Die Zeit zwischen 300 und 800 n. Chr.

wird als Übergang zwischen An-

tike und Mittelalter verstanden und in der Archäologie und in den FSM 4
Geschichtswissenschaften zunehmend als eigenständige Epoche unter
dem Label „Spätantike“ wahrgenommen. Begriffe wie „spätrömisch“,
„frühchristlich“ oder „frühbyzantinisch“ treten in diesem Kontext als

Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter 4

konkurrierende Kategorien auf, die zeitlich und räumlich überlappen-
de Phänomene beschreiben. Sie sind primär als termini technici der For-
schung und damit als Ausdruck wissenschaftlicher Denk- und Interpre-

GrenzÜbergänge
tationsmuster zu bewerten, die stets kritisch hinterfragt werden sollten.
Im vorliegenden Band werden die Ergebnisse der 27. Jahrestagung zu
den Grundproblemen der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im mittle-
ren Donauraum vorgelegt. Im Fokus des Interesses stehen die Region
von Norikum über Pannonien bis Mösien. In methodischen Beiträgen
werden Fragen der Interdisziplinarität und Periodisierung sowie an-
hand von Fallbeispielen aus der Untersuchungsregion Verwendung, Be-
deutung und Interpretation zentraler Begriffe und Quellen beleuchtet.
Sie liefern damit die Grundlage für eine Diskussion über trennende und
verbindende Elemente von „Grenz(en) – und – Übergängen“ zwischen
Epochen, Räumen und wissenschaftlichen Betrachtungsweisen diesseits
und jenseits der Donau.

The time between AD 300 and 800 is seen as a period of transition be-
tween Antiquity and the Middle Ages; archaeologists and historians in-
creasingly acknowledge its existence under the term ‘Late Antiquity’ as
a period in its own right. Categories such as ‘Late Roman’, ‘Early Chris-
tian’ or ‘Early Byzantine’ appear in this context as competing concepts

Bugarski, Heinrich-Tamáska,
that describe chronologically and geographically overlapping phenom-
ena. They are primarily termini technici used in historical research and

Ivaniševic, Syrbe (Hrsg.)

hence expressions of thought patterns and interpretative models which
must be subjected to critical scrutiny.
This volume contains the proceedings of the 27th annual conference
dedicated to major Issues in the Protohistory of the Middle Danube. Its
Ivan Bugarski, Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
focus is on a region covering Noricum, Pannonia and Moesia. It address-
Vujadin Ivaniševic, Daniel Syrbe (Hrsg.)
es questions of interdisciplinarity and periodisation within the region,
in contributions on methods as well as in case studies examining the
use, meaning and interpretation of concepts and sources. This forms
the basis of a discussion about the elements that separate and connect
the ‘boundaries’ and ‘crossings’ between periods, spaces and approach- GrenzÜbergänge
es to studying the past on both sides of the Danube. Spätrömisch, frühchristlich, frühbyzantinisch als Kategorien der
historisch-archäologischen Forschung an der mittleren Donau

ISBN 978-3-86705-079-1 Late Roman, Early Christian, Early Byzantine as categories in

ISSN 2195-2221 Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner historical-archaeological research on the Middle Danube
GrenzÜbergänge
Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter

herausgegeben von
Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska,
Niklot Krohn und Sebastian Ristow

Band 4
 GrenzÜbergänge
Spätrömisch, frühchristlich, frühbyzantinisch als Kategorien der
historisch-archäologischen Forschung an der mittleren Donau

Late Roman, Early Christian, Early Byzantine as categories in

historical-archaeological research on the middle Danube

Akten des 27. Internationalen Symposiums der Grundprobleme

der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im mittleren Donauraum,
Ruma, 4.–7.11.2015

herausgegeben von
Ivan Bugarski, Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska,
Vujadin Ivanišević und Daniel Syrbe

2016
Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner
Remshalden
 Gedruckt

mit Unterstützung des Geisteswissenschaftlichen Zentrums Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas e. V.

an der Universität Leipzig

Das dieser Publikation zugrunde liegende Vorhaben wurde mit Mitteln des Bundesministeriums für Bildung
und Forschung unter dem Förderschwerpunkt „Geisteswissenschaftliche Zentren“ (Förderkennzeichen
01UG1410) gefördert. Die Verantwortung für den Inhalt dieser Veröffentlichung liegt bei den Autoren.

Die Beiträge wurden einem Peer Review-Verfahren unterzogen. Für die Unterstützung danken wir den
Kollegen: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Brather (Albert-Ludwigs-Univ. Freiburg, Inst. für Arch. Wiss.), Dr. Slavko
Ciglenečki (Arch. Inst. der Slowenischen Akad. d. Wiss.), Dr. Hrvoje Gračanin (Univ. Zagreb, Phil. Fak.),
Prof. Dr. Matthias Hardt (GWZO, Leipzig), Prof. Dr. Michael Schmauder (LVR-LandesMuseum, Bonn),
PD Dr. Sebastian Ristow (LVR-Landschaftsverband Rheinland), PD Dr. Roland Steinacher (Alfried Krupp
Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald), Prof. Dr. Tivadar Vida (Loránd Eötvös Univ., Arch. Inst., Budapest).

