The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Roman Germany

by Simon James, Stefan Krmnicek

Overview

Germania was one of the most important and complex zones of cultural interaction and conflict between Rome and neighbouring societies. A vast region, it became divided into urbanised provinces with elaborate military frontiers and the northern part of the continental 'Barbaricum'. Recent decades have seen a major effort by German archaeologists, ancient historians, epigraphers, numismatists, and other specialists to explore the Roman era in their own territory, with rich and often surprising new knowledge. This Handbook aims to make the results of this great effort of modern German and overwhelmingly German-language scholarship more widely available to Anglophone scholarship on the empire.

Archaeology and ancient history are international enterprises characterised by specific national scholarly traditions; this is notably true of the study of Roman-era Germania. This volume compromises a collection of essays in English by leading scholars working in Germany, presenting the latest developments in current research as well as situating their work within wider international scholarship through a series of critical responses from other, very different, national perspectives. In doing so, this book aims to reveal the riches of the archaeology of Roman Germany, promote the achievements of German scholars in the area, and help facilitate continued English and German language discourses on the Roman era.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199665730
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/24/2020
Series:	Oxford Handbooks
Pages:	656
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Simon James, Professor of Archaeology, University of Leicester,Stefan Krmnicek, Director of the Numismatic Department, University of Tubingen

Simon James is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Leicester. After a decade at the British Museum as an archaeological illustrator and then as an educator, he returned to the University sector via a Leverhulme Fellowship at Durham. He joined the University of Leicester in January 2000, becoming professor in 2012. His research mainly relates to ancient conflict, especially in the Roman world and contemporary societies in Europe and the Middle East.


Stefan Krmnicek is Junior Professor of Ancient Numismatics and Director of the Numismatic Department at the Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Tubingen. His research interests cover a wide range of topics, including coin iconography, economic and social history, and archaeometry, with current research focuses on the study of money and coinage at the interface between archaeology, Roman and Iron Age numismatics, anthropology, and sociology.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Simon James & Stefan KrmnicekPart I: Prelude, Conquest, and Provincialisation1. Occupation and Consolidation1. The Lands of Germania in the Later Pre-Roman Iron Age, Susanne Sievers2. Emergence of the Provinces, Reinhard Wolters2. Creating a Provincial Landscape3. Archaeology of Germania Superior: Urban Settlements, Klaus Kortum4. Archaeology of Germania Inferior: Urbanization, Norbert Hanel5. Roman Rural Landscape Occupation in Present-Day Germany: An Overview, Thomas MaurerPart II: Core Provinces at the Edge of Empire3. Wars and Frontiers6. Roman Battlefields in Germany: Kalkriese and Harzhorn, Gunther Moosbauer7. The Limes, Martin Kemkes4. An Integrated Economy8. Roman Pottery Research in Germany, Susanne Biegert and Markus Helfert9. Coinage and Money in the Roman Rhineland, David Wigg-Wolf5. Constituting Provincial Identity10. Religion, Cult, and Burial Customs in the German Provinces, Constanze Hopken11. Writing and Literacy/Illiteracy, Krešimir Matijević12. Provincial Art, Alexandra W. Busch and Henner von HesbergPart III: The Transformation of Power6. Crisis of the Third Century13. 'Vi barbarorum absumptam': A Military History of Roman Germany during the Third Century AD, Marcus Reuter14. Crisis Research in a Civil Context, Michaela Konrad7. Germani and Rome15. The Germani and the German Provinces of Rome, Claus von Carnap-Bornheim16. Roman Cultural Influence in Western Germania Magna, Michael Meyer17. Transformations in the Roman West: The Case of the Alamanni, Claudia Theune8. After Rome18. The Transformation into the Early Middle Ages, Hubert Fehr19. Reception and History of Research in the Roman Provinces of Germany, Alexander HeisingPart IV: External Perspectives and Final Thoughts9. The Foreign Commentaries20. The Archaeology of Roman Germany, A Dutch Perspective, Nico Roymans21. Roman Germania? What Germania?, Michel Redde22. Germanies, Britains, and the Roman World, Ian Haynes23. Roman Germany and Provincial Archaeology, The North American Perspective, Philip Kiernan10. Final Word24. Concluding Remarks on the Handbook of the Archaeology of Roman Germany, Thomas Fischer

Editorial Reviews

"...this excellent book fills a long-underserved need for up-to-date information on, and interpretation of, the Romans' activities in ancient Germany. Regardless of language, it is a valuable contribution to the subject." — Lindsay Powell, Ancient Warfare

"A new Oxford Handbook to the Archaeology of Roman Germany looks set to become the go-to resource for those researching, teaching, and studying the provinces of the Roman North..." — Michael Squire, Greece & Rome

"a highly informative invitation to all classical archaeologists to explore recent analyses of the rich archaeological datasets available for the Roman Empire's German provinces ... this volume is an invaluable primer and call to action for all Roman archaeologists who want to engage with current, mostly German-language research on the Roman German provinces, Upper German-Raetian limes, and Germania Magna/Barbaricum." — Matthew Schueller, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

From the Publisher