- 202 Flint Hall
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117320
Gainesville, FL 32611-7320 - (352) 273-3367
Florin Curta
University of Florida, History, Faculty Member
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Balkan Studies, Medieval Archaeology, Eastern European history, History, Medieval Studies, Archaeology, and 66 moreHungarian Studies, Symeon the Stylite, Medieval Nobility, History of kievan Rus philosophy, Gift Exchange, Latin, Medieval Pottery, Sigillography, South East European Studies, Central European Studies, Migrations (Medieval Studies), Semiotics Of Culture, Polish Studies, Funerary Archaeology, Early Medieval History, Medieval Italy, Anthropology of Eastern Christianity, Czech & Slovak Studies, Byzantine Paleography and codicology, Material Culture Studies, Post-Socialism, Vikings in the North Atlantic, Historical Anthropology, Ukrainian Studies, Paleography (Historical Auxiliary Sciences), Metallurgy (Medieval Studies), Russian Studies, Anthropology of Pilgrimage, Romania, Greece (Anthropology), Bulgaria, Ethnicity, Symbolic Anthropology (Anthropology), Italian Studies, History of semiotics, Ireland, Mediterranean Studies (Area Studies), Late Antique Literature, Anthropology of the Balkans, Nomadic Art, Late Antique Art and Archaeology, Spanish Florida, Archaeology of the Avars, Liv (Livonian), Florida Studies, Dendrochronology, Hungarian Archaeology, Medievalism, Byzantine Architecture, East European intelligentsias, Byzantine Literature, Cistercian architecture, Mount Athos Studies, Semiotics And Language, Monasticism, 3D GIS, Romanian Studies, Spolia, Byzantine art, Byzantine Studies, Khazar archaeology and history, Alexandru Madgearu, Ceramics (Archaeology), Polish History, Viking Age Archaeology, Pechenegs and Cumans, and History of the Mongol Empire edit
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This book explores the uncharted territory of the history of archaeology under Communism through the biographies of five women archaeologists from the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland. They were all working in medieval... more
This book explores the uncharted territory of the history of archaeology under Communism through the biographies of five women archaeologists from the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland. They were all working in medieval archaeology, with a specific focus on the (early) Slavs. The choice of specialists in medieval archaeology has much to do with the fact that in the five East European countries considered in this book, medieval archaeology began to develop into a serious discipline less than a century ago. The main catalyst for the sudden rise of medieval archaeology was a dramatic shift in emphasis from traditional political and constitutional to social and economic history. In all five countries, the rise of medieval archaeology thus coincides in time, and was ultimately caused by the imposition of Communist regimes. The five women were therefore true pioneers in their field, and respective countries.
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The Routledge Handbook of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1300 is the first of its kind to provide a point of reference for the history of the whole of Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. While historians have... more
The Routledge Handbook of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1300 is the first of its kind to provide a point of reference for the history of the whole of Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.
While historians have recognized the importance of integrating the eastern part of the European continent into surveys of the Middle Ages, few have actually paid attention to the region, its specific features, problems of chronology, and historiography. This vast region represents more than two thirds of the European continent, but its history in general – and its medieval history in particular – is poorly known. This book covers the history of the whole region, from the Balkans to the Carpathian Basin, and the Bohemian Forest to the Finnish Bay. It provides an overview of the current state of research and a route map for navigating an abundant historiography available in more than ten different languages. Chapters cover topics as diverse as religion, architecture, art, state formation, migration, law, trade, and the experiences of women and children.
This book is an essential reference for scholars and students of medieval history, as well as those interested in the history of central and eastern Europe. More details here: https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-East-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-in-the-Middle/Curta/p/book/9780367226558
While historians have recognized the importance of integrating the eastern part of the European continent into surveys of the Middle Ages, few have actually paid attention to the region, its specific features, problems of chronology, and historiography. This vast region represents more than two thirds of the European continent, but its history in general – and its medieval history in particular – is poorly known. This book covers the history of the whole region, from the Balkans to the Carpathian Basin, and the Bohemian Forest to the Finnish Bay. It provides an overview of the current state of research and a route map for navigating an abundant historiography available in more than ten different languages. Chapters cover topics as diverse as religion, architecture, art, state formation, migration, law, trade, and the experiences of women and children.
This book is an essential reference for scholars and students of medieval history, as well as those interested in the history of central and eastern Europe. More details here: https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-East-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-in-the-Middle/Curta/p/book/9780367226558
Much has been written in recent years about the continuity between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Few are those who would now challenge the model of the “transformation of the Roman world” established in the 1990s through a 5-year... more
Much has been written in recent years about the continuity between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Few are those who would now challenge the model of the “transformation of the Roman world” established in the 1990s through a 5-year research program generously funded by the European Science Foundation. There has so far been no attempt to test the model on the eastern part of the European continent, not even on the Balkans, a region which is conspicuously absent from Chris Wickham’s book on Europe and the Mediterranean between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. This book tests the model, but goes much farther than that. From an economic and social point of view, the “long sixth century” is a crucial period in the history of Eastern Europe. However, the evidence pertaining to that history is primarily archaeological, as beyond the Balkans and the neighboring territories to the north of the river Danube, much of Eastern Europe was not on the radar of the written sources pertaining to the 6th and 7th centuries. As a consequence, there have been no attempts to write an economic and social history of this region of the continent, since few historians inclined to do so could keep up with the rapidly accumulating evidence, and equally changing interpretations of the archaeological material. While based on an in-depth analysis of the archaeological data, combined, where possible, with the written sources, the picture in this book is different from both the standard Marxist interpretation, which was the rule in most countries in Eastern Europe until 1989, and the neo-Marxist model of analysis offered by Chris Wickham for Europe and the Mediterranean between ca. 400 and ca. 800.
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Slavs in the Making takes a fresh look at archaeological evidence from parts of Slavic-speaking Europe north of the Lower Danube, including the present-day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and... more
Slavs in the Making takes a fresh look at archaeological evidence from parts of Slavic-speaking Europe north of the Lower Danube, including the present-day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.
Nothing is known about what the inhabitants of those remote lands called themselves during the sixth century, or whether they spoke a Slavic language. The book engages critically with the archaeological evidence from these regions, and questions its association with the "Slavs" that has often been taken for granted. It also deals with the linguistic evidence—primarily names of rivers and other bodies of water—that has been used to identify the primordial homeland of the Slavs, and from which their migration towards the Lower Danube is believed to have started. It is precisely in this area that sociolinguistics can offer a serious alternative to the language tree model currently favoured in linguistic paleontology. The question of how best to explain the spread of Slavic remains a controversial issue. This book attempts to provide an answer, and not just a critique of the method of linguistic paleontology upon which the theory of the Slavic migration and homeland relies.
The book proposes a model of interpretation that builds upon the idea that (Common) Slavic cannot possibly be the result of Slavic migration. It addresses the question of migration in the archaeology of early medieval Eastern Europe, and makes a strong case for a more nuanced interpretation of the archaeological evidence of mobility. It will appeal to scholars and students interested in medieval history, migration, and the history of Eastern and Central Europe.
Nothing is known about what the inhabitants of those remote lands called themselves during the sixth century, or whether they spoke a Slavic language. The book engages critically with the archaeological evidence from these regions, and questions its association with the "Slavs" that has often been taken for granted. It also deals with the linguistic evidence—primarily names of rivers and other bodies of water—that has been used to identify the primordial homeland of the Slavs, and from which their migration towards the Lower Danube is believed to have started. It is precisely in this area that sociolinguistics can offer a serious alternative to the language tree model currently favoured in linguistic paleontology. The question of how best to explain the spread of Slavic remains a controversial issue. This book attempts to provide an answer, and not just a critique of the method of linguistic paleontology upon which the theory of the Slavic migration and homeland relies.
