The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Roman Germany

Description

Germania was one of the most important and complex zones of cultural interaction and conflict between Rome and neighbouring societies. A vast region, it became divided into urbanised provinces with elaborate military frontiers and the northern part of the continental 'Barbaricum'. Recent decades have seen a major effort by German archaeologists, ancient historians, epigraphers, numismatists, and other specialists to explore the Roman era in their own territory, with rich and often surprising new knowledge. This Handbook aims to make the results of this great effort of modern German and overwhelmingly German-language scholarship more widely available to Anglophone scholarship on the empire. Archaeology and ancient history are international enterprises characterised by specific national scholarly traditions; this is notably true of the study of Roman-era Germania. This volume compromises a collection of essays in English by leading scholars working in Germany, presenting the latest developments in current research as well as situating their work within wider international scholarship through a series of critical responses from other, very different, national perspectives. In doing so, this book aims to reveal the riches of the archaeology of Roman Germany, promote the achievements of German scholars in the area, and help facilitate continued English and German language discourses on the Roman era. Cover The Oxford Handbook of THEARCHAEOLOGY OF ROMAN GERMANY Copyright Table of Contents List of Contributors Editors’ Introduction The importance of Germania Origins of the Handbook of Roman Germany Germans and Germany, Germani and Germania, Deutsch and Deutschland: geographical and cultural definitions Why the language barrier? The philosophical gulf Conclusion: reaffirming the importance of Germania, and German scholarship Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Part I: PRELUDE, CONQUEST, AND PROVINCIALISATION A. Occupation and consolidation Chapter 1: The Lands of Germania in the Later Pre-Roman Iron Age Introduction Literary sources and historical interpretation Settlements Oppida Manching Kelheim Heidengraben Steinsburg Heidetränk oppidum Dünsberg Donnersberg Martberg Viereckschanzen and smaller enclosed settlements Open settlements Graves The south The contact zone The north Infrastructure Economy Agriculture Money Warfare Religion References Chapter 2: Emergence of the Provinces Introduction The Romans on the Rhine The occupation of Germania Germania under Roman rule The Varus disaster Attempts at reconquest and there call of Germanicus The development of a frontier in the first century ad The constitution of two Germanic provinces under Domitian Notes References B. Creating a provincial landscape Chapter 3: Archaeology of Germania Superior: Urban Settlements Preconditions Research Origin of the vici On the left bank of the Rhine The right bank of the Rhine Planned development? The establishment of civitas capitals The transition from military to civilian vici Industrial sites and settlements with special functions On the appearance of civitas capitals and vici Public buildings Mogontiacum–Mainz: a provincial capital without urbanism? Arae Flaviae–Rottweil: the modest municipium Nida–Heddernheim: a centre with initial difficulties Lopodunum–Ladenburg: more than a forum and basilica Neuenstadt: a civitas capital in the open countryside Tabernae–Rheinzabern: an ancient industrial site Eisenberg: a centre of iron production Walheim: trading centre on a river Güglingen: street settlement in a rural environment References Chapter 4: Archaeology of Germania Inferior: Urbanization Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (CCAA) Xanten (Colonia Ulpia Traiana/CVT) The vici Industrial settlements Agricultural settlements Summary References Suggested reading Chapter 5: Roman Rural Landscape Occupation in Present-Day Germany: An Overview Introduction The growth of ‘rural settlement archaeology’ Key aspects of settlement archaeology in Germany The Lower Rhine region The Middle Rhine region The Moselle region The northern Rhine region The southern Upper Rhine and Neckar region Northern Raetia References Part II: CORE PROVINCES AT THE EDGE OF EMPIRE C. Wars and Frontiers Chapter 6: Roman Battlefields in Germany: Kalkriese and Harzhorn Introduction Kalkriese Harzhorn Short-term events in the open field and their historical assignment Acknowledgements References Chapter 7: The Limes Introduction Terminology and function Historic developments The end of the limes Frontier installations, watchtowers, and fortlets Watchtowers in everyday life Limes crossing points Fortlets Forts and troops The legions Alae and cohorts Numeri Fort vici Recruits and veterans Prospects Notes References D. An integrated economy Chapter 8: Roman Pottery Research in Germany Development and current state Terra sigillata Rheinzabern Trier Swabian production centres (Nürtingen, Waiblingen, Stuttgart-Kräherwald) Haltern Coarseware Hofheim Niederbieber/Weißenthurm Alzey Schwabmünchen Wimpfen Heidelberg Frankfurt-Heddernheim Heldenbergen Altenstadt Trier Kaiserthermen Neuss Walheim Wetterau Mainz Groß-Gerau Cologne Scientific study of Roman ceramics: the development of analyses and evaluation methods Summary References Chapter 9: Coinage and Money in the Roman Rhineland The first Roman coins Iron Age coins in the military sphere The clades variana Delayed supply? Imitations, coin supply, and traditions of coin use Stability Silver in the early empire