Migration Period Archaeology

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

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

This thesis examines how elite milieus organised their centres c. 200–550 AD in the counties of Hordaland and Rogaland, western Norway. Here, the archaeological material has many indications of elite organisation, which have been widely debated throughout the history of research. Building on insights from previous research, a general model of centre organisation was sketched. In the model, elite milieus, central functions and centre indicators were seen as interrelated components of the centre. Methodologically, centre organisation was approached through centre indicators – status objects and grand buildings – interpreted as being closely related to interaction between elite milieus and to the central functions gathered at centres. Previous work by Myhre and Ringstad identified where the centres in western Norway were located. After critically analysing the methods in their studies, their results were validated.

Twelve of the identified centres in the study area were selected for detailed analysis of the local distribution of centre indicators. By using the general model of centre organisation and applying interpretations of the various centre indicators, the contexts for each of the centre localities were individually examined. The data set of all locations was then used to show general trends and variations in the organisation of the western Norwegian centres. The presence of sociopolitical, military, judicial and ritual central functions was identified at the examined centres. These functions were closely associated with the halls, retinues, thing sites and religion mentioned in contemporary or later written sources. Alliance networks between elite milieus at the centres have also been identified, best illustrated by alliances led by the Avaldsnes milieu in the late Roman period and by the Hauge-Tu milieu at Tinghaug in the Migration period.

This thesis contributes to a better understanding of how societies were organised in the late Roman and Migration periods, and renews our view of elite milieus and centres. It actualises a large number of western Norwegian centres, connecting these localities to the extensive research discourse on Scandinavian centres. Although the western Norwegian centres have special regional characteristics, sites like Avaldsnes, Hove, Etne, Hafrsfjord and Tinghaug clearly resemble contemporary centres in Scandinavia.

The investigations of Lbische hillfort in 2003 (trench VIII).
The article introduces archeological features from Lbische hillfort (Stavropol district of Samara region),
trench VIII, 2003, for scientific use. During the excavation, undertaken under the guidance of Galina Matveeva, two
hearth-pits of dwellings, on-ground building and interment without grave goods were found. The complex of finds
from the hillfort refers to two periods: the I millennium BC (Gorodets culture) and the second quarter of the I millennium
AD (Lbische type).

The aim of this thesis is to on one hand give a good overview of finds found in gotlandic stonefoundationhouses (kämpgravar) that were commonly built during the Iron Age and on the other hand investigate the possibility of separating some houses from others and trace social stratification and hierarchies based on the finds. The items of special interest for this goal were those that could be connected to wealth such as drinking objects, Roman objects and objects made of silver and gold. This investigation has shown that on Gotland it actually existed some, often enormous, houses that had a special tendency to hoard exotic valuables. The real standout houses on this subject are the one in Stavgard and the recently excavated building in Hellvi. A secondart goal was to investigate the possibility to date the buildings based on the finds, which was found to be very problematic. (Two years master’s thesis in Archaeology)

From Samarkand to Göta river- actual archeological finds from roman iron age to early Viking age. Three important finds spots along the river. “Grönån-Wooden manufacturing center” - wooden object dated from roman iron age to Germanic iron age (“pre Viking”). Key words: Tools made of wood, objects from carriages, charts as well as boats and ships, wooden wheel, wooden bowls, ladder, basket, oarlock, oar, tools for making ropes. Next findspot is the “Brakteats of gold from Trollhättan”. Väner region brakteats and south west Norway. Göta river and magnificent falls of Trollhättan, similarity to Sorte mull (Black soil) Bornholm Denmark, brakteat and wetlands, two brakteats has runic inscription and should be read in a reversed manner, the text is: “ I the eril is named Märthief, I wrote a powerful spell”. Key words: gold, runic inscriptions, wetland, eril, earl, Oden. Next subject is “Early Viking age trading centers along the Göta river”, there are locality names that indicate early trading as “kiöping” (Grönkiöping and Kiöping). Key words: finds of weights, coins and lumps of silver, coins from the Arabic word (both from north Africa and Samarkand). Dated between around 750-869 A.D. Archaeological excavation, long-oval pit-houses dated to 660-780 A.D. Photos and figures, all text is in Swedish