The book proposes a model of interpretation that builds upon the idea that (Common) Slavic cannot possibly be the result of Slavic migration. It addresses the question of migration in the archaeology of early medieval Eastern Europe, and makes a strong case for a more nuanced interpretation of the archaeological evidence of mobility. It will appeal to scholars and students interested in medieval history, migration, and the history of Eastern and Central Europe.
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https://brill.com/view/title/55556 Studies in Global Migration History, Band: 39/13 Edited by Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Lucian Reinfandt und Yannis Stouraitis The transition zone between Africa, Asia and Europe was the most important... more
https://brill.com/view/title/55556
Studies in Global Migration History, Band: 39/13
Edited by Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Lucian Reinfandt und Yannis Stouraitis
The transition zone between Africa, Asia and Europe was the most important intersection of human mobility in the medieval period. The present volume for the first time systematically covers migration histories of the regions between the Mediterranean and Central Asia and between Eastern Europe and the Indian Ocean in the centuries from Late Antiquity up to the early modern era.
Within this framework, specialists from Byzantine, Islamic, Medieval and African history provide detailed analyses of specific regions and groups of migrants, both elites and non-elites as well as voluntary and involuntary. Thereby, also current debates of migration studies are enriched with a new dimension of deep historical time.
Contributors are: Alexander Beihammer, Lutz Berger, Florin Curta, Charalampos Gasparis, George Hatke, Dirk Hoerder, Johannes Koder, Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Lucian Reinfandt, Youval Rotman, Yannis Stouraitis, Panayiotis Theodoropoulos, and Myriam Wissa.
Studies in Global Migration History, Band: 39/13
Edited by Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Lucian Reinfandt und Yannis Stouraitis
The transition zone between Africa, Asia and Europe was the most important intersection of human mobility in the medieval period. The present volume for the first time systematically covers migration histories of the regions between the Mediterranean and Central Asia and between Eastern Europe and the Indian Ocean in the centuries from Late Antiquity up to the early modern era.
Within this framework, specialists from Byzantine, Islamic, Medieval and African history provide detailed analyses of specific regions and groups of migrants, both elites and non-elites as well as voluntary and involuntary. Thereby, also current debates of migration studies are enriched with a new dimension of deep historical time.
Contributors are: Alexander Beihammer, Lutz Berger, Florin Curta, Charalampos Gasparis, George Hatke, Dirk Hoerder, Johannes Koder, Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Lucian Reinfandt, Youval Rotman, Yannis Stouraitis, Panayiotis Theodoropoulos, and Myriam Wissa.
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Eastern European Studies, Medieval History, Armenian Studies, African History, Iranian Studies, and 15 moreMedieval Islam, Mediterranean Studies, Medieval Archaeology, Byzantine Studies, Venetian History, Global History, Migration Studies, Seljuks (Islamic History), Migration History, Aksumite Archaeology, Medieval Slavery, Turkish Studies, Slavic Studies, medieval history of Egypt, and Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages
The Bibliography of the History and Archaeology of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages is a fundamental source of information for the study of the history and archaeology of medieval East Central and Eastern Europe, an area of great... more
The Bibliography of the History and Archaeology of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages is a fundamental source of information for the study of the history and archaeology of medieval East Central and Eastern Europe, an area of great interference and symbiosis of influences from Scandinavia, Western Europe, the steppe lands of Eurasia, as well as Byzantium. The bibliography provides comprehensive coverage of all publications, in all languages, pertaining to this vast area of the European continent and its impact on European history from about 500 to the aftermath of the Mongol invasion of 1241. The bibliography aims to encourage further research, but also to provide guidance through an enormous amount of information available in a variety of languages and a great multitude of publications. It offers search capabilities which are particularly useful for very narrowly defined research goals, thus encouraging comparative work with materials from other parts of Europe.
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Medieval History, Crusades, Medieval Islam, Medieval Church History, Early Medieval History, and 15 moreMedieval Archaeology, Byzantine Studies, History of Hungary, Medieval Architecture, Medieval Art, Medieval Croatian History, Medieval Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, Medieval Serbia, Medieval heresy, Medieval Bulgaria, Medieval Russia, Early medieval Bulgaria, Early Medieval Croatia, and Medieval Bohemia
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History, Archaeology, Greek History, Material Culture Studies, Medieval Studies, and 13 moreBalkan Studies, Race and Ethnicity, Numismatics, Medieval Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History, Byzantine Archaeology, Greek Archaeology, Byzantine monasticism, Orthodox Christianity, Byzantine Numismatics, and Ancient Seals and Sealings
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Modern historians have dismissed Geoffrey of Monmouth’s De gestis Britonum as not being serious history. Within the tradition of history writing in 12th-century England, Geoffrey’s work appears as an outlier, something spurious, and... more
Modern historians have dismissed Geoffrey of Monmouth’s De gestis Britonum as not being serious history. Within the tradition of history writing in 12th-century England, Geoffrey’s work appears as an outlier, something spurious, and therefore outside the historical mode. More recently, others have argued that his work ought to be understood as a parody of that mode, in that, while taking the form of other medieval histories, it is in fact something written in direct contradiction to those and other, previous works. Textual authority and claims to truth by someone who was a magister at Oxford are therefore to be seen in the light of complex intertextuality. Such arguments, however, have been only rarely, if ever employed in the analysis of a very similar work from Hungary, the Gesta Hungarorum, written by another magister called “P.,” a notary of a king named Béla. This chapter is an attempt to apply the elements of Monika Otter’s analysis of De gestis Britonum to Gesta Hungarorum, particularly the idea of parody. In doing so, I use a comparative approach, and bring into discussion narrative strategies employed by the author of the earliest piece of Hungarian medieval historiography.
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This paper is a contribution to the understanding of the perception of time in the early Middle Ages (6 th-7 th centuries) through the analysis of an archaeological phenomenon: the "recycling" of artefacts of Roman origin, mainly coins... more
This paper is a contribution to the understanding of the perception of time in the early Middle Ages (6 th-7 th centuries) through the analysis of an archaeological phenomenon: the "recycling" of artefacts of Roman origin, mainly coins and fibulae. Authors' analysis shifts the emphasis away from artefacts as simply markers of time to an understanding of artefact symbolism that takes into account the social and cultural context in which their meaning is attached to various notions of temporality. In the 6 th century, interest in the Roman past was prevalent among intellectuals like Jordanes and John the Lydian who glorified the Roman golden age, the republican past and the achievements of the "good" emperors. Although Byzantine scholars disagreed on the interpretation of past events, their choices reflected both the concerns of their time as well as their own profound sense of history as a meaningful tool for understanding the present. Outside the circle of the educated elites in Constantinople, no signs of nostalgia may be detected in the archaeological record of the Byzantine Balkans. However, the situation in the western and northwestern parts of the Balkan Peninsula that were outside the Empire in the 6 th century, as well as in the Middle Danube region, was completely different. The archaeological evidence in Near Barbaricum leaves no doubt that the glory of Rome was worth commemorating. A Roman chronotope is likely to have been present in those communities, perhaps embedded in stories or myths associated with the Roman objects. There is a remarkable correspondence between the choices made by the authors writing in the 6 th century and those "barbarians" who buried their dead with Roman coins. The same emperors seem to have captured people's imagination, although perhaps for different reasons. Coins deposited in graves were clearly selected and historical memory was an important criterion. Since most of the these ancient objects were found inside or in the proximity of old Roman settlements, it is likely that the Roman objects deposited in early medieval graves were procured locally, through accidental or intentional digging in Roman ruins. As far as coins are concerned, in most cases the main object of attention was the imperial portrait, either the selection of a particular emperor or the idea of empire in general. Some of the coins were kept in monetary form, while others were turned into pieces of jewellery, usually pendants. They served as public reminders of the Roman past just as fibulae were a reminder of old Roman fashion.
