south of present-day Murska Sobota. 1 Simultaneously, salvage and systematic excavations have brought to light many more sites in northern Croatia, along the southern bank of the Drava (the region known in Croatia as

Clonfad is an early medieval ecclesiastical enclosure, 10% of which was excavated in 2004-5, in advance of the N6/N52 link road. Work revealed important evidence for iron hand-bell production, intensive iron-working, and other artisan and agricultural production activity. Clonfad, founded in the mid 6th century (by Librán) was a daughter house of St. Finnian's Clonard, Co Meath and roughly the same size and morphology as Nendrum, Co Down. This extract includes selected chapters from the book, P.Stevens & J.Channing 2012 Settlement and Community in the Fir Tulach Kingdom, NRA and Westmeath County Council, detailing three neighbouring and contemporary enclosure sites, excavated on the N6/N52 road schemes in Co Westmeath by the authors.

Researchers from different fields like archaeology, history, philology and natural sciences present their studies on ancient gemstones. Using precious minerals as an example, trade flows and craftsmanship, but also utilisation and perception are discussed in a cross-cultural and diachronic approach. The present volume aims at three main questions concerning gemstones in archaeological and historical contexts: »Mines and Trade«, »Gemstone Working« as well as »The Value and the Symbolic Meaning(s) of Gemstones«.
This volume contains the proceedings of the conference »Gemstones in the first Millennium AD« held in autumn 2015 in Mainz, Germany, within the scope of the BMBF-funded project »Weltweites Zellwerk – International Framework«.

- by Alexandra Hilgner and +1
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- Archaeology, Art History, Indian Ocean History, Early Medieval Archaeology
- by Michał Wardzyński PhD and +7
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- Renaissance Art, Early Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Art, Baroque art and architecture

The small Chapel of San Silvestro is located at the foot of the castrum on Monte San Martino (Lomaso, Trentino). There, a building that was part of an ancient villa was excavated in collaboration between the Department of Cultural Heritage (Trento, Italy), the municipality of Comano Terme and the parish of Vigo Lomaso. The villa had become a burial ground in the 7th century. Stones with tracery and other architectural components point to the existence of a Carolingian church and provide evidence of the lifestyle of the local élite at the time. The relationship between the inhabitants of
the two sites, i. e. of the hilltop settlement at San Martino and the settlement at San Silvestro in the valley remains unknown. It is clear, however, that the people buried at both sites were partly contemporary as was shown by radiocarbon dating carried out on the graves. The furnishings of a crypt (with various fragments of a comb placed in it) and of an inhumation that was surrounded by stones strongly suggest common cultural features. The sites quite obviously provide an opportunity to compare two groups of people who lived in different circumstances during the early medieval and in the same area.
Anthropological and various scientific methods of examination, including stable isotope analyses, will be of particular importance here.

Книга была издана в 1958 году / Kniha byla vydána v roce 1958 / Book was published in 1958.

- by Digital library Bohemia and +1
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- Archaeology, Medieval History, Medieval Studies, Early Medieval Archaeology
- by Marcin Piotrowski
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- History, Archaeology, Early Medieval Archaeology, Barbaricum

The circumstances surrounding the birth of the Polish state have long elicited fascination. The events of those times, as recorded by a range of chroniclers, convey the figure of Mieszko I as a leader fighting alongside his brothers, with varying fortune, on the western borderlands of the state then emerging. Only one of those brothers is known by name – Czcibor – whereas about the other we know only that he died during a clash with Wichman, the exiled German graf (count). The few and laconic written sources we have do, however, bear witness to a dynasty that in only just a few years – most probably between 962 and 966 – expanded its realm from virtual non-existence into organizational and territorial greatness. Indeed, as the emissary from Cordoba, Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, writing in 965, noted, “[a]nd as concerns the country of Mieszko, his is the vastest of the Slavic countries”.
What does modern archaeology tell us about these matters? To what degree can the discoveries made in various regions of Polish lands be acknowledged as sufficient?
These are but some of the many questions I shall try to answer on the pages of this monograph.
see also on:
https://archeologia.com.pl/10-najwazniejszych-odkryc-polskiej-archeologii-2021/

- by Andrzej Buko
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- Early Medieval Archaeology, Early State Formation, Medieval Society, Medieval Poland