GrenzÜbergänge
Spätrömisch, frühchristlich, frühbyzantinisch als Kategorien
der historisch-archäologischen Forschung an der mittleren Donau /
Late Roman, Early Christian, Early Byzantine as categories in
historical-archaeological research on the middle Danube /
Akten des 27. Internationalen Symposiums der Grundprobleme
der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im mittleren Donauraum, Ruma, 4.–7.11.2015
herausgeben von Ivan Bugarski, Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, Vujadin Ivanišević und Daniel Syrbe /
Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter 4 /
herausgegeben von Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, Niklot Krohn und Sebastian Ristow /
Remshalden : Greiner 2016 /
ISBN 978-3-86705-079-1

Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie;
detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar.

1. Auflage 2016

© 2016
Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner, 73630 Remshalden; www.bag-verlag.de

Umschlagbild: Mosaik aus Sirmium/Sremska Mitrovica, Kaiserpalast, Raum 23 (site 1a, 4. Jh. n. Chr.), Ausgrabung des
Denkmalschutzamtes Sremska Mitrovica, 2006 (Photo: J. Vuletić and I. Filipović); Halbmondförmiger Ohrring: Bóly, Grab
21/a (1. Hälfte 7. Jh. n. Chr.), Janus Pannonius Múzeum Pécs, Inv.-Nr. 61.3.1 (Photo: A. Blay); Tremis von Aelia Pulcheria
(450–453), Narodni Muz. Zaječar (Photo: S. Pop-Lazić, Inst. of Arch., Belgrade).

Umschlaggestaltung und Satz: Anita Mezei (Zalaegerszeg)

Redaktion: Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, Daniel Syrbe (GWZO, www.uni-leipzig.de/gwzo)
Herstellung: Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner, 73630 Remshalden; www.bag-verlag.de

Das Werk ist in allen seinen Teilen urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig.
Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung
in elektronischen Systemen.

ISBN 978-3-86705-079-1
ISSN 2195-2221
 Vorwort / Preface

The fourth volume in the series ‘Research on Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages’ contains the papers
presented at the 27th international symposium dedicated to ‘Major Issues in the Early History of the
Middle Danube’ which took place on 4–7 November 2015 in Ruma, in the province of Vojvodina,
Serbia, and is now published under the title of the present book.
The conference was organised by the editors of this volume and their institutions, the Leipzig Centre
for the History and Culture of East Central Europe (since 1 January 2017 Leibniz Institute for the
History and Culture of Eastern Europe [GWZO]) and the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade, in
collaboration with the institutes of the academies and universities of the ‘Major issues’ circle in Brno,
Nitra, Vienna and Krakow.
The region of Syrmia forms the focus of current and future research programmes of the Institute
of Archaeology in Belgrade and for this reason it is not hard to explain the choice of venue for the
conference. The Institute has been involved for decades in research on this key region, located on the
northern fringes of the Balkan Peninsula in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda, first and fore-
most through the excavations in Sirmium. But another Pannonian Roman town, Bassianae, was also
investigated in recent years by geophysical and photogrammetric surveys (conducted by the Ludwig
Boltzmann Institute, Vienna) and it offers great opportunities for future excavation projects.
For the GWZO, the research project ‘Continuity and discontinuity of Christianity on the middle
and lower Danube between Late Antiquity and the High Middle Ages’ was instrumental in shaping
the theme of the conference. Christianity represented innovation, continuity, tradition, identity and
power at various times in the period under examination, and it left behind a multiplicity of traces.
In the Danube provinces, the Christian religion played a crucial role as a pillar of continuity in the
timespan from the fifth to the ninth century AD, forming part of Roman identity. Changes also took
place under its influence in the lower Danube region and its hinterland, where the imperial presence
endured until the seventh century.
The title of this volume (GrenzÜbergänge/BorderCrossings) is a play on words in German intended
to render the theme of the conference. The meeting sought to address questions of interdisciplinarity
and periodization, using the Middle Danube region between AD 300 and 800 as a case study, to lay
the foundations for a discussion concerning aspects of ‘borders’ and ‘crossings’ that separate and con-
nect different periods, spaces and scientific approaches. The terms employed in research on this pe-
riod, such as ‘Late Roman’, ‘Early Christian’, ‘Early Byzantine’ or ‘Late Antique’, are frequently applied
indiscriminately, and are either used as equivalents or, conversely, taken to represent a chronological
sequence. These stances often reflect different research traditions and regionally circumscribed re-
search domains.
The conference was organised in four sessions, entitled ‘Crossing Borders between Rome and
Barbaricum’, ‘Early Christianity’, ‘Transformations of Roman Strucutres’ and ‘On the Edges of
Byzantium’. The papers made clear that many frontiers become less distinct the closer one gets to
them. What is taken to represent a break from the perspective of current research often turns out to be
a political event, whose impact appears to be rather limited at a regional or local level. Moreover, the
results of archaeological research are significantly changing our view of the historical trajectory of the
Balkan provinces in Late Antiquity, which followed a dynamic evolution well into the sixth century
AD. The fact that the seventh century marked a real break in the Middle Danube region appears, on
the other hand, to be a common denominator. It can be documented in many different ways in the
archaeological evidence available.