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The number of Avar-age finds from Croatia has rapidly increased over the last years or so, with many from burial assemblages in the north(east)ern part of the country. This chapter is an attempt at synthesis, taken into consideration the... more
The number of Avar-age finds from Croatia has rapidly increased over the last years or so, with many from burial assemblages in the north(east)ern part of the country. This chapter is an attempt at synthesis, taken into consideration the social significance of belt sets. Many of the finds in the environs of Vukovar, the Croatian part of the Danube region and the valley of the Drava river were part of the qaganate during the Late Avar period (ca. 680 to ca. 820). This is also true for a few finds on settlement sites in the Mura region of Slovenia, but in that country, belt fittings are typically found on hillfort sites. In Dalmatia, spectacular finds such as the belt set from Smrdelje near Kistanje may have been the conceptual parallel to the rich male burials with horses in northeastern Croatia. Finds in Dalmatia must be interpreted as the desire of local elites to emulate those inside the Avar qaganate. There may even be indications of the local imitation of belt fittings coming from the Carpathian Basin. The phenomenon seems to coincide in time with the flood of gold coins minted in Sicily under Constantine V. Whether or not the penchant for Avar belts was a response to the latter phenomenon, the revision of the chronology of belt fittings raises new and important questions about the political connections with the Avar qaganate during the last decades of its existence.
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Historians have relied for too long on written sources (the letters that Pope Martin I wrote from Cherson, as well as De Administrando Imperio) to assess the economic situation in the Crimea, especially in Cherson, during the so-called... more
Historians have relied for too long on written sources (the letters that Pope Martin I wrote from Cherson, as well as De Administrando Imperio) to assess the economic situation in the Crimea, especially in Cherson, during the so-called Dark Ages (7 th to 9 th centuries). Many still believe that that city could not have survived without shipments of grain from the outside, particularly from the lands along the southern coast of the Black Sea. Seals of Byzantine officials found in Cherson tell a different story, as they indicate commercial exchanges between the Crimea and Constantinople. If the peninsula participated in trade, something must have been offered in exchange for the goods coming from the Capital. The archaeological evidence strongly suggests that during the 8 th and 9 th centuries, the hinterland of Cherson, as well as the Kerch Peninsula (eastern Crimea) witnessed rapid economic development, largely based on the cultivation of crops. Silos found on several settlement sites, both open and fortified, suggest a surplus, which was most likely commercialized. If so, the closest markets were across the Black Sea, to the south, primarily in Constantinople. Other commodities, such as wine transported in amphorae, traveled in the opposite direction, across the Sea of Azov and into the interior of Khazaria. In exchange, the peninsula received shipments of grain, which were then re-exported to Constantinople. Far from relying on shipments of grain from the Capital, Cherson and the rest of the Crimean Peninsula in fact supplied Constantinople with food. Numerous vats for the production of fish sauce have been found in Cherson, and many were in operation before 900. A good deal of the garum served at tables in Constantinople between the 7 th and the 9 th century must have come from Cherson. The archaeological evidence therefore calls for a re-assessment of the economic situation in the Crimean Peninsula during the "Dark Ages".
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Ideea de a aborda Gesta Hungarorum ca operă literară nu l-a ispitit încă pe niciun istoric. Ce-i drept, stilul şi vocabularul magistrului P. au fost cercetate cu de-amănuntul într-o seamă de studii de specialitate. Unii au mers chiar până... more
Ideea de a aborda Gesta Hungarorum ca operă literară nu l-a ispitit încă pe niciun istoric. Ce-i drept, stilul şi vocabularul magistrului P. au fost cercetate cu de-amănuntul într-o seamă de studii de specialitate. Unii au mers chiar până la a afirma că magistrul P. şi-ar fi dorit să scrie ceva cu totul neobişnuit, motiv pentru care a şi încălcat multe din regulile genului literar reprezentat de gesta Evului Mediu. Cu toate acestea şi în pofida insistenței cu care Gesta Hungarorum este descalificată ca nefiind altceva decât pură literatură, fără valoare istorică, nimeni nu s-a încumetat până acum să abordeze lucrarea magistrului P. ca operă literară. Principalul obstacol în calea unui astfel de demers este aprehensiunea pe care istoricii o resimt îndeobşte când vine vorba de ficțiune ca poveste. Nu a fost deloc explorată cealaltă posibilitate, anume că acest text să fie o parodie a genului origo gentis.
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The presence of the Avars in Eastern Europe, particularly in the lands between the Carpathian Mountains and the river Dnieper, has so far been a matter of concern for historians. Archaeologists are skeptical: with the exception of a... more
The presence of the Avars in Eastern Europe, particularly in the lands between the Carpathian Mountains and the river Dnieper, has so far been a matter of concern for historians. Archaeologists are skeptical: with the exception of a couple of finds from Budureasca, there are no Early Avar belt fittings anywhere to the north, east, and south from the Carpathian Mountains. In Poland, Avarage finds cluster in the south (Silesia and Lesser Poland) and are dated after AD 700. The vast majority of those finds, however, are from the very end of the 8 th or even the early decades of the 9 th century. The sudden interest in things Avar in the lands north of the Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains may signal a desire of local elites to employ the modes of status (and, supposedly, power) representation inside the Avar qaganate. It is however truly surprising that such an interest coincides in time with what historians believe to be a period of decline of the Avar polity. The symbolism of the Avar belt fittings was also harnessed by members of communities who buried their dead in cemeteries excavated in southern Romania. By contrast, there are no Avar-age belt fittings anywhere in the lands to the east from the Carpathian Mountains. During the second half of the 8 th and the early 9 th century, this region experienced something of a demographic boom, as indicated by the large number of settlement sites. There are also hillforts, but a true concern with marking social status in the material culture cannot be dated before the mid-9 th century. When such markers of social prominence became necessary, the language of representation was completely different from that employed earlier by elites in southern Poland who wanted to emulate the Avars. In Eastern Europe, after 850, elites emulated the Khazars, not the Avars.
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Named after a folk tale first recorded in the nineteenth century, the Serpent Ramparts in the Ukraine have been thoroughly investigated archaeologically in the 1970s and 1980s. The results of the excavations clarified the chronology of... more
Named after a folk tale first recorded in the nineteenth century, the Serpent Ramparts in the Ukraine have been thoroughly investigated archaeologically in the 1970s and 1980s. The results of the excavations clarified the chronology of the earthworks, but also revealed a sophisticated building technique employing timber structures. The relation of the dykes to neighboring strongholds and especially open settlements have been the focus of the subsequent research. The dates initially advanced for the earthworks (late tenth to early eleventh century) may not apply to all surviving segments, but the initial impetus for the building of the Serpent Ramparts seems to have come from the Rus’-Pecheneg confrontations along the northern boundaries of the steppe belt in Eastern Europe.