Dating the construction of the ‘Upper German–Raetian limes’ Septimius Severus, military pay, and Germania Magna Decentralization . . . . . . and decline? Imitations: ‘bad’ money? Recovery in the fourth century Abbreviations References Suggested reading E. Constituting Provincial Identity Chapter 10: Religion, Cult, and Burial Customs in the German Provinces Introduction Religion The phase of conquest Consolidation of Roman rule Intensive ‘Romanization’ Resolution and transformation Cult and ritual: identifying a ritual context Magical practice, superstition, amulets, and curse tablets Burial customs Special burials References Suggested reading Chapter 11: Writing and Literacy/Illiteracy Literacy and Roman society Rome and Italy The Roman provinces Pre-Roman times Roman Imperial times Roman schools Stone inscriptions Books Wooden tablets, other small inscriptions, and pictorial representations The military Late antiquity Conclusions References Chapter 12: Provincial Art Introduction: On the concept and meaning of ‘provincial art’ Preservation and survival of the images The creation of images: producing and commissioning images Particularities and development of representations Images as means of communication The end of images References Part III: THE TRANSFORMATION OF POWER F. Crisis of the third century Chapter 13: ‘Vi barbarorum absumptam’: A Military History of Roman Germany during the Third Century ad Introduction The Severan dynasty The period between ad 235 and ad 260 The period from ad 260 to the end of the third century ad Summary References Chapter 14: Crisis Research in a Civil Context Introduction Recent scholarly approach to the third century The third century: Basic parameters and main questions of research Climate and archaeoseismic dynamics Crisis of identity and loyalty? Criticism of conventional methods and sources The archaeological evidence regarding crisis research in the two German provinces Upper Germany Pressure, measures, and retreat in the first half of the third century The gradual abandonment of the agri decumates and its aftermath Central places on the Rhine Details of events: Augst as a case study Overcoming the crisis in the late third century Hilltop settlements Lower Germany Economic aspects Summary References G. Germani and Rome Chapter 15: The Germani and the German Provinces of Rome Introduction Settlement and building structures among the German populations of the limes Import-export, or the Romano-Germanic exchange of goods as the basis of economic interaction The development of Germanic elites, or between adaptation and resistance The militarization of Germanic society, or from asymmetric to symmetric warfare Conclusion References Chapter 16: Roman Cultural Influence in Western Germania Magna Introduction Import/export Goods Infrastructure Legal settings Intangible imports Techniques Personal dress and appearance Group activities Religion and rites Architecture and infrastructure Structures of production and trade Traditions Synthesis References Chapter 17: Transformations in the Roman West: The Case of the Alamanni Introduction The third century Developments during the later third and fourth centuries The time around ad 400 and the first half of the fifth century Conclusions Acknowledgement References H. After rome Chapter 18: The Transformation into the Early Middle Ages (Fourth to Eighth Centuries) Introduction Traditional narratives and archaeological sources From empire to post-imperial Barbarian kingdoms: Alamanni, Franci, and Burgundi The state of archaeological research After the ethnic paradigm: methodological developments in late antique and early medieval archaeology The emergence of the early medieval furnished burial Late antique weapon burials High-status burials of the first half of the fifth century Origins of the row-grave cemeteries The transformation of towns The towns of Germania Secunda The towns of Germania Prima The towns of Maxima Sequanorum From villa to village: the transformation of landscape/rural settlements References Chapter 19: Reception and History of Research in the Roman Provinces of Germany Introduction History of research Creation of legends in the Middle Ages Rebirth of the ancient world in the Renaissance The Roman Germany of the antiquarians and the beginnings of limes research Early science and civic societies The emergence of modern organized science The Römlinge at the time of National Socialism Academic recognition Current research: dissertations and externally funded projects Current research: topics since 1999 Critique and prospects References Part IV: EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVES AND FINAL THOUGHTS I . The foreign commearies Chapter 20: The Archaeology of Roman Germany: A Dutch Perspective Introduction An under-theorized, empiricist archaeology? Major fieldwork projects in Germania Magna Ethnicity and material culture Towards an integrated approach to the archaeology of the Roman countryside Conclusion References Chapter 21: Roman Germania? What Germania? References Chapter 22: Germanies, Britains, and the Roman World Acknowledgements References Chapter 23: Roman Germany and provincial archaeology: The North American Perspective Introduction Classical archaeology in North American education Classics subject matter and the place of Roman Germany in North American research The language barrier Methodological approaches: provincial and classical archaeology Future challenges Notes References J . Final word Chapter 24: Concluding remarks on the Handbook of the Archaeology of Roman Germany References Index