A print-friendly PDF version of Mimisbrunnr.info's unofficial index for Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" (2007 [1993], Boydell & Brewer). Readers can also find the original, web-based version of the Simdex at the following URL: https://www.mimisbrunnr.info/dnm-index

The subject of the article are interesting combs discovered in the stronghold in Pasym, NE Poland. For the older phases of the early Middle Ages, combs are unique finds, especially in the area of the West Balts. Results of the analysis show that combs from Pasym should be dated at the end of the 7th – the beginning of the 9th century AD. Numerous traces of bone and antler processing have been found in the stronghold in Pasym, however, no semi-products or waste left by comb manufac-ture were found, therefore, the existance of a local comb making workshop should be excluded. Combs of the types found in Pasym come from the Frisian areas, but there is no reason to treat these specimens as Frisian imports. The combs from Pasym bear the greatest resemblance to the artefacts from some of the early Slavic sites from the Polish Lowlands (Żukowice, Kałdus, Miszewko Strzałkowskie, Wyszogród) and Janów Pomorski as well as to a single find from Tumiany.

The Vandals is a Germanic tribe that not only migrated across Europe and the Roman empire during the first half of the first millenium AD but also played a part in Early 20th century geopolitics - besides become a word of shame. This paper follows all three threads of the amazing and turbulent destiny of this Germanic tribe, and examines the archaeological evidence.

Excavated in the 1990s, the site of Buschow 8, Havelland region, Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany, until recently had primarily been known for its Roman to Migration Period wells.
This Article gives a short summary of the author's PhD-thesis, in which he was able to show, that the site had been in use several times in the course of Pre- and Protohistory.

Mezőföldön is jól nyomon követhető, hogy a kora avar kori megtelepedésben és térszervezésben a 7. század elejéig szerepet játszottak az egykori késő római struktúrák, azaz a római utak, villák és belső erődök. A pontosan lokalizálható kora avar kori lelőhelyek közel 60%-át valamilyen római struktúra egy-két km-es körzetében találjuk.A római struktúrák közeléből ismert kora avar kori lelőhelyek többségének folyamatos használatáról beszélhetünk egészen a késő avar korig (tehát a közép és késő avar korban nincs változás a településszerkezet alapjaiban). A gyarapodó avar népesség a 7. század második felében és a 8. század elején újabb telepeket (és temetőket) hoz létre, melyeknél már nem az egykori római struktúrák léte és a természetföldrajzi okoknál fogva stratégiai átkelőhelyek (gázlók) a megtelepedést motiváló tényezők – mivel ezeknél továbbra is állnak a kora avar eredetű telepek –, hanem egyszerűen a vízfolyások közelsége.

Die imposante Fundgruppe der mittelalterlichen Schwerter im westslawischen Siedlungsgebiet, zwischen Elbe und Weichsel, ist erstaunlicherweise bei weitem nicht aufgearbeitet bzw. meist nur am Einzelfund regional erörtert worden. Nur selten wurden die oft schwierig zu datierenden Fundstücke im Gesamtkontext der politischen Verhältnisse des ostelbischen und östlich anschließenden Siedlungsraumes dargestellt und überregional miteinander verglichen. So ist beispielsweise für Brandenburg bis dato keine systematische Fundaufarbeitung mit aktuellen Fundkartierungen unternommen worden. Dies erstaunt umso mehr, wenn man bedenkt, dass gerade diese Funde einen recht hohen Anschauungswert aufweisen, der nicht nur in ihrer einstigen Nutzung begründet ist, sondern auch als Spiegel des hohen technischen Stands, sowie der weit reichenden Handelsverbindungen zu sehen ist. In der Fundgruppe der mittelalterlichen Schwerter sind besonders viele „Altfunde“ auszumachen, die in der Zeit vor 1945, oder weit davor, entdeckt wurden. Am Beispiel des Untersuchungszentrums der ehemaligen Neumark, der nordöstlichsten Region der ehemaligen Provinz Brandenburg, am Unterlauf der Warthe in die Oder, zeigt sich der hohe Anteil der bis heute weitgehend unbekannten Fundstücke, die jetzt nach Publikation ein ganz neues verdichtetes Fundstellenbild vermitteln.1 Beispielsweise wird nun erstmalig, nach über 60 Jahren seit der Auffindung, das „Ulfberht-Schwert“ von Landsberg (Gorzów Wlkp.) vorgestellt. So wird an der Fundgattung der Schwerter der Wissenszuwachs aufgrund der systematischen Auswertung der „Altfunde“, dem Forschen in den Archiven, besonders deutlich.
Die Schwertfunde des Oder- Warthegebietes sind keine Produkte lokaler Handwerker, sondern sie sind aus dem Westfränkischen oder auch als Plagiate aus dem wikingischen Skandinavien importiert worden. Hervorgehoben wird neben der ordinären Funktion als Hieb- und Stichwaffe auch die elitäre Bedeutung für die Schwertträger, die mit einer solchen Prunkwaffe als Statussymbol ausgestattet waren. Auffällig ist die Fundhäufung in den Konzentrationsbereichen von Herrschaft und Handwerk, den Fundorten mit „frühstädtischem Charakter“ und die Anbindung an schiffbare Gewässer für Handel und Kommunikation. Es sind meist Feuchtboden- oder Gewässerfunde, z.T. im Kontext eines Burgwalls, aber auch zu einem Drittel Grabbeigaben.