5
 Vorwort

As the conference was held in Serbia, a significant number of contributions drew on research con-
cerning the northern and central Balkans’ heritage, enlarging the ‘Major issues’ research group’s
usual area of expertise, i.e. Eastern Middle European Barbaricum. In addition to the conference pa-
pers, a poster session was organised in the Municipal Museum in Ruma, where current archaeo-
logical research projects dedicated to the protection and restoration of the imperial palace mosaics at
Sirmium, settlement patterns in the environs of Sirmium, and results of new excavations at Keszthely-
Fenékpuszta and in a villa rustica in the vicinity of Ruma, our conference host town, were presented.
The conference excursion took us to Sremska Mitrovica, ancient Sirmium. Stefan Pop-Lazić from
the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade, and Biljana Lučić from the Institute for the Protection of
Cultural Monuments in Sremska Mitrovica guided us around the archaeological sites and the impe-
rial palace and explained the recent research and heritage issues related to this important town. The
participants also had the chance to visit the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Srem in Sremska
Mitrovica and at the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad.
Three further contributions complement this volume, as their topics are closely related to our theme:
they were originally presented at a session coordinated by the GWZO at the 2013 International
Medieval Congress in Leeds entitled ‘Central Places in the Middle Ages, I: Eastern Central Europe’.
There, historians and archaeologists discussed the role of central places in terms of their political, eco-
nomic, social and/or religious functions. The session focused on the bilateral development in Eastern
Central Europe, where, to the south of the Danube, it was often the Late Antique, Roman towns that
accommodated the early medieval centres, whereas to the north of the Danube new central places
developed from other cultural backgrounds.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Austrian Archaeological Institute, the Institute
of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology and the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies of the
University of Vienna, as well as our own institutions in Belgrade and Leipzig for their generous finan-
cial and organisational support of the conference.
We also thank our colleagues for their painstaking editorial work, especially Eva-Maria Tepest for her
review of the contributions in German to this volume and Madeleine Hummler for her revision of
the articles in English.
Last but not least we are most grateful to all our colleagues for presenting their results at the confer-
ence and for submitting them to scrutiny in this volume. Research is alive and well on both sides
of the Danube and is bound to offer new perspectives and openings for wide-ranging international
exchange.

Leipzig, Belgrade, December 2016 The editors

6
 Inhalt / Contents

Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska und Daniel Syrbe

„GrenzÜbergänge“ zwischen 300 und 800 n. Chr. Einführende Betrachtungen
zu den globalen und lokalen Verflechtungen des Mitteldonauraumes ............................................11

Alexander Sarantis
Eastern Roman management of barbarian states in the Lower-Middle Danube
frontier zones, AD 332–610 ....................................................................................................................41

Anne Hähnel
Militärverwaltung im mittleren Donauraum: Das Illyricum zwischen Rom,
Byzanz und dem Barbaricum .................................................................................................................67

Alois Stuppner
„Spätrömisch“, „spätantik“ oder „spätkaiserzeitlich“?
Epochenbezeichnungen am Beispiel des ostösterreichischen Donauraumes ..................................83

Jaroslav Tejral
Spätantik – merowingisch – frühmittelalterlich. Strittige Übergänge im mittleren
Donauraum aus der Sicht der Archäologie ....................................................................................... 103

Levente Nagy
Interpretationen frühchristlicher Kunst am Beispiel pannonischer Kästchenbeschläge:
Methodische Probleme und unscharfe Terminologie ..................................................................... 121

Hrvoje Vulić
Eine frühchristliche Anlage in Kamenica bei Cibalae/Vinkovci:
Vorbericht zu den archäologischen Untersuchungen in den Jahren 2012 bis 2015 .................... 133

Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) –
new insights about old assumptions ................................................................................................... 145

Marina Šimek
Lonja – eine frühchristliche Kirche auf einer spätantiken Höhensiedlung
in Pannonien (heute Nordwestkroatien) ........................................................................................... 161

Ivana Popović
Survey of Early Christianity in Sirmium/Sremska Mitrovica (fourth to fifth c. AD)................... 179
Efthymos Rizos
Martyrs from the north-western Balkans in the Byzantine ecclesiastical tradition:
patterns and mechanisms of cult transfer .......................................................................................... 195

Ádám Bollók
The “phylactery of the cross” and Late Antique/early medieval mortuary
practices in the Eastern Mediterranean and on its fringes ............................................................. 215

Stefan Pop-Lazić
Felix Romuliana/Gamzigrad in the fifth century – results of recent research ............................. 231

Sofija Petković, Ivan Bugarski and Nataša Miladinović-Radmilović

A non-wandering soldier’s grave?
The seventh-century burial in Davidovac (southern Serbia) ......................................................... 247

Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
Byzantine goldsmithing in Avaria? Exchange and transfer at the edge of the Empire
during the seventh century AD .......................................................................................................... 273

Adrien Blay und Levente Samu

Über die mediterranen Kontakte des frühawarenzeitlichen Karpatenbeckens
am Beispiel ausgewählter Fundgruppen ............................................................................................ 291

Stefan Eichert
Byzantinische Vorbilder für karantanischen Schmuck?
Zur Rezeption des Greifen- und Vogelmotivs im frühmittelalterlichen Ostalpenraum ............. 311

Daniel Syrbe
Regensburg und die Grenzen und Übergänge zwischen Antike und Mittelalter
im raetischen Donauraum.................................................................................................................... 327

Przemysław Urbańczyk
Central places as foundations of the early Piast state ....................................................................... 343

Stefan Albrecht
Cherson als Zentralort auf der südwestlichen Krim (6.–10. Jahrhundert) ................................... 355

Bildnachweis ................................................................................................................................................ 385

Autoren ......................................................................................................................................................... 389

8
TeilnehmerInnen der Tagung auf der Exkursion in Sremska Mitrovica/Sirmium am 6. November 2015.
Conference delegates in Sremska Mitrovica/Sirmium during their excursion of 6 November 2015.
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity

(fifth to sixth century AD) –
new insights about old assumptions

The Colonia Aurelia Cibalae, a Roman city loca-
ted in present-day Vinkovci, was the third-largest
settlement in the province of Pannonia Secunda.
It gained municipal status in the second century
AD and colonial status in the third1. However,
Vinkovci has a longer history, with a series of
settlements documented over 8000 years2. What
are the reasons for this phenomenon? One reason
could be the site’s favourable geographical posi-
tion on the northernmost curve of river Bosut.
At the junction of the Pannonian plain with the
mountain chain of the Dinaric Alps (or Dinari-
des) in the south-west and the Rhodope-Balkan
area in the south-east, major traffic crossed at
this point; this is shown by the overlap of diffe-
rent archaeological groups and cultural spheres3.
But we do not find, or have not recognis-
ed, rich traces of human activity in all periods
of Vinkovci’s long settlement history. One of
these periods is Late Antiquity or the Migration
Period, from the middle of the fifth to the early
seventh century AD, after the presumed end of
Roman rule in Pannonia. In the following article
we shall present new results concerning this time
on the basis of new excavations and analysis of
ceramic assemblages.
Old assumptions
In Croatian archaeology and historiography the
decline of the Roman city of Cibalae has long
been assumed. In this model the city burnt down
and was destroyed at the end of the fourth cen-
tury AD. This theory is owed in part to András
Mócsy, and was developed partly on the basis of
evidence from other Pannonian sites and partly
on written sources4. Most of the archaeological
finds – whether they originated from archaeolo-
gical excavations or were finds without archaeo-
logical context5 – were integrated in this chro-
nological framework. Later finds were however
not completely disregarded, but considered to
be sporadic finds attesting continuity of occupa-
tion6.

1 I. Iskra-Janošić, Colonia Aurelia Cibalae. Entwicklung der Stadt. In: M. Šašel Kos/P. Scherrer (eds), The
autonomous towns of Noricum and Pannonia – Die autonomen Städte in Noricum und Pannonien. Situla 42
(Ljubljana 2004) 169–195 here 177–181.
2 A. Durman (ed.), The oldest town in Europe, Vinkovci (Privlačica 2013).
3 I . Karaula/Z. Korpar, Grad između ekvatora i sjevernog pola. In: M. Landeka/D. Švagelj (eds), Vinkovci
(Vinkovci 2010) 139 f.; Iskra-Janošić 2004 (note 1) 169 f.
4 A. Mócsy (Pannonia and Upper Moesia – A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman
Empire [London 1974]) proposed that Pannonian cities developed in four phases: initially the urbanization of
indigenous settlements, then two phases of prosperity, followed by a period of decline. See also H. Gračanin,
Južna Panonija u kasnoj antici i ranom srednjovjekovlju (od konca 4. do konca 11. stoljeća) (Zagreb 2011)
54–58.
5 Here mostly private collections that were fundamental for the Museum’s (Gradski Muzej Vinkovci)
establishment are considered.
6 S. Dimitrijević, Rezultati arheoloških iskopavanja na području vinkovačkog muzeja od 1957. do 1965.
god. (Prethistorija i srednji vijek) (Vinkovci 1966) 69 f.; I. Iskra-Janošić, Rimsko razdoblje – Roman period.
In: S. Jozić (ed.), Vinkovci u svijetu arheologije (Vinkovci 1999) 34–99 here 63.

