AEA_24 The Roman Era and the Great Migrations in Central Europe

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2020
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 4 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Balázs Komoróczy, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Klára Šabatová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. Mgr. Jiří Macháček, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 8:00–9:40 M22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The lecture is focused at the issue of the first six centuries AD (so-called Roman Period and Great Migration Period) in the archaeological and historical connotations.
The lecture's aim lays in definition of the specific methodological aspects of study of the broader area around the course of the Middle Danube. The area lays in a frontier zone of the cultural, social and political different worlds (developed ancient civilization and then barbaricum).
The instruction is completed by a characteristic of archaeological evidences of the causes and consequences of social and cultural changes in the area of Central Europe towards the end of the 4th century AD and primarily in the following turbulent era - Great Migration Period. In the epoch of the first six centuries AD was realized and completed a cultural and social transformation of the area of Central Europe that allowed a formation and establishment of the first states.
Syllabus
  • 1. Spatial and temporal definition of the topic. Basic characteristic, terminology and methodological approaches to the study of the Roman period in Central Europe. An overview of main written, epigraphic, visual sources; including a basic classification of the archaeological sources. Roman period periodization systems overview and the issue of relative and absolute chronology.
  • 2. Situation in Central Europe of Late LaTene/Pre-Roman and Earlier Roman period. Main historical events of the period with a focus on the delimitated territory and theirs archaeological evideces. Early Roman period characteristic from the position of the burial rite and settlement conditions (the Plaňany group of the Grossromstedt culture, the Marbod Empire and classical eye-fibulae horizon).
  • 3. Noricum and North Pannonian limes with examples of important military and civilian complexes (Carnuntum, Vindobona, Gerulata). The Kingdom of Vannius and establishment of the suebic population in the northpannonian barbaricum. Roman buildings, their dating and functions in the foreland of the Pannonian limes: Slovakia (Bratislava-Dúbravka, Stupava etc.).
  • 4. Early Roman period characteristics and the phenomenon of richly equipped princely graves in the early Roman period. Examples of grave complexes of the Lübsow group (Zohor, Vysoká pri Morave). The burial rite, graves, burial grounds and theirs contributions to the stratification of the Germanic society in the 1st to 2nd centuries AD. Comparison with the Roman-provincial rite of the Pannonian borderland.
  • 5. Horizon of the Marcomannic wars, Roman military activities noth od the Middle Danube and the key area of Mušov. Dating and interpretation of the Princely tomb of Mušov. Issues of short-term (marching) military camps in Barbaricum and the northpannonian limes in the time of Marcomannic wars (Brigetio, Iža-Leányvár a Aquincum). Contacts and relationships inside the barbaricum area, impacts and inflows from the przeworsk and wielbark cultures territory.
  • 6. Archaeological picture of the transitory period between the Early and Late Roman Period. Settlement of the Roman Period, features and changes in their structure. Examples on newly established cremated burial grounds. Basic spectrum and significance of the Roman “imports”. Organization, development and intensity of trade, diplomatic gifts and spoil of war.
  • 7. Late Roman Period from the viewpoint of burial rite, burial grounds and settlements. Princely graves of the Leuna-Hassleben group, stratification and contacts of the Germanic society of the Late Roman period. Late Roman Period elites and their possible residences.
  • 8. Economic characteristics of Roman Period and Great Migration Period. Acpects and importance of the Germanic agliculture and livestock farming (based on written records, scientific and osteological analyses). Overview of production grounds and issues of specialized handcrafts (metallurgy and pottery production). Religious ideas and a possibility of their registration via archaeological features and finds.
  • 9. Final phase of the Roman period and the outset of the Great Migration Period. Issues of the Zlechov type settlements and other sites of a transitory character, high situated settlements include. North Carpathian group. Outline of main written sources to the Migration period with a focus on Central Europe.