In this seminar paper written in english I focus on the interpretation of the ornaments of some archaeological finds from the 6th and 7th century Carpathian Basin in the context of germanic mythology. The discussion is about bird shaped brooches, germanic bracteates and the decoration of one particular find, the belt buckle from the 85th grave of the early 7th cemetery at Kölked-Feketekapu B. By this I am hoping to give a few clues as to how did the mythology look like for the germanic peoples living in the Carpathian basin at this time, compared to the later written sources about nordic mythology.

The unpublished Master thesis of the year 2003 focusses on the cemetery of Groß Ottenhagen/Berezovka in former East Prussia (today Kaliningrad, Russia). This graveyard of the Roman Iron Age (Phase B2 and B2/C1-C1a) and the Migration Period (Phase E) was first investigated in the 1920s. Although, with few exceptions, the finds are thought to have disappeared with the rest of the Königsberg Prussia-Collection, the excavation documents were preserved in the estate of excavator Herbert Jankuhn and could be analysed, taking into account the modern state of research (up to the year 2003). The thesis presents all available materials (fotos, drawings of finds and features, descriptions of graves and finds, etc.) from the archives in a catalogue. Especially noteworthy is the successful, complete reconstruction of a general plan in very exact detail. On this basis, the finds and features are anaylsed. In 2003 and 2004 the cemetery was newly excavated by K. Skvorzov and T. Ibsen. But these results are not included into the master thesis, which was the basis for the modern investigations.

This paper is the first attempt to summarize the state of research into the armament of the Bogaczewo and
Sudovian cultures. Swords ended up with a higher than expected position. While shaft-hole axes and socketed
axes played an important part, the military role of the so-called ‘fighting knives’ of the Roman period
was rejected, with the exception of Dolchmesser, which were recognized as true weapons. Polearms and
shields were used the most frequently. The latter, although fitting into the Central European pattern, had
local traits. The bow was recognized as hunting equipment. And horses had a rather auxiliary character.
Items with a Balt character that were discovered, for example, at Vimose Bog 1 and 2a and the sacrificial
sites at Balsmyr, Sorte Muld, Kragehul, Skedemosse, and Uppåkra seem to prove that Balts participated in
Scandinavian conflicts, which led to an exchange of ideas about such things as tactics and weapons.