145
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

The first archaeological investigations in Vinkov-
ci by Josep Brunšmid in the nineteenth century
revealed the remains of defensive ditches sur-
rounding the Roman city, presumed to be ori-
ented northwest-southeast, covering an area of
about 56 hectares (a rectangular area measuring
some 860 × 650 m). Besides the ditches Brunšmid
also mentions walls, but provides no evidence for
these7. It was proposed that Roman life ended in
Cibalae at the end of the sixth century, after the
fall of Sirmium in AD 5828.
According to later research by Stojan Dimitrijević,
Cibalae was trapezoidal in shape (north = 710 m,
east = 630 m, south = 780 m, west = 650 m), co-
vering an area of 45.6 hectares. He ascertained
that the ditches surrounding the city were 15 to
more than 50 m wide, and the earthen rampart
13 to 45 m wide; a wooden palisade on the top
was an important part of this defence system.
He argued that life in Cibalae came to an end in
around AD 385, the direct cause being devasta-
tion, burning and conquest by the Goths in AD
378/379. This statement, however, only applies
to the Romans, because he refers to some spo-
radic finds of the fifth century, and some more
finds that can be linked to the second phase of
domination by the Gepids in the sixth century.
Dimitrijević saw the reason for reoccupation of
the city in the easy reuse of Roman buildings and
ditched defence system. Regardless, the fifth-and
sixth-century settlement was only partly occu-
pied and small9.
According to Ivana Iskra-Janošić, Cibalae had two
phases of fortification: the earlier dating to the
early second century (encircling an area of 38.1
hectares), and the later dating to the third centu-
ry (surrounding an area of about 56.8 hectares).
The first fortified circuit consisted of double ear-
then ramparts, 13 to 14 m wide, with a 5 m wide
ditch in between. The second had just one ear-
then rampart, mostly overlapping with the ear-
lier outer earthen rampart, with a fence or palisa-
de, a form of timber panelwork filled with earth.
The interior was rectangular, oriented north-
west-southeast10. Iskra-Janošić also states that
Cibalae was devastated in AD 378/379, leaving
only the city centre suitable for living. Sporadic
fifth-century finds have turned up in the lar-
ge Gepidic settlement, attested by intra muros
graves and finds of stamped pottery. The inha-
bitants of that settlement apparently lived in the
Roman ruins11.
The models proposed by these three scholars
were also generally accepted among other experts
dealing with the topic12. Only sporadically do
we encounter different opinions, expressed qui-

7 J. Brunšmid, Colonia Aurelia Cibalae. Vinkovci u staro doba. Vjesnik Hrvatskog arheologičkog društva
NS 6, 1902, 117–166 here 124 f.
8 Brunšmid 1902 (note 7) 131. Apart from mentioning ‘wild barbarian’ hordes and troops belonging to the
Avar khan Bajan, Brunšmid does not give any further information about specific dates or events that led to
the destruction of Cibalae. He only mentions a last reference to Cibalae in the Chronicle of Casino (Epitome
Chronicorum Casinensium). This document has been shown to be a later medieval forgery (S. Andrić,
Tobožnja darovnica cara Justinijana sv. Benediktu i spomen grada Cibala u njoj. Croatica Christiana Periodica
XXIX,55, 2005, 1–5).
9 S. Dimitrijević, Arheološka topografija i izbor nalaza s vinkovačkog tla (Archäologische Topographie
und Auswahl archäologischer Funde vom Vinkovcer Boden). Corolla Memoriae Iosepho Brunšmid dicata.
Izdanja Hrvatskog arh. društva 4 (Vinkovci 1979) 133–200 here 149 f., 190.
10 I. Iskra-Janošić, Urbanizacija Cibala i razvoj keramičarskih središta (Zagreb, Vinkovci 2001) 33–43;
Eadem 2004 (note 1) 177–181.
11 I. Iskra-Janošić 2001 (note 10) 150–153.
12 Z. Virc, Pregled povijesti Vinkovaca (Vinkovci 1988); M. Bulat, Rimska Mursa. In: I. Mažuran (ed.),
Srednjovjekovni i turski Osijek (Osijek 1994); T. Sekelj Ivančan, Neki arheološki primjeri zaposjedanja
antičkih urbanih cjelina u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj tijekom srednjeg vijeka (Manche archäologische Beispiele für
die Besiedlung der Ruinen antiker Stadtanlagen in Nordkroatien in Mittelalter). Prilozi 18, 2001, 189–212
here 196.

146
 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

te tentatively and in a mitigated manner13. His-
torical sources shed no light on this problem14.
We know of major events, such as invasions and
migration routes15, but Cibalae was never men-
tioned in known sources, unlike the destruction
of Sirmium/Sremska Mitrovica or Mursa/Osi-
jek16.
New insights
Developments in archaeological excavations,
new finds and methods have given us new in-
sights. Marko Dizdar took a first step in 1999,
collecting for the first time all data and finds that
he believed could be attributed to the Gepids. His
research was limited to burial finds and stamped
pottery17. Later, further new finds were included
in the late fifth-and sixth-century assemblage
from Cibalae. Even the historians changed their
views, recognising that the period of barbarian
invasions was not a period of complete destruc-
tion, but rather a period of raiding, plundering
(especially livestock and crops) and taking priso-
ners for ransom18.
Since the late 1990s new methods of archaeolo-
gical excavation – individualising and recording
stratigraphic units – have allowed us to observe
features that had previously been overlooked19
and this has led to a number of new conclusions.
One is that the city reached its peak in the fourth
century20, when many new buildings were erec-
ted (Fig. 1). This boom in construction could be
explained by the fact that Roman emperors were
connected to Cibalae21. This also fits into the pic-
ture of the renewal of cities and fortifications in
Pannonia conducted under the emperor Valen-
tinian I22.