Resumen: El vidrio de al-Andalus ha recibido poco interés por parte de la investigación
especializada. Sin embargo, recientes avances han puesto de manifiesto su interés
no solo desde un punto de vista meramente formal sino también como un medio auxiliar
para conocer diversos aspectos de la sociedad andalusí.
En este trabajo se recopilan de manera muy sintética lo que sabemos en la actualidad
sobre el vidrio en al-Andalus. Partiendo de una breve introducción sobre la producción
y comercialización del vidrio en al-Andalus a partir de las investigaciones arqueométricas,
se bosqueja la evolución de sus formas y decoraciones a lo largo de la historia de
al-Andalus. Con ello tratamos de poner de relieve las grandes posibilidades que ofrece
su estudio multidisciplinar aunando la información de las fuentes escritas, la arqueología,
la tipológica y la composición química del vidrio. Una investigación que aún se
encuentra en un estado incipiente pero que ya se está constituyendo como una herramienta
muy relevante para el estudio de la evolución y difusión de las modas estéticas,
la tecnología, mecanismos de producción y el comercio en la historia de al-Andalus.
Palabras clave: Vidrio, Arqueometría, Tipología, al-Andalus, Arte Islámico.
Abstract: Glass from al-Andalus has received little attention from specialized research.
Recent progress has shown its interest not only from a formal perspective, but
also as an auxiliary source in understanding various aspects of Andalusian society. In
this paper, we have compiled in a very synthetic way what we know so far about glass
in al-Andalus. Starting with a brief introduction on the production and commercialisation
of glass in al-Andalus based on archaeometric research, we outline the evolution
of its forms and decorations throughout the history of al-Andalus. The aim is to
highlight the great potential offered by a multidisciplinary approach combining information
from written sources, archaeology, typology, and the chemical composition of
glass. The research on glass in al-Andalus is its infancy but is already becoming a relevant
tool for studying the development and diffusion of aesthetic trends, technologies,
mechanisms of production and trade in the history of al-Andalus.
Keywords: Glass, Archaeometry, Typology, al-Andalus, Islamic Art.

- by Jorge de Juan Ares and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Art History, Medieval Islam, Early Medieval Archaeology

The international exhibition project Avars and Slavs is presented through two exhibitions: the Croatian exhibition Avars and Slavs south of the Drava river, and the Slovak exhibition Avars and Slavs north of the Danube. The exhibitions display the archaeological material from Croatian museums, private collections, also including a group of items found during recent archaeological excavations, as well as the items from Slovak museums and institutions. The aforementioned period is presented through carefully chosen jewellery items, warrior equipment, agricultural tools, pottery, and bone items.The exhibitions are the center of communication and interaction of the two distant, yet close Slavic countries, and show incredible similarities among the material found in Croatia and Slovakia.

- by Anita Dugonjić and +6
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- Early Medieval Archaeology, Archaeology of the Avars, Slavs

This is a published doctoral thesis in Turkish language at the Dokuz Eylül University, submitted by Gülseren Kan Şahin in 2015. In this dissertation pottery finds from Hadrianopolis and its chora in southwestern Paphlagonia (northwestern central Turkey) are presented in detail, which were collected between the years 2005 and 2008. A version of this thesis in English language is already published in 2016 as a part of BAR International Series (no. 2786) and in Turkish language in 2019 as a part of publication series of Turkish Historical Society.
Paphlagonia was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, bordered by Bithynia to the west, Pontus to the east and Galatia to the south. Today, Hadrianopolis and its chora lie in the region around Eskipazar in the Turkish province of Karabük. Between 2005 and 2008 an archaeological team from the Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir carried out archaeological field surveys, excavations and restorations in Hadrianopolis and its close surroundings. During these four field campaigns, 1550 sherds ranging between the Pre-Iron Age (IInd mill. BC.) and the Middle Byzantine period (late 11th/early 12th cent. AD.) were collected, most of which consisted of Late Roman-Early Byzantine (late 5th-mid 8th cent. AD.) coarse ware. In this study 30 main pottery groups were constituted, based on their chronology, function and fabric. The book contains a detailed description of each find deposit, including the typologies and fabrics of wares and a comprehensive catalogue with drawings, as well as photos, of each sherd. It is, thus, the first extensive pottery report of the Turkish Black Sea area, offering a continual picture of all the wares and chronologies available, including their chronologies.