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Much has changed in the last forty years in the study of the early medieval earthworks of East Central and Eastern Europe. While the exact chronology and cultural attribution of the Csörsz Dykes in Hungary or the Bessarabian Dykes in... more
Much has changed in the last forty years in the study of the early medieval earthworks of East Central and Eastern Europe. While the exact chronology and cultural attribution of the Csörsz Dykes in Hungary or the Bessarabian Dykes in Moldova and Ukraine remains a matter of debate, significant progress is clear in other cases, particularly the West Bulgarian Dykes, as well as the Large Earth Dyke in Dobrudja. The use of radiocarbon dating, as well as stratigraphical observations suggest that, in both cases, the key period for the building and use of those earthworks was the ninth century. The article surveys the main problems of interpretation raised by the recent studies of dykes in the region.
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The presence of the Avars in Eastern Europe, particularly in the lands between the Carpathian Mountains and the river Dnieper, has so far been a matter of concern for historians. Archaeologists are skeptical: except for a couple of finds... more
The presence of the Avars in Eastern Europe, particularly in the lands between the Carpathian Mountains and the river Dnieper, has so far been a matter of concern for historians. Archaeologists are skeptical: except for a couple of finds from Budureasca, there are no Early Avar belt fittings anywhere to the north, east, and south from the Carpathian Mountains. In Poland, Avar-age finds cluster in the south (Silesia and Lesser Poland) and are dated after AD 700. The vast majority of those finds, however, are from the very end of the 8 th or even the early decades of the 9 th century. The sudden interest in Avar things in the lands north of the Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains may signal a desire of local elites to employ the modes of status (and, supposedly, power) representation inside the Avar Qaganate. It is however truly surprising that such an interest coincides in time with what historians believe to be a period of decline of the Avar polity. The symbolism of the Avar belt fittings was also harnessed by members of communities who buried their dead in cemeteries excavated in southern Romania. By contrast, there are no Avar-age belt fittings anywhere in the lands to the east from the Carpathian Mountains. During the second half of the 8 th and the early 9 th century, this region experienced something of a demographic boom, as indicated by the large number of settlement sites. There are also hillforts, but a true concern with marking social status in the material culture cannot be dated before the mid-9 th century. When such markers of social prominence became necessary, the language of representation was completely different from that employed earlier by elites in southern Poland who wanted to emulate the Avars. In Eastern Europe, after 850, elites emulated the Khazars, not the Avars.
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The article is both a survey of the literature since the publication in 1997 of Gottfried Schramm's book, and a critical review of the conclusions drawn by the most recent research. The survey focuses on the main theses put forward by... more
The article is both a survey of the literature since the publication in 1997 of Gottfried Schramm's book, and a critical review of the conclusions drawn by the most recent research. The survey focuses on the main theses put forward by Schramm (his famous eight theses on Romanian ethnogenesis) and the way they fared in the literature. His 1985 and 1986 articles, which formed the basis of the book's fourth part have been translated into both Hungarian and Romanian. However, there has been very little, if any engagement with Schramm's arguments, which are primarily, if not exclusively linguistic, and no retort came either from archaeologists or from historians. Much ink has been spilled on the political implications of his "eight theses" for the presence of Romanians in Transylvania, but few have noted that the key to the understanding of Schramm's viewpoint is his envisioning of the Slavic migration. The article brings to the fore the results of the archaeological excavations in the countries of the central Balkan region and in Romania (both north and south of the Carpathian Mountains) in an attempt to verify Schramm's theory of a migration of Vlach pastoralists from the Balkans to the territory of present-day Romania. The last part of the paper discusses the episode of the Romanian immigration that appears in the so-called Cantacuzene Annals, the earliest chronicle of Wallachia.
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Despite its beginnings in the 19th century, Slavic archaeology developed relatively late in the Soviet Union because of the generally hostile attitude of the Bolshevik regime towards Slavic Studies, in general, which were perceived as a... more
Despite its beginnings in the 19th century, Slavic archaeology developed relatively late in the Soviet Union because of the generally hostile attitude of the Bolshevik regime towards Slavic Studies, in general, which were perceived as a tool of imperialist (and tsarist) propaganda. The attitude changed in the 1930s, when Stalin revived the idea in order to use Slavic Studies against the Nazi propaganda and its claims about the civilizational inferiority of the Slavs. The paper traces the explosion of interest in the Slavic ethnogenesis and the archaeology of the early Slavs between 1950 and 1991. Several key personalities of Soviet archaeology (Iurii Kukharenko, Irina Rusanova, Valentin Sedov and Volodymyr Baran) are highlighted, but the main focus is on the tensions between migrationist and autochtonist models for explaining the emergence and early developments of the Slavs on the territory of the Soviet Union. After Ukraine's declaration of independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991), migrationism was discarded in both Ukraine and Russia in studies concerned with the Slavic Urheimat, but adopted in those concerned with the presence of the Slavs as far into the forest belt as northwestern Russia and as far east as the Middle Volga region. The article ends with an examination of the political implications of the research on the early Slavs in northwestern Russia and in Tatarstan.
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Matrimonial alliances, name-giving, and sponsorship define the relations of the Franks with the the 6th-century Lombards and Gepids, as well as with the 9th-century Moravia. Less attention has been paid to the “language of hair.”... more
Matrimonial alliances, name-giving, and sponsorship define the relations of the Franks with the the 6th-century Lombards and Gepids, as well as with the 9th-century Moravia. Less attention has been paid to the “language of hair.” Einhard’s description of the last Merovingian king as sitting on the throne with hair long and beard uncut is a “deprecatory expression of enfeeblement.” Nobody has so far explored the meanings of beards associated with warriors. Networks of warrior-based societies are revealed by the examination of early medieval male burials. While the combination of scissors (shears) and combs was interpreted in reference to haircut, combs, scissors, and tweezers typically appear with males from the age iuvenis up, but are more common, especially when found together, in graves of old men. In 9th-century Moravia and Croatia, razors appear in graves together with weapons—swords, lance heads, seax, battle axes, and arrow heads. Such observations apply to particular regions of the European continent and specific chronological spans, but no attempt has been made to explore changes in a long-term perspective (several centuries) within a restricted, well-defined region and in the light of networks of warriors. In this chapter we do just that. Our goal is to shed some light on practices linked to the self-representation of warriors and the social symbolism of facial hair, all in the context of the building of networks in the region.
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While in the modern world, ethnicity has become the politicization of culture, the old controversy over the relation between ethnicity and archaeology refuses to die. The first studies of that relation dealt primarily with what made the... more
While in the modern world, ethnicity has become the politicization of culture, the old controversy over the relation between ethnicity and archaeology refuses to die. The first studies of that relation dealt primarily with what made the historical interpretation of the archaeological material dependent upon the political situation. Soon, the emphasis shifted to the link between archaeology and the beginnings of nationalism, especially the influence of Romanticism, the rise of the culture-history paradigm, and of the historical interest in ethnogenesis. Now, the emphasis is more on the role of archaeology in the shaping of social memory as past that may be used politically. This study focuses on the new trends in this research field, particularly those concerned with the social mobilization by means of the ancestors’ myths, with pseudo-archaeology, and the staging of historical authenticity through heritage tourism. The second part of the article highlights differences between approaches to ethnogenesis in the European and American archaeology and illustrates the latter by means of three key studies by Christopher Stojanowski, Scott Ortman, and Laurie Wilkie. To judge from the titles of the publications that came out in Eastern Europe and the United States over the last year, several common trends are apparent, along with significant divergences. Archaeology is increasingly perceived as the most important, if not the only way to understand the ethnicity of immigrants in the (medieval) past. Archaeologists have taken a front seat in all debates about ethnic identities. Instead of state authorities or the ideological pressure of various political regimes, the emphasis in Eastern Europe is now on individual archaeologists, the role of their life experience and of their education in the ethnic interpretation of the archaeological record. Meanwhile, in the Unites States, it is the ethnic identity of the archaeologists themselves that has now come under lens. In other words, agency is restored to archaeologists, who are now regarded as much more capable of original work and decision making than before. Finally, gender perspectives are now applied to the study of the relations between ethnicity, archaeology, and nationalism. In both Eastern Europe and the United States, there is a conspicuous interest in women archaeologists.
