Cultural Transformations in Germania Secunda: A Holistic Approach to 'Barbarian' Migrations(128 Archaeopress Roman Archaeology)

Studies of the Late Roman Lower German frontier have often focused on the evidence for Germanic migrants from either burials, material culture or settlement forms. Cultural Transformations in Germania Secunda adopts a multi-variate approach combining data on settlements, finds and metallurgy in both Germania Secunda and Germania Magna to present a more complex picture. A long-term comparison of structural evidence, archaeobotanical data and handmade pottery from rural settlements challenges the role of migration in the changes observed in the Late Roman settlement landscape. Instead of distinct migration events, this book argues for long-term interactive processes such as trade, exchange and multi-directional mobility. This book further brings together evidence on style, decoration, dating, spatial distribution and find contexts of 4540 civilian and military copper-alloy dress ornaments to challenge labels such as "Roman", "Germanic", "military" and "civilian" to argue for long-term continuity and hybridisation of material culture styles in the Lower Rhine frontier area in the Late Roman period. This Nuanced approach is also supported by the metallurgical analysis of 686 copper-alloy dress accessories, which gave insight into the production organisation of items worn by different social groups.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction and literature review  Migration (theory) in (Late Roman) archaeology Approaches to non-Roman identities in Late Roman archaeology Discussion and thesis themes Research objectives and thesis structure   Chapter 2: Migrant communities in rural settlements in Germania Secunda Settlement (dis)contuinuity Sunken feature buildings (SFB) Rye cultivation/consumption Handmade pottery House architecture Discussion   Chapter 3: Spatial and chronological distribution of civilian dress accessories Late 3rd-4th century brooches and hairpins 4th-5th century brooches 5th century brooches and hairpins Discussion   Chapter 4: Spatial and chronological distribution of military dress accessories Crossbow brooches The Late Roman military belt Distribution and deposition Depositional practices: ‘belt graves’ Decoration on belts Social connotations Discussion   Chapter 5: Methodology for pXRF and dimensional measurements Literature review Set-up and review Late Roman copper alloys and the possibility of recycling Sampling strategy and object choice Methods for presenting data   Chapter 6: Shape of the pXRF dataset The composition of the dataset Decorative surface treatments A chronological perspective A first comparison between military and civilian alloys   Chapter 7: Compositional patterns of production in copper-alloy dress accessories Military dress ornaments Coefficient of variation: dimensions A comparison with contemporary civilian dress accessories A brief look towards the north Conclusion   Chapter 8: Conclusion Appendices Appendix 1. Inventory of long and short houses from Late Roman settlements in Germania Secunda Appendix 2. Inventory of sunken feature buildings (SFB) from Late Roman settlements in Germania Magna and Germania Secunda Digital Appendices Appendix 3. Inventory of Late Roman civilian-associated dress accessories from Germania Magna and Germania Secunda Appendix 4. Inventory of Late Roman military-associated dress accessories from Germania Magna and Germania Secunda Appendix 5. pXRF dataset on Late Roman copper-alloy dress accessories from Germania Magna and Germania Secunda Appendix 6. Dataset of object dimensions of Late Roman copper-alloy dress accessories from Germania Magna and Germania Secunda Plates Bibliography Classical sources References