  • 10. Archaeological periodizations of the Great Migration Period. Historical framework of the 1st half of the 5th century - up to 454 and a brief history of the Huns, the Scirii, the Gepids and the Vandals. Burial rite characteristic, settlements and the individual categories of material culture (issue of an equestrian nomadic society presentation).
  • 11. Historic framework of the 2nd half of the 5th century and a brief history of the Rugians and Heruli. Burial rite and the grave equipment of the significant burials (the princely tomb in Cézavy near Blučina, stone bulit mausoleum of Žuráň). Late pre-Langobard settlement (the burial ground in Strachotín). The origins of the Langobards and the localization of their movement at the end of the 5th century.
  • 12. Brief history of the Langobards and evidences of their presence north of the middle Danube course. The issue of grave “robbing”. Unique settlement features of the Late Migration Period. The Langobards in Pannonia, their contacts with the Gepids and causes of Langobard´s departure to Northern Italy.
Literature
  • DROBERJAR, Eduard. Studien zu den germanischen Siedlungen der älteren römischen Kaiserzeit in Mähren. Translated by Jiří Leksa, Illustrated by Magdalena Fábiková - Bohumil Prudk. Pragae: Museum Nationale Pragae, 1997, 378 s. ISBN 80-7036-039-9. info
  • DROBERJAR, Eduard. Encyklopedie římské a germánské archeologie v Čechách a na Moravě. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2002, 456 s. ISBN 807277106X. info
  • DROBERJAR, Eduard. Archeologie pravěkých Čech. Edited by Vladimír Salač. Praha: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, 2008, 214 s. ISBN 9788086124810. URL info
  • KOLNÍK, Titus. Rímske a germánske umenie na Slovensku. Edited by Ján Dekan, Photo by Jozef Krátky. 1. vyd. Bratislava: Tatran, 1984, 312 s. info
  • KOMORÓCZY, Balázs, Dana CEJNKOVÁ and Jaroslav TEJRAL. Římané a Germáni. Nepřátelé - rivalové - sousedé (Romans and Germans. Enemies – rivals – neighbours.). Brno: SVAN, spol. s. r. o., 2003, 28 pp. ISBN 80-85956-19-5. info
  • PEŠKA, Jaroslav and Jaroslav TEJRAL. Das germanische Königsgrab von Mušov in Mähren. Mainz, 2002, 573 pp. Monographien Röm.-German. Zentralmuseum 56. ISBN 978-3-88467-076-7. info
  • SAKAŘ, Vladimír and Jan BOUZEK. Římské provincie a limes Romanus ve střední a západní Evropě. Vyd. 1. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1990, 149 s. ISBN 80-7066-161-5. info
  • SALAČ, Vladimír. Starší doba římská. In: Salač, V. (ed.) et al: Archeologie pravěkých Čech/8. Doba římská a doba stěhování národů. Praha 2008, 17-126.
  • TEJRAL, Jaroslav. Morava na sklonku antiky. 1. vyd. Praha: Academia, 1982, 253 s. info
  • TEJRAL, Jaroslav. Na hranicích impéria (doba římská). In: Podborský, V. (ed.): Pravěké dějiny Moravy. Brno1993, 424-470.
  • Tejral, Jaroslav. Za dob velkého neklidu (doba stěhování národů). In: Podborský, V. (ed.): Pravěké dějiny Moravy. Brno 1993, 471-503.
  • TEJRAL, Jaroslav. Langobardische Gräberfelder in Mähren. Brno: Archäologisches Institut der Akademie der Wissenschaften der Tschechischen Republik, 2011, 459 s. ISBN 9788086023977. info
Teaching methods
Lectures with bilingual presentations (Czech and English),reading in Czech, English and other languages. Chosen lectures are presented in English.
Assessment methods
Requirements for the examination: General attainments; knowledge of the instructed life and customs and the methodology of study of the period; individual work with assigned specialist literature.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Information on completion of the course: Informace ke způsobu ukončení viz sylabus.
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 1999, Autumn 2001, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2018.
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