Pietas et Virtus – Aurum et Memoria. Concerning the Interpretation of the Find Complexes from Pietroasa
and Şimleul Silvaniei in Romania
Rich protohistorical hoards are often interpreted as hidden finds that were buried in politically turbulent times. To this
is added a connection with events mentioned in the written sources. These moments of crisis, however, are mostly
of local importance, whereby »local« can also mean a larger area, for instance the Balkans. Yet, in the first half of
the 5th century, a more extensive horizon of rich depositions appears between southern Scandinavia and the Ukraine.
Consequently, a different approach is followed in this article: The extensive Migration period treasure troves from
Şimleul Silvaniei and Pietroasa are set within a large geographical context. Thereby it appears that they often served
the design of landscapes of remembrance in the direct vicinity of central places. Especially the large gold hoards show
how north of the Danube something new developed and new spatial structures were created

Paper presents phenomenon of the turn of the Roman and Migration periods in the N Poland and gradual ‘Baltisation’ of the post-Wielbark Culture areas. This is explained by movements of groups searching for new contacts with the population that had not abandoned the area (e.g. in the vicinity of Pruszcz Gdański). Especially promising were settlement clusters with good prospects for trading centres, inter alia the natural harbours (the shores of the Puck Bay and the region of Janów Pomorski). In the case of Janów Pomorski the strategy succeeded, as proved by the later site of Truso. It is hard to demonstrate this in the case of Puck Bay at present because of the degradation of the shore. Searching for new contacts and territories may have had the military character that could be deduced from the military activity of the Balts at the end of the Roman Period and in the Early Migration Period, i.e. possible participation in raids aimed at distant areas, even using boats (see the Balt finds from Scandinavian military votive sites such as Balsmyr, Kragehul, Sorte Muld and Uppåkra, but also the Balt brooches from the Baltic islands). This seems reasonable as trade (at least maritime trade) and war bands were closely inter-connected requiring well-trained crews of oarsmen. The supposition that military men formed an essential core of the migrants seems to be implied also by the weapon graves (Pasłęk, Podgórze, maybe also Młoteczno and Komorowo Żuławskie) from the earliest stage of the Balt migration along the shores of the Vistula Bay (Horizon 0 of the Elbląg Group). The Balts were certainly not the only members of the Elbląg Group. The survival of earlier groups of people of Germanic character (originating from the Wielbark Culture) may be proved by the finds of solidi, probably also the hoard from Młoteczno, while the hoard from Frombork seems to include items meeting the requirements of both Balts and Germanic folk. It may therefore be concluded that a society of mixed Balto-Germanic ethnic character emerged here, resembling the Vidivarii mentioned by Jordanes. It is documented in the early cemeteries like Pasłęk and Młoteczno, where cultural elements characteristic of both identities were found, with the most impressive case in the presumably double interment from grave 27 at Pasłęk. The cultural impact of the post-Wielbark stratum on the Elbląg Group may be documented by the lack (at least at present) of weapon graves from the middle phase of the Elbląg Group, which seems to be the legacy of the Wielbark Culture population. The reappearance of the weapons at the turn of the 6th c. may possibly be linked with a second wave of settlers from the Sambian Penisula. Two horizons of the Elbląg Group divided by  hiatus were postulated by J. Kowalski,135 which cannot be correct in light the of chronological studies of the cemetery at Nowinka,136 but a further wave of Balt migration overlapping with the first is surely not excluded.
Apart from the Balts and the residual post-Wielbark Culture population, one may presume that other, smaller groups, coming from the west, also participated in the creation of the Elbląg Group. The premises for such an assumption may be found in the early forms of western type brooches, i.e. type Ramersdorf, brooches of Group Krefeld (even if locally made, they show western influence), and a small Zangenfibel. In the case of the equal-armed brooches, at least some of these are later than expected, which surely requires us to study them as a whole, to try to narrow down their chronology and origins (taking into account local production but also Merovingian and Scandinavian imports). It therefore seems possible that the cultural cocktail of the Vidivarii additionally included unknown barbarians (Germanic) from the west or south-west. As regards Scandinavian imports from the second half of the 6th – beginning of 7th c., these occur, so far as one can tell, within local contexts. Thus they document not Scandinavian settlement but rather intensive cultural contacts with Scandinavia and, to a lesser extent, the Merovingian Circle too, possibly linked with the emergence of a central place at proto-Truso. Naturally this picture may change as a result of future excavations, but currently we can underline some important specific features, like the lack of weapon graves for a significant period of time, or the Germanic elements which make the Elbląg Group different from the Sambian-Natangian area. We can therefore properly treat this as a distinct unit.