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The Avars have been recently been of some interest to historians, but only from a political point of view, given that the written sources cover almost exclusively only the first century of Avar history. Comparatively less attention has so... more
The Avars have been recently been of some interest to historians, but only from a political point of view, given that the written sources cover almost exclusively only the first century of Avar history. Comparatively less attention has so far been paid to the social organization of the Avar qaganate.
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The recent revival in scholarly interest in buckles of the early Byzantine period has included the group first called "the Sucidava class" by Joachim Werner. Several important studies have been dedicated to finds from the Balkans, the... more
The recent revival in scholarly interest in buckles of the early Byzantine period has included the group first called "the Sucidava class" by Joachim Werner. Several important studies have been dedicated to finds from the Balkans, the last and most relevant of which being Lyuba Traikova's dissertation. However, there has been no attempt to look at all finds from Eastern Europe, an approach meant to clarify problems of chronology and distribution. This paper deals with both buckles and belt mounts grouped in 11 lists on the basis of their open-work decoration. Its conclusions are in fact at variance to those of other scholars. There are two clusters of finds, one in the northeastern region of the Balkan Peninsula (now divided between Bulgaria and Romania), the other in the Crimea. All types are present in the former region, but some are conspicuously absent from the latter. The large numbers of miscasts in the northeastern region of the Balkans suggests a center of production. While only a few specimens have been found immediately to the north from the Danube frontier of the early Byzantine Empire, a great number of specimens are known from much farther afield. Particularly significant is the spread in the Middle Danube region, where buckles of the Sucidava class signaled military status when deposited in graves. Since there is no chronological distinction between the many types of the Sucidava class, the spread coincided in time with the popularity of those buckles in the Balkans during the second half of the 6 th century.
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While historians have recognized the importance of integrating the eastern part of the European continent into surveys of the Middle Ages, few have actually paid attention to the region, its speci c features, problems of chronology and... more
While historians have recognized the importance of integrating the eastern part of the European continent into surveys of the Middle Ages, few have actually paid attention to the region, its speci c features, problems of chronology and historiography. This vast region represents more than two-thirds of the European continent, but its history in general-and its medieval history in particular-is poorly known.
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Devotion to the papal martyr St. Clement of Rome spread dynamically throughout early medieval Eastern Europe as different social and political elites promoted his cult. The earliest hagiographic texts associated him with Cherson in... more
Devotion to the papal martyr St. Clement of Rome spread dynamically throughout early medieval Eastern Europe as different social and political elites promoted his cult. The earliest hagiographic texts associated him with Cherson in Crimea, the site of his martyrdom and miracles. There the Chersonese venerated him by the sixth century, where his relics reportedly resided beneath the sea. When, in 861, Constantine the Philosopher discovered the relics and relocated them to the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul Clement s cult revived and became mobile. From the tenth to the early eleventh century, rulers embraced his memory from Moravia and Bulgaria to Poland, from Constantinople to Kiev, as a powerful intercessor and miracle worker. By the mid-eleventh century, the significance of these characteristics diminished and his role as a Roman pope and Church Father took center stage. This study examines the evolution and diffusion of the cult of St. Clement in the region through hagiographic, liturgical, artistic, and archaeological sources.
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Despite the growing popularity of Romania and things Romanian among Poles, there is still much misunderstanding about Romanian history. To be sure, there is more evidence of Poles moving to Romania (like Michał Wasiucionek, a young... more
Despite the growing popularity of Romania and things Romanian among Poles, there is still much misunderstanding about Romanian history. To be sure, there is more evidence of Poles moving to Romania (like Michał Wasiucionek, a young historian working in Bucharest) than there is of Romanians moving to Poland. The interest in Romanian historiography may well be illustrated by the translation of Lucian Boia’s works and Polish-Romanian relations are duly acknowledged (and celebrated) at the Polish Days organized annually in Suceava with the participation of many Polish scholars. However, the Romanian Middle Ages, particularly the early period, are largely unknown to the average Pole. Ilona Czamańska, a professor of History and Balkan Studies in Poznań, has probably done more than anyone to change that. In the process, however, she also reproduced a number of errors and stereotypes about Romanians and Vlachs, as well as about the Romanian ethnogenesis. The article attempts to explain the conspicuous lack of familiarity with the Romanian historiographic and archaeological literature and suggests that Czamańska’s views are largely based on a migrationist approach to early medieval ethnogeneses. That approach still dominates the Polish historiography of the Slavic ethnogenesis (and the presence of the early Slavs in Poland). It is that approach that inspired Czamańska’s views on Vlachs and the alleged migration of the Romanians into the land of their ancestors.
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Scholars seem to have accepted by now that instead of a truly Marxist archaeology, under the Communist regimes, archaeologists in Eastern Europe simply continued to practice culture-historical archaeology, with a veneer of quotes from the... more
Scholars seem to have accepted by now that instead of a truly Marxist archaeology, under the Communist regimes, archaeologists in Eastern Europe simply continued to practice culture-historical archaeology, with a veneer of quotes from the "classics" of historical materialism, but no real engagement with Marx's philosophy. However, in Romania, the case of Maria Comşa proves the contrary. At a closer examination, her work engaged vigorously with the Marxist theory, and drew inspiration from the theories of the Romanian sociologist Henri H. Stahl, especially his idea that no truly feudal mode of production had existed in Romanian history (at least not in the Middle Ages). Stahl viewed the village community as the matrix for all social transformations during the first millennium, and that gave to Comşa a unique opportunity for the interpretation of the archaeological record, primarily that resulting from her own excavations at Bucov and Nuşfalău. It is important to note that Comşa's serious engagement with Marxism long postdates both her doctoral studies in Moscow and her conflict with Ion Nestor. Her isolation during the last years of Ceauşescu's regime and immediately after its demise cannot be explained in terms of her sincere commitment to Marxism. Only a comparative analysis of the works of other archaeologists writing under the Communist regime may elucidate the unique position that Comşa occupied in the history of the Romanian archaeology.
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With the surge in metal detector activity over the last seven years or so, a number of artifacts have been brought to the attention of the archaeologists in the National Museum of History in Bucharest, the largest museum of its kind in... more
With the surge in metal detector activity over the last seven years or so, a number of artifacts have been brought to the attention of the archaeologists in the National Museum of History in Bucharest, the largest museum of its kind in Romania. What proportion of the actual number of metal detector finds those artifacts rep- resent remains unknown, but for what is worth, some are presented in this article. They have been found in the environs of Bucharest, three of them in the Cornetu Forest, between the town of Măgurele (on the southwestern outskirts of Bucharest) and the village of Cornetu. One of the other two was found to the north of Bucharest, near Buriaş, on the right bank of the river Ialomița. Finally, the fifth find is from the Gorgota Forest near the village of Potigrafu, a few kilometers south of Ploieşti. All five artifacts are “Slavic” bow fibulae of different types – Werner’s classes ID (two speci- mens), IF, IH, and IIC. Their analogies suggest long-distance contact between 6th to 7th century communities in the area of the present-day city of Bucharest and communi- ties in the Carpathian Basin, as well as in the Middle Dnieper region. However, one of those fibulae has no hinge support and no pin catch; it may well have been either a miscast or a half-manufactured product. At any rate, it indirectly documents the lo- cal production of “Slavic” bow fibulae, which has until now been only surmised, and never documented archaeologically. Such production was most likely at a household level, with no workshops and no special facilities, such as furnaces.