13 S. Andrić, Vinkovci u srednjem vijeku. Područje grada Vinkovaca od kasne antike do kraja turske vlasti
(Vinkovci in the Middle Ages. The Vinkovci urban area from Late Antiquity to the end of Ottoman rule)
(Vinkovci, Slavonski Brod 2007) 19.
14 Just as in archaeology, changes also occur in historical interpretation. Older opinions favour the thesis that
Alaric used a southern route when conquering Italy, more recent scholars claim that he followed a northern
route via Cibalae (H. Gračanin, Goti i Južna Panonija [Goths and South Pannonia]. Scrinia Slavonica 6,
2006, 83–126 here 106 note 132).
15 For the vicinity of Vinkovci: H. Gračanin/A. Rapan Papeša, Postrimski grad u južnoj Panoniji – primjer
Cibala (Post-Roman city in South Pannonia – example of Cibalae). Scrinia Slavonica 11, 2011, 7–30 here
10–13. For southern Pannonia: Gračanin 2011 (note 4).
16 H. Gračanin, Huni i Južna Panonija (Huns and South Pannonia). Scrinia Slavonica 5, 2005, 9–47 here 33;
Gračanin 2006 (note 14) 84. Given that battles were fought near Cibalae and that two emperors were born
there, it is most unlikely that contemporary writers did not know about the city.
17 M. Dizdar, Rani srednji vijek – Early Middle Ages. In: S. Jozić (ed.) Vinkovci u svijetu arheologije
(Vinkovci 1999) 65–71.
18 Gračanin 2006 (note 14) 85.
19 The practice was to dig in spits about 25 cm thick, regardless of period and cultures. Solid remains (such as
walls) were defined, and pits were recorded mostly when cut into sterile soil – not in layers. Therefore we often
find pottery sherds from prehistoric and later periods bagged together. These finds obviously came from pits
that were not recorded properly.
20 Previously the late second and early third centuries were seen as a peak in the development of cities.
21 Constantine the Great, who defeated Licinus near Cibalae in AD 316, Constantius II who built a winter
camp outside of the city before his battle with Magnentius near Mursa in AD 351 (Zosimus, Historia Nova, ed.
by B. Kindt. Corpus Christianorum. Thesaurus patrum Graecorum 21 [Turnhout 2008] II, 18 and 45–63.) and
Valentinian I and his brother Valens, both born in Cibalae (Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum gestarum libri qui
supersunt, ed. by C. U. Clark, 2 vol. [Berlin 1910] 30.7.2).
22 N. Christie, Towns, Land and Power: German-Roman survivals and interactions in fifth- and sixth-
century Pannonia. In: G. P. Brogiolo/N. Gauthier/N. Christie (eds), Towns and their territories between Late
Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (Leiden 2000) 275–297 here 277; Idem, From the Danube to the Po: The
Defence of Pannonia and Italy in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD. In: A. Poulter (ed.) The Transition to

147
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

LEGEND:
PRESUMED RAMPART ROADS
ROMAN/LATE ROMAN ARCHITECTURE ROMAN NECROPOLIS
LATER CIBALAE LIMITS (PRESUMED)
LATE ROMAN WOODEN ARCHITECTURE INTRA MUROS BURIALS
POTTERY WORKSHOP POTTERY KILNS EARLIER CIBALAE LIMITS (PRESUMED)
BASILICA LATE ROMAN POTTERY
PUBLIC BATHS STAMPED POTTERY

NORTHERN NECROPOLIS WESTERN NECROPOLIS

0 800 m
SOUTHERN NECROPOLIS EASTERN NECROPOLIS

Fig. 1 Distribution of Roman and Late Antique features and single finds in the area of present-day Vinkovci.