The extraordinary grave of the Early Migration Period warrior from Juszkowo, Pruszcz Gdański com.
During excavations held by the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk in July 2010 at Juszkowo, near Pruszcz Gdański, an isolated grave from the Early Migration Period was found apart from numerous features from the Early Iron Age, Roman, Medieval and modern periods. It was an inhumation grave of an approximately 30 year old male, equipped with a long double‑edged sword: the so called Asian spathae. The weapon has a lot of parallels in the areas inhabited by the Huns and subordinated peoples like the Alans or the Gepids. Such a form of sword was also proved for regions reached by Barbarian armies led
by the Huns, i.e. in western or southern Europe. However, the find from Juszkowo is unique so far to the north. Additionally, a sword bead of amber was documented in the Juszkowo grave, which is a quite typical
addition to an Asian spatha. The next element of grave furnishing was an iron brooch representing the Hăneşti type or a late form of crossbow fibulas (a tendril or with solid catch‑plate). Furthermore, a belt buckle of gilded bronze with silver inlays was spotted in the grave furnishing. It belongs to the Strzegocice‑Tiszaládány‑Kercz type, known from a wide zone between the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea with particular concentrations in the middle Danube basin and Pannonia. The interment from Juszkowo should be dated to phase D2. It was a period of the abandonment in the area in question: the earlier settlement of the Wielbark culture ceased to exist. Moreover, the Wielbark culture burial rites excluded weapons fromgrave equipment. Therefore the question arises: who was buried at Juszkowo? In trying to answer this question, the authors suggest taking into consideration the possible return of warriors fighting in the south, submitted to the Huns, but also other possibilities, e.g., the existence of military outposts organized by the Huns to control the region, important to maintain contact with Scandinavia.

There is now a general scholarly consensus that the concentration of rural people into settlements in Western Europe (as opposed to dispersed or scattered habitations across the countryside) occurred in various stages between the eighth and twelfth centuries, though with regional divergences in precise timing, speed, formation, and intensity. What is clear from the literature is that a “one-size fits all” model for settlement development across Western Europe is not possible. Concentrated settlements appeared in certain parts of Europe for different reasons. This article discusses the strengths and limitations of four of the most influential frameworks for explaining patterns of medieval settlement concentration and their relation to social and economic change. The frameworks under analysis emphasize, respectively, power, coercion and lordship; communalism and territorial formalization; fieldsystems and resource-management; and urbanization and market-integration.

Il existe maintenant un consensus général érudit que la concentration des habitations en Europe occidentale
(par opposition à des habitations dispersées et éparpillées dans les campagnes) se fit par diverses
étapes entre le huitième et le douzième siècle, avec quand même des divergences régionales quant au moment précis, à la rapidité, la mise en place et l’intensité. Ce qu’on sait maintenant avec
certitude, tirant une conclusion de la documentation, c’est que le modèle « taille unique » n’est pas possible lorsqu’on considère le développement des implantations en Europe de l’Ouest. Des agglomérations concentrées firent leur apparition dans certaines régions de l’Europe pour des raisons différentes les unes des autres. Dans cet article, nous examinons les mérites et les limites des quatre cadres les plus persuasifs qui expliquent les modes de concentration de ces implantations médiévales et leur rapport aux changements sociaux et économiques. Pour expliquer le processus de la concentration de ces habitations, ces cadres soulignent respectivement : le pouvoir, la contrainte et la
seigneurie; la formalisation des territoires et communautés; la gestion des ressources et le système des champs; et, finalement, l’urbanisation et l’intégration des marchés.