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The memory of the wars that Charlemagne waged against the Avars, “the greatest of all the wars he waged” (according to Einhard), was never lost in the Middle Ages. The account given by Einhard, however, was not the only one preferred and... more
The memory of the wars that Charlemagne waged against the Avars, “the greatest of all the wars he waged” (according to Einhard), was never lost in the Middle Ages. The account given by Einhard, however, was not the only one preferred and reproduced by medieval annalists and chroniclers. From Regino of Prüm to Sigebert of Gembloux, different authors manipulated the information in different ways, depending upon their narrative goals. However, both Charlemagne and the Avars are conspicuously absent from the Hungarian chronicles. Some of them, such as the author of the Deeds of the Hungarians known as Master P., had access to information mentioning the emperor and the Avars, but chose to ignore it. Others, like Simon of Kéza, preferred to equate Hungarians with Huns, not with Avars. The introduction of both Avars and Charlemagne into the history of Hungary was entirely the work of the Italian humanist Antonio Bonfini, who wrote a history of Hungary at the request of King Matthias Corvinus. Because of Bonfini, the modern understanding of the relation between Avars and Hungarians is based on the concept of ethnic continuity, with serious consequences both for historiography and for cultural politics.
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Despite the common opinion according to which Marxism had little, if any influence on the medieval archaeology practiced in Communist countries (other than the USSR), a careful examination of the studies published by the Romanian... more
Despite the common opinion according to which Marxism had little, if any influence on the medieval archaeology practiced in Communist countries (other than the USSR), a careful examination of the studies published by the Romanian archaeologist Maria Comşa proves that she used Marxism critically to support the interpretation of her own excavations. Comşa was very influenced by the theories of the Marxist sociologist Henri H. Stahl, especially by his definition and theories of the village community as the essential feature of the social life in the Romanian territories between the 3rd and the 14th centuries.
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This collaborative article provides the first in-depth analysis of the fresco of St Christopher in the castle of the Teutonic Order at Lochstedt. It first contextualizes the placement of the Christopher fresco in relation to the other... more
This collaborative article provides the first in-depth analysis of the fresco of St Christopher in the castle of the Teutonic Order at Lochstedt. It first contextualizes the placement of the Christopher fresco in relation to the other images in the castle, followed by a new dating of the image to c. 1420–1430, not the late fourteenth century. Based on these findings, a specific patron of the fresco emerges, Heinrich von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. The fresco is then analyzed within the context of Alexei Lidov’s theory of hierotopy (the creation of sacred spaces). Using the links between the iconography of the image, its popularity in late medieval Germany and the events surrounding the Heinrich von Plauen’s tenure as Grand Master, the article suggests the reasons for which Heinrich chose the image to decorate his private quarters in the castle. It concludes by demonstrating that the image of St. Christopher at Lochstedt serves as a rare example of the creation of private sacred spaces in Late Medieval Prussia.
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This study presents a new way to reconstruct the extent of medieval archaeological sites by using approaches from the field of geoinformatics. Hence, we propose a combined use of non-invasive methodologies which are used for the first... more
This study presents a new way to reconstruct the extent of medieval archaeological sites by using approaches from the field of geoinformatics. Hence, we propose a combined use of non-invasive methodologies which are used for the first time to study a medieval village in Romania. The focus here will be on ground-based and satellite remote-sensing techniques. The method relies on computing vegetation indices (proxies), which have been utilized for archaeological site detection in order to detect the layout of a deserted medieval town located in southwestern Romania. The data were produced by a group of small satellites (3U CubeSats) dispatched by Planet Labs which delivered high-resolution images of the Earth's surface. The globe is encompassed by more than 150 satellites (dimensions: 10 × 10 × 30 cm) which catch different images for the same area at moderately short intervals at a spatial resolution of 3-4 m. The four-band Planet Scope satellite images were employed to calculate a number of vegetation indices such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), DVI (Difference Vegetation Index), SR (Simple Vegetation Ratio) and others. For better precision, structure from motion (SfM) techniques were applied to generate a high-resolution orthomosaic and a digital surface model in which the boundaries of the medieval village of "S , ant , ul Turcilor" in Mas , loc, Romania, can be plainly observed. Additionally, this study contrasts the outcomes with a geophysical survey that was attempted inside the central part of the medieval settlement. The technical results of this study also provide strong evidence from an historical point of view: the first documented case of village systematization during the medieval period within Eastern Europe (particularly Romania) found through geoscientific methods.
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L’auteur de l’article se demande si les imitations des monnaies byzantines des 6e et 7e siècles pourraient avoir joué un autre rôle que celui d’un simple don funéraire. Ce qui est sûr, c’est qu’on n’a pas imité de monnaies... more
L’auteur de l’article se demande si les imitations des monnaies byzantines des 6e et 7e siècles pourraient avoir joué un autre rôle que celui d’un simple don funéraire. Ce qui est sûr, c’est qu’on n’a pas imité de monnaies authentiques sans avoir très bien saisi la fonction que les monnaies avaient sur le marché. Le don d’une obole à Charon, dont on se sert souvent pour éclaircir ce phénomène archéologique, ne vaut rien, si on ne se rend pas compte qu’on peut s’acquitter les prestations aux morts à l’aide d’instruments d’échange monétaire.
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Obsessed with linking particular groups known from the written sources to archaeological assemblages or cultures, archaeologists have neglected the accumulation over the last few years of data on the steppe lands north of the Black Sea... more
Obsessed with linking particular groups known from the written sources to archaeological assemblages or cultures, archaeologists have neglected the accumulation over the last few years of data on the steppe lands north of the Black Sea during the 6 th and 7 th centuries. Many are still guided in the interpretation of those data by an uncritical understanding of the written sources. The paper offers an overview of the ethnographic reports of the Black Sea region, from Priscus to Menander the Guardsman, with a particular emphasis on the passage in Procopius' Wars which imitates a periplus-like account. Ethnographic concerns greatly distort the traditional framework of the periplus, and make room for digressions on such things as customs, religion, government, and the like. In spite of the common opinion on the matter, Procopius does not describe nomads moving around in the steppe lands. The constraints of the genre that Procopius imitated (periplus) are responsible for the "linear" arrangement of the ethnic names one after the other. Only in the northern segment is a three-tiered classification introduced, as in the case of the Huns-Cimmerians-Cutrigurs. That classification allows the distinction between foes and friends of the Romans. Those closer to the Romans (Cutrigurs) are their enemies, while those farthest from them (Utigurs, Trapezites) are their allies. Both Procopius and Pseudo-Zachariah wrote about Huns, albeit in different languages. Procopius and Agathias mention Cutrigurs, but Jordanes has only Bulgars. Are assemblages dated to the 6 th century and discovered in the lands north of the Black Sea the remains of the Bulgars or of the Cutrigurs? What is, in fact, the basis for any linkage between the historical and the archaeological evidence? The second section of the paper is based on a critical approach to the archaeological record. Judging from the existing evidence, the people in the Black Sea steppe lands regarded prehistoric mounds as "old, " and therefore chose to bury some of their dead in barrows. Such practices may have been connected with claims to the ancestors supposedly buried underneath the mounds. At the same time, the idea of placing the dead in prehistoric mounds may have something to do with the desire to make their tombs visible in the landscape, and thus to communicate the status of an individual or of a family In the steppe lands north of the Black Sea, burial within a prehistoric mound was probably meant to conjure the (imagined) past in order to re-invent traditions. That the earliest cases are from the northwestern area of the Black Sea Lowlands, while in the late 6 th and early 7 th century burials in prehistoric barrows appear also in the northwestern region of the Sea of Azov and in Crimea may not be an accident. During the second half of the 6 th and the early decades of the 7 th century, the Black Sea Lowlands between the Dniester and the Molochna rivers were troubled borderlands, and the written sources clearly point to the dissolution of earlier tribal confederacies, such as the Cutrigurs and the Utigurs, as a result of attacks from Avars and Turks. It is possible that burial in ancient barrows was a response to the claims laid on the Black Sea steppe lands, particularly those in northern Crimea and those between the Dnieper and the Danube, in close proximity to the Empire.