148
 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

Since coin circulation at the end of the fourth
century was weak23, some of the buildings dated
by fourth-century coins could have been erected
in the fifth century. The analysis of the pottery
certainly suggests that some of these objects were
in use during the first half of the fifth century24.
Because of the high degree of destruction, re-
searchers rarely uncovered more than foundati-
ons and occasionally lines of bricks (up to five)
making up walls; we therefore cannot argue that
these structures were newly built. Hence it is still
possible that they were renewed.
A second conclusion concerns the defences of
Cibalae. The idea that an earthen rampart could
have protected the city for 500 years seems most
unlikely. There is apparently a line between the
structures inside the defensive ditches, which
was superseded by graves. The existence of this
line is still open to question. So far no traces of
solid brick or stone walls have been found. As
for the discovery of yellow soil, interpreted as an
earthen rampart, at some locations, it has been
shown that this was of geological origin. By con-
trast, recent excavations have shown that the
city’s ditches were similar to the boundaries that
Josef Brunšmid saw in the nineteenth century.
Perhaps the surrounding marshes, mentioned
by Zosimus25, could explain why the city never
needed to build a solid defence. If the only path
leading to the city was narrow, it would be easy
to defend it, since the marsh was about 900 m
(five stadia) wide. It is also possible that earthen
ramparts were erected in the late fourth centu-
ry, as part of the Pannonian renewal mentioned
earlier. This cannot be proven at present, due to
heavy levelling in Vinkovci and surroundings
over the two last centuries.
Our third conclusion relates to the residential
buildings of the fifth and sixth centuries. Roman
structures may have been renewed or repaired to
serve as shelters of some kind. In recent preven-
tive excavations new dwellings have also been
recorded (see below).
A fourth suggestion cannot yet be verified. Accor-
ding to the data available, the focus of the fifth-
and sixth-century settlement was in the western
and central part of Cibalae, which was main-
ly a residential area. The eastern and southern
parts seem to see less occupation at that time.
However this hypothesis will have to remain just
that, because the eastern and southern parts of
Roman Cibalae lie under historical buildings
erected during the eighteenth and nineteenth
century in Vinkovci, which are protected as cul-
tural heritage. Sporadic finds imply that that life
continued over the whole territory occupied by
Cibalae.
Our fifth, and most important, conclusion is
that continuity in ceramic production is attested.
With over 80 kilns from the entire Roman pe-
riod, Cibalae is exceptional. Regrettably, only a
very small number of these kilns was found with
ceramic remains still inside, and those that did
so mainly contained early Roman types (first–
second centuries AD)26. Therefore we still cannot
pinpoint which kilns were used during the fifth
and sixth centuries, even though local produc-
tion was continuous until then (see below).

Late Antiquity, on the Danube and Beyond. Proccedings of the British Acad. 141 (Oxford, New York 2008)
548–578 here 554.
23 P. Kos, Novčne najdbe – Coin finds. In: Z. Modrijan/T. Milavec (eds), Poznoantična utrjena naselbina
Tonovcov grad pri Kobaridu. Najdbe – Late Antique Fortified Settlement Tonovcov grad near Kobarid. Finds.
Opera Inst. Arch. Sloveniae 24 (Ljubljana 2011) 221–238 here 234; M. Nađ, Coin Circulation AD 193–423. In:
B. Migotti (ed.), The Archaeology of Roman Southern Pannonia: The State of Research and Selected Problems
in the Croatian Part of the Roman Province of Pannonia. BAR Internat. Ser. 2393 (Oxford 2012) 385–409.
24 For instance Roman objects in present-day Glagoljaška Street 13, 33 and 39, Duga Street 40, A. Ulman
Passage, Kralja Zvonimira Street 12.
25 Zosimus, Historia Nova (note 21) II,18.
26 V. Šaranović-Svetek, Раноцарска лончарска радионица у Цибалама (Atelier de potier du Haut
Empire á Cibalae) Starinar XXXI, 1981, 17–33.

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 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

Fig. 2 Vinkovci, ‘Hrvatski dom’, unfurnished burial of the sixth century AD.

Burials intra muros dically during rescue excavations in the 1950s to

Around the Roman city four cemeteries have
been recorded; they can be dated up to fifth cen-
tury, and the presence of burials inside the city
(as opposed to the extra muros cemeteries) may
be interpreted as a break with Roman tradition27.
Josip Brunšmid first observed burials inside the
city during construction works in the nineteenth
century. They are supposed to have been fur-
nished with grave goods, but only one iron knife
was published28. Some graves were found spora-
1970s, but they were just mentioned in the ex-
cavation records without detailed description.
From the 1970s onwards much better documen-
ted graves are known. Since the late 1980s most
of them have been interpreted as Gepidic, on the
basis of the grave goods and burial type29.
Currently 53 graves are known intra muros, at 15
different locations. In most cases they are single
burials30, and only a few sites contain more gra-
ves in a group, like small row-cemeteries. The
grave pits are rectangular with rounded corners.
Most graves were dug into Roman layers, often

27 Mostly unpublished (see Iskra-Janošić 2004 [note 1] 184 f.) and the foederati cemetery in the northern
ditch of Cibalae, a grave with a pot in the southern necropolis, a grave with a glass jug in the western
necropolis (Dimitrijević 1979 [note 9]; M. Leljak, Late Roman glass from South Pannonia and the problem
of its origin. In: D. Keller/J. Price/C. Jackson [eds], Neighbours and successors of Rome [Oxford 2014]
79–82).– In autumn 2015, during rescue interventions in the western necropolis, a small graveyard (10 graves)
with sixth-century finds was excavated. A preliminary interpretation is that the Roman population continued
to burry in cemeteries outside the city, but the processing of the finds is still ongoing.
28 Brunšmid 1902 (note 7) 90.
29 E.g. I. Iskra-Janošić, Povijesni pregled arheoloških istraživanja u Vinkovcima. Godišnjak Ogranka
Matice hrvatske Vinkovci 10, 1992 (1993) 61–78.
30 The limited size of the excavation area could be one, or even the main, reason for such results.