The discovery of two central burial grounds at Kyjov and Mušov, which represent the largest known cemeteries in the whole Middle Danube region including south-western Hungary, has considerably changed existing ideas regarding population density in Southern Moravia and the significance of this area at the time of the Elbe-Germanic migrations across Europe.  The newly obtained, chronologically relevant finds indicate contacts with Central Germany and allow to assume that these cemeteries were already established in the first (so-called Th uringian) phase. During the following (so-called Danubian) phase, which is considered the heyday of cultural development of the Elbe-Germanic gentes in our territory, social elites emerged and in the area north of the Danube are represented by rich graves from Šakvice, Hauskirchen or Žuráň. Only the final phase of Lombard development north of the Danube is associated with many unanswered questions concerning above all the date at which this territory became depopulated. The Schwechat/Pallersdorf-type brooches, which are otherwise typical of Pannonia, were probably still being manufactured and used in the surroundings of Mušov after the mid-6th century. But current research in European early medieval archaeology is not only dealing with chronological questions. The modalities of migration are being increasingly discussed: was this a massive wave of new immigrants, or rather smaller mobile groups dominated by warriors? Was the indigenous population completely replaced, or were its remnants assimilated by the newcomers? Archaeological finds, no matter how abundant, are per se often hard to evaluate. In earlier attempts, the variance in material culture has been interpreted as a proof of migration, and the differences between individual ethnic groups were rightly called into question, as the possibility of external infl uence or change of cultural habits of the autochthonous population can never be excluded. An important shift in this regard is represented by the combination of methods of archaeological analysis with scientific techniques (strontium isotopes, DNA), which are able to verify or correct the testimony of archaeological sources.

Although the transition between the Migration Period (ca. AD 400–550) and the following Merovingian Period (ca. AD 550–800) in Norway is characterized by a fundamental shift in material culture, one particular jewelry type survives the radical breach between the two periods: great ornamental bow brooches. These brooches belonged to the upper level of society, the Early Medieval aristocracy. The use of great ornamental brooches can be traced back to around AD 200, and it constituted a tradition that was kept alive until the Viking Age. Why this tradition survived for such a long time, and how it evolved during a period of several hundred years are themes addressed in this paper. The paper focuses mainly on the meaning and significance of the brooch tradition during the transition between the Migration and the Merovingian Periods in Norway, through the use of relief and disc-on-bow brooches.

Bei der Ausgrabung der völkerwanderungszeitlichen Gräbergruppe von Gobelsburg aus dem 5. Jh. n. Chr. wurden an Metallartefakten sowie an kleinen unscheinbaren Eisenfragmenten organische Strukturen sichergestellt, deren Analyse einen wertvollen Beitrag zur Grundlagenforschung darstellt. Die Textilien weisen sehr vielfältige Qualitäten und Gewebestrukturen auf und weichen somit stark von der zeitgleichen Textilkultur im süddanubischen Raum ab. Nicht nur Überreste der Kleidung der Toten konnten in Gobelsburg identifiziert werden, sondern auch Fragmente textiler Behältnisse. Lederreste haben sich vor allem in Form von Gürtelleder und Messer- bzw. Schwertscheidenfragmenten erhalten. In einem Grab konnten pflanzliche Reste von Wildgras oder Kulturgetreide nachgewiesen werden, die eventuell einst als eine Heu- oder Strohstreuung im Grab dienten. Diese Sitte findet dank neuester Untersuchungen von frühmittelalterlichen Gräberfeldern in Süddeutschland gute Parallelen. Die entomologischen Reste desselben Grabes weisen auf Speisenbeigaben in Form von Obst oder Gemüse hin.

Within the limits of the Late Antique and Early Medieval settlement in Kabyle, barbaric materials with a wide time range (4th – late 6th century) have been detected. The earliest artefacts bear the characteristics of the culture Chernyakhov – Sântana de Mureş. These are fragments of pottery with specific decoration of polished lines (Fig. 1.1-3) and a bone comb (Fig. 2.1). After the time of Hunnic domination, more items of foreign origin were detected: a bone comb (Fig. 2.2) and two different fibulae (Fig. 3.1-2). The latest evidence of barbarian presence is a fragment of a so-called "Slavic" fibula with human mask (Fig. 3.3).
The foreign presence at the site is not accidental. Kabyle was periodically inhabited by different ethnic groups (artefacts of German origin predominate). A similar situation is observed at many neighbouring sites that also yielded barbaric materials. It remains unclear what was the status of this population, both at Kabyle and in the region. Presumably, some of the artefacts appeared after invasions, but others could have belonged to groups that were allowed to settle in Thrace in result of military or commercial treaties and relations.