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Despite the obvious significance of the Carpathian Mountains for the presumed migration of the early Slavs, scholars did not pay much attention to the relations between sites attributed to the Prague culture (itself viewed as the material... more
Despite the obvious significance of the Carpathian Mountains for the presumed migration of the early Slavs, scholars did not pay much attention to the relations between sites attributed to the Prague culture (itself viewed as the material correlate of Slavic ethnicity) that are located on either side of the mountains. An examination of the chronology of those sites that are located within a short distance (no more than 30 miles) away from the mountains shows that while migratory movements cannot be excluded, they did not take place either at the time, nor in the direction assumed by many archaeologists. Moreover, there are considerable differences between different regions adjacent to Carpathian Mountains, both in the general terms of the archaeological record, and in the specific details of ceramic morphology concerning the handmade pottery hastily attributed to the Prague type. Such differences do not justify either the use of pottery as a chronological and cultural marker, nor the use of the phrase “Prague culture.”
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A recent debate over a passage in Theophylact Simocatta's History mentioning Sklavinia (the land of the Sclavenes) has brought to scholarly attention the ancient author's narrative strategies and style. While the adjective σκλαυήνιος,... more
A recent debate over a passage in Theophylact Simocatta's History mentioning Sklavinia (the land of the Sclavenes) has brought to scholarly attention the ancient author's narrative strategies and style. While the adjective σκλαυήνιος, which derives from the ethnic name of the Sclavenes, is nowhere to be found either in Theophylact's work or in the entire medieval Greek literature, the nouns πληθύς and πλῆθος are used in a variety of meanings, ranging from "horde" to "troops." All adjectives derived from ethnic names (such as Avar or Saracene) are in-ικός, not-ιος. More importantly, the verb in the passage in question is στρατοπεδεύω, which means "to encamp" or "to move camp." In that respect, the correct translation for the passage is: "Peter prepared to encamp opposite the multitude in Sklavenia." In this context, "opposite" refers to the river Danube, which the Roman army was about to cross so as to wage war on the Sclavenes.
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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... more
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
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Interviu cu profesorul Florin Curta, Universitatea din Florida, SUA
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Despite a great number of typological studies, late antique lamps, particularly those dated to the 6 th and 7 th century, have been rarely used as evidence for discussion of economy in the Balkans. Finds from individual sites have been... more
Despite a great number of typological studies, late antique lamps, particularly those dated to the 6 th and 7 th century, have been rarely used as evidence for discussion of economy in the Balkans. Finds from individual sites have been published, as well as museum collections, but without much concern for a comparative approach at the scale of the entire Peninsula, in order to identify patterns of distribution and thus to link them to trade or economic trends. Only rarely have lamps been studied in the archaeological context, in order to shed light on the way in which they were used, and the particular spaces inside settlements in which artificial light was needed. Early Byzantine lamps have now been found in significant numbers in the lands to the north from the river Danube, but with a few exceptions, there is no attempt at an archaeological interpretation of this phenomenon that would link finds in barbaricum with those in the Balkan provinces of the 6 th-and early 7 th-century Empire. This paper attempts to answer a number of key questions: why were some lamps imported into the Balkan provinces, while others were produced locally? Were there any lamps exported from the Balkans? What were the uses of those objects in the daily life of the hilltop military sites in the Peninsula, and how can the presence of lamps outside the Empire be explained? The paper seeks answers to those questions through the examination of 11 groups, 10 of which are based on well-defined types. Those types fall into 5 major categories— North African, Greek, Syro-Palestinian, Asia Minor, and Danube (or Balkan) lamps. North African lamps of the Atlante X type appear especially in the northeastern and eastern region of the Adriatic Sea, with the largest number of finds from the fortified site in the Madona Bay on the Brijuni Island. Such lamps have been found in churches, but also in secular buildings, as well as in caves. Corinthian imitations of North African lamps also appear in churches, but unlike North African lamps, they are often found in graves, most likely because of the symbolism attached to light in a mortuary context. That symbolism may also explain the deposition of lamps in wells—a phenomenon so far attested on only two sites in Greece, Corinth and Athens. In Corinth, lamps were deposited in very large numbers in a fountain, abandoned together with the bath complex on the western side of the gymnasium in Corinth. In Nea Anchialos, however, Corinthian imitations were associated with a large number of coins pointing to commercial exchanges. Only three Syro-Palestinian lamps are known—all from the lands north of the river Danube. One of them is particularly interesting: a Small Candlestick specimen found in an inhumation grave in Ploieşti. Since there are no analogies known in the Balkans, the lamp may have come from Transylvania, to which North African lamps made their way as well from the Adriatic coast. Although believed to have been produced somewhere in what is now Turkey, Asia Minor lamps were definitely manufactured in the Balkans as well, as indicated by the mould found in Archar and the miscasts discovered next to a kiln in Murighiol. Such lamps appear in secular contexts—houses in Histria, Karasura, and Golemannovo kale. But they have also been found in burials, both in Greece and in Dobrudja (Piatra Frecăţei). A local production is also documented archaeologically for the lamps of Iconomu's type XXX, specimens of which have also been found both in secular and in mortuary contexts. A mould for the production of lamps of Kuzmanov's type XXXVIII is known from Silistra, and two lamps of that type have been discovered there in a kiln excavated in the area of the triangular tower by the eastern gate. Lamps with cross-shaped handles (Hayes 11) were also produced in the northeastern Balkans, as indicated by the moulds from Rusalka and Kranevo.
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The nature of settlements in the sixth-century Balkans is a matter of current debate. Amphorae and hoards of iron implements and weapons have been discussed in relation to this controversy. A key problem is that of the use of coins in an... more
The nature of settlements in the sixth-century Balkans is a matter of current debate. Amphorae and hoards of iron implements and weapons have been discussed in relation to this controversy. A key problem is that of the use of coins in an economic environment without any large-scale agricultural production. While hoards of coins have been analyzed in relation to the presence of the military in the Balkans, single finds of coins remain a category of archaeological evidence commonly neglected in discussions of the sixth-century economy. The article offers an explanation connected with the quaestura exercitus implemented in 536, and its conclusion is that the small copper denominations discovered on hilltop sites in the Balkans were not obtained on the market (none existed in any of the many hilltop sites known so far), but piggybacked on transports of annona.