- by Ergun LAFLI
- •
- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Pottery (Archaeology), Anatolian Archaeology

Synekdemos, a geographical text of Hierokles presents the administrative structure of the Eastern Roman Empire in the early 6th century AD. Six dioeceses (large administrative units), 64 eparchiai (provinces) and 920 poleis (cities) are registered in catalogues, in such a way that the political geography of the period becomes apparent. The critical edition by Honigmann (1939) displays maps without a geophysical background. This fact makes the study of the historical settlements network more difficult. In order to facilitate this study, maps of the 64 provinces have been created to describe and offer a clear overall view of the regional context. These maps follow historical topography as this appeared in Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (2000). In addition, they support a database which classifies the settlements according to historical and geographical criteria. The first set of criteria is related to parameters and variables, such as the date of foundation, constant presence in five historical periods, ancient and modern toponyms. The second set is related to the location of the settlements, and uses parameters and variables, such as geomorphology, water elements, communication networks and presence of a nodal point or port. The province of Palaia Epeiros has been chosen as an example of the advantages that such a database has to offer. The combination of maps with a database improves the historical-geographical study of the settlements network, and accentuates the importance of Synecdemos as a basic geographical text of the period, α quality that has escaped the attention of the “official” History of Cartography (1987).""

- by Dimitris P. Drakoulis
- •
- Philology, Historical Geography, Regional Geography, Cartography

Project Eliseg involved three field seasons (2010–12) of survey and excavation at the multi-period mortuary and commemorative monument known as the Pillar of Eliseg, near Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales. Each season incorporated an evolving range of media and public engagement activities, with digital media employed to disseminate ongoing work both globally and locally, including to those unable to access the site during the excavation seasons. One of the key strategies employed via digital media in seasons 2 and 3 was a daily video-blog (hereafter: vlog). This article presents and appraises the rationale, design, content and reception of the Project Eliseg vlog revealing key lessons in the use of digital media in archaeological fieldwork, particularly for those engaged with the archaeology of death, burial and commemoration.

- by Howard Williams and +3
- •
- Public Archaeology, Blogs, Blogging, the Blogosphere, Early Medieval Archaeology, Early Medieval History

Objects in graves have been a traditional focus of burial archaeology. Conventional interpretations of their meanings revolved around religion (equipment for the hereafter, Charon’s Penny), legal concepts (inalienable possessions) and social structure (status display, ostentatious destruction of wealth). An interdisciplinary perspective drawing on archaeological literature, anthropological evidence and sociological theory widens the range of possible interpretations. Textual sources of the Roman and early medieval periods highlight the importance of gift-giving to the deceased, but also to deities. Anthropology shows the importance of the disposal of polluted items in the grave, and of protecting the living. Ethnographic cases also underpin theoretical considerations concerning the role of biographical representations (metaphors) during the funeral, as well as emphasizing the desire and the need to forget the dead. Textual and archaeological evidence from the Early Middle Ages suggest that these motives were not sharply separated, but that many of them played a role during any one funeral. In addition, motives changed over time, and the associations of particular grave-goods (such as coins or weapons) varied across time and geographical regions. Above all, multiplicity of messages and variability of meanings characterized the deposition of objects in early medieval graves.

This article discusses material culture and European history during the time span between AD 400 and 800.
During this and many other phases of history, Scandinavia was separated from other parts of Europe in
more than one way. Its regions and countries have almost always been at a distance from the main conflicts
on the continent (though not necessarily remaining unaffected). There is no evidence that parts of
Scan dinavia were conquered by any of the big empires or were in the path of major migrations. In the long
his torical perspective, the Scandinavians instead were either spectators or plunderers and conquerors. But
whether they were active on the continent or not, there have always been contacts of some sort with the
continent. Archaeologically this is reflected in imported goods and domestic objects influenced by foreign
cultures. These contacts have continuously affected the religion, economy and social life of people in Scan -
dinavia.
This paper focuses upon imported goods found primarily in present-day Sweden, and dated between the
5th and 9th centuries AD. The nature of this trade and exchange is a very broad subject, which is hard to
cover in a single article. Here I shall present an overview of different types of imports that reached Scan -
dinavia in the period concerned. There is a need for a broad view, as different materials may provide different
answers or perhaps strengthen earlier interpretations. I will also try to develop previous researcher’s
views upon distinct changes in the trading patterns around the middle of the 6th century.

- by John Ljungkvist
- •
- Early Medieval Archaeology, Trade, Ancient Glass, Vendel period