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The nature of settlements in the 6th century Balkans is a matter of current debate. Amphorae and hoards of iron implements and weapons have been discussed in relation to that controversy. The archaeological evidence, particularly that of... more
The nature of settlements in the 6th century Balkans is a matter of current debate. Amphorae and hoards of iron implements and weapons have been discussed in relation to that controversy. The archaeological evidence, particularly that of amphorae and lead seals, points to the great significance of the quaestura exercitus, an administrative unit created in 536 by means of combining rich provinces overseas (islands in the Aegean Sea, Caria, and Cyprus) with border provinces such as Moesia inferior and Scythia Minor, in order to secure both militarily and financially the efficient defense of the Danube frontier. Conspicuously missing from this discussion of military sites, amphorae, and commerce is the numismatic evidence. To be sure, a great number of 6th century hoards of copper are known from hilltop sites, including those that have also produced hoards of iron implements. So far, however, single coins from hilltop sites have rarely been treated as archaeological finds. Single finds of coins remain a category of archaeological evidence commonly neglected in discussions of the 6 th century economy in the Balkans. The article takes a detailed look at some of the most important archaeological contexts with 6 th century coins. Whether or not one can, therefore, talk about the economy of the 6 th century Balkans, coins served primarily to facilitate exchanges resulting from the state-run distribution of food and goods. The circulation of coins was connected with the quaestura exercitus implemented in 536, and the small copper denominations discovered on hilltop sites in the Balkans were not obtained on the market (none existed in any of the many hilltop sites known so far), but piggybacked on transports of annona.
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In this presentation Dr. Florin Curta guides us thoroughly and intensely into not just the history of the early Slavs but into the very heart of the origins of the Slavic Peoples themselves. He draws from archaeology, primary sources,... more
In this presentation Dr. Florin Curta guides us thoroughly and intensely into not just the history of the early Slavs but into the very heart of the origins of the Slavic Peoples themselves.
He draws from archaeology, primary sources, material culture, DNA and so very much more to show the foundations of the Slavic world in the Early Middle Ages.
He explores a variety of issues and topics such as did they have their own origin stories? Was there actually Slavic migrations? Who were the Slavs before they were Slavs? And how did Slavic culture actually sread?
What did outside sources like the Eastern Roman Empire and Western European authors have to say about them?
What made them unique?
How influenced were they by Steppe peoples like the Avars or Sarmatians?
Their religious customs and practices before the eventual Christian conversion.
He draws from archaeology, primary sources, material culture, DNA and so very much more to show the foundations of the Slavic world in the Early Middle Ages.
He explores a variety of issues and topics such as did they have their own origin stories? Was there actually Slavic migrations? Who were the Slavs before they were Slavs? And how did Slavic culture actually sread?
What did outside sources like the Eastern Roman Empire and Western European authors have to say about them?
What made them unique?
How influenced were they by Steppe peoples like the Avars or Sarmatians?
Their religious customs and practices before the eventual Christian conversion.
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Exactly who were the "nomads" mentioned in the writings of the Byzantine historians for nearly a millennium? Drawing on a wide range of archaeological and literary evidence, Professor Florin Curta (professor of history at the University... more
Exactly who were the "nomads" mentioned in the writings of the Byzantine historians for nearly a millennium? Drawing on a wide range of archaeological and literary evidence, Professor Florin Curta (professor of history at the University of Florida) scrutinizes the identity and culture of the nomads in the 2016 Public Lecture in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.
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In this first podcast produced by the Long History of Identity, Ethnicity and Nationhood Research Network, co-convener Nicholas Matheou talks to Florin Curta on the topic of ‘Genetics, the Archaeology of Ethnicity, and Nationhood.’ Florin... more
In this first podcast produced by the Long History of Identity, Ethnicity and Nationhood Research Network, co-convener Nicholas Matheou talks to Florin Curta on the topic of ‘Genetics, the Archaeology of Ethnicity, and Nationhood.’ Florin is professor of Medieval History & Archaeology at the University of Florida, and has published widely on the Balkans, Slavic identities, the early and central medieval steppe world, as well as theoretical approaches to the archaeology of ethnicity. Here he discusses how new genetic and biological approaches are creating new possibilities and avenues for research, what the most useful of these approaches might be, and their methodological pitfalls. In a wide-ranging conversation, encompassing DNA studies, isotope analysis, and the instrumentalisation of research by various movements, Florin outlines a broad and nuanced perspective on the many approaches to, and uses of genetics and archaeology in the construction of ethnicity and nationhood.
http://torch.ox.ac.uk/genetics-archaeology-ethnicity-and-nationhood
http://torch.ox.ac.uk/genetics-archaeology-ethnicity-and-nationhood
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The Online International Conference devoted to the Archaeology, the History and Philosophy of War in Byzantine and Mediterranean Contexts (9th-16th c.), to be held virtually via Zoom from 8 to 10 December 2023, seeks to illuminate aspects... more
The Online International Conference devoted to the Archaeology, the History and Philosophy of War in Byzantine and Mediterranean Contexts (9th-16th c.), to be held virtually via Zoom from 8 to 10 December 2023, seeks to illuminate aspects of war in medieval and early modern period. Our Conference does not aim at exhausting the subject of war, but will offer an interdisciplinary forum for a selection of talks that touch upon some of the following aspects:
- Military campaigns, strategies and tactics
- Philosophy of Medieval war in Byzantium and the Mediterranean
- Psychological Warfare Techniques
- Combat arms (lances, swords, sabers, maces, hammers, knives, axes)
- Bows and crossbows
- Turkic bows
- Byzantine and Islamic great crossbows
- Military equipment (helmets, lamellar armors
- Warhorses and their equipment
- Mercenaries in armies
- Rus’ and Varangians
- Byzantine warriors
- Bulgarian warriors
- Arab warriors
- Crusader warriors
- Seljuk warriors
- Mongol warriors
- Mamluk warriors
- Man-powered mangonels
- Man-powered beam-sling mangonel
- Engines to shoot large arrows
- Ballistic machines
- Assault devices
- Stone-throwing counter-weight mangonel (or trebuchet)
- Mangonel balls
- Greek Fire projecting siphons
- Incendiary rockets
- Ceramic Grenades
- Hand cannons
- Early Cannons
- Siege Weapons
- Mobile sheds to protect men
- Byzantine Military Manuals
- Arab Military Manuals
- Latin Military Manuals
- Siege Illustrations in Manuscripts
- Arms in literature (epic poems and romances)
- Depictions of warriors, sieges and combats in art
- Illustrations of arms and combats in the Romance of Varqa ve Gülşah
- Military campaigns, strategies and tactics
- Philosophy of Medieval war in Byzantium and the Mediterranean
- Psychological Warfare Techniques
- Combat arms (lances, swords, sabers, maces, hammers, knives, axes)
- Bows and crossbows
- Turkic bows
- Byzantine and Islamic great crossbows
- Military equipment (helmets, lamellar armors
- Warhorses and their equipment
- Mercenaries in armies
- Rus’ and Varangians
- Byzantine warriors
- Bulgarian warriors
- Arab warriors
- Crusader warriors
- Seljuk warriors
- Mongol warriors
- Mamluk warriors
- Man-powered mangonels
- Man-powered beam-sling mangonel
- Engines to shoot large arrows
- Ballistic machines
- Assault devices
- Stone-throwing counter-weight mangonel (or trebuchet)
- Mangonel balls
- Greek Fire projecting siphons
- Incendiary rockets
- Ceramic Grenades
- Hand cannons
- Early Cannons
- Siege Weapons
- Mobile sheds to protect men
- Byzantine Military Manuals
- Arab Military Manuals
- Latin Military Manuals
- Siege Illustrations in Manuscripts
- Arms in literature (epic poems and romances)
- Depictions of warriors, sieges and combats in art
- Illustrations of arms and combats in the Romance of Varqa ve Gülşah