150
 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

0 1 cm

Fig. 3 One-sided bone comb dated to the middle third of the sixth century AD from a single grave in Vinkovci.

full of rubble (construction debris), a fact that
suggests that abandoned areas of the city were
used as burial grounds. The reuse of Roman
bricks for grave construction, has also been re-
corded. In many cases remains of Roman archi-
tecture (walls, columns and fragments of road)
were used to build the sides or base of the burial
pit. Orientation with head at the west and legs at
the east was a rule that was followed consistent-
ly. All burials were extended inhumations, with
hands next to the body or crossed and laid on the
pelvic area (Fig. 2). An anthropological analysis
was conducted on more than half the burals and
the results suggest a well-fed, stable population
that worked hard, with illness recorded on only
two skeletons31.
Only 18 graves were furnished with grave goods
(35 % of all burials intra muros). They include
clothing accessories (belt buckles), jewellery
(necklaces, bracelets), accessories (e. g. combs:
Fig. 3) and tools (knives, spindle whorls, hanging
loops). A third-century Roman coin was found
in one grave, but it is not clear whether it was a
grave good or was just incorporated in a Roman
layer32. None of the grave goods can be interpre-
ted as revealing any ethnic affiliation, but all have
good parallels at other contemporary sites33.
Late Antique settlement structures
Rescue excavations underneath the present-day
city are limited, given the restricted areas availab-
le for excavation and because strata are often da-
maged by foundations belonging to subsequent
structures. Since Late Antique and Migration-
period objects have been recognised only re-
cently, we still do not have a clear enough over-
view. For the time being, we can identify two dif-
ferent types of dwelling. In addition, some pits
are also known. They are regular, circular and cy-
lindrical. Pits were used for waste material, and
so far we have no evidence for any other use34.

31 M. Šlaus et al., Temporal Trends in Demographic Profiles and Stress Levels in Medieval (6th–13th Century)
Population Samples from Continental Croatia. Croatian Medical Journal 43, 2002, 598–605 here 598;
M. Vodanović et al., The frequency and distribution of caries in the mediaeval population of Bijelo Brdo in
Croatia (10th–11th century). Archives of Oral Biology 50, 2005, 669–680 here 676 f.
32 All data listed here can be found in A. Rapan Papeša, Sahranjivanje unutar granica antičkih Cibala.
Starohrvatska prosvjeta 38, 2011, 7–57.
33 See D. Csallány, Archäologische Denkmäler der Gepiden im Mitteldonaubecken (454–568 u. Z.). Arch.
Hung. 38 (Budapest 1961).
34 The following results are from our own excavations of the last decades and are unpublished.

151
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

B ¿
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Fig. 4 Vinkovci, Kralja Zvonimira Street 12/2014a, sixth-century finds and

structures: wooden objects (above); house structures (below).

The first type of dwelling reused Late Roman
structures as foundations for its floor, which was
made of compact clay c. 0.15 m thick. House
foundations were partly just set above Roman
foundations. The walls, which are preserved in
only a very fragmentary state, consisted of clay
mixed with Roman building rubble. The di-
mensions of this house were 7 × 7 m. Inside the
house, almost in the middle, an ovoid pit filled
with stones served as a hearth. A charcoal samp-
le was collected from a hearth, and radiocarbon-
dated to a period between AD 540 and 65035.
The second type of dwelling is more usual in this
period, or just more widespread. It consists of
sunken-floored buildings (Grubenhäuser). We
were lucky enough to have a group of three such
structures on one site. It is interesting to note
that the dwellings were surrounded on one side
by a paving made of fragmented Roman bricks.
The latter – covering an area of about 60 m2
– could have served as a yard or working area.
The houses themselves measured of 2 × 3 m, dug
0.30–1.34 m into the ground. They had one or
two postholes for roof supports. The deepest
sunken-floored building also had an entrance,
like a porch, about 1m2 in size. Similar structu-
res were discovered in Gepidic settlements in the
Tisza Region36.

35 Calibrated at 95% probability (2 sigma).

36 Á. B. Tóth, Gepidische Siedlungen in Theissgebiet. Mon. Germanorum Arch. Hungariae 4 (Budapest
2006).

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 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

0 5 cm

Fig. 5 Vinkovci, Kralja Zvonimira Street 12/2014a, ceramic fragments of the sixth century AD.

Ceramic production found38. Kilns were grouped around workshop

Along side trade, brick and pottery production
was the most developed craft in Cibalae since it
could rely on rich clay deposits. It is likely that
this Roman city was an important manufactu-
ring centre and supplier of goods in the hinter-
land of the Danube limes37.
More than eighty pottery kilns, dated to between
the second and fourth centuries AD, have been
identified in the area of Cibalae. In addition,
there were furnaces serving different functions.
In excavations of the last decades, kilns for the
production of glass and metal items were also
centres. These were located in the earlier period
near the city centre and in the Late Roman peri-
od they moved to the city’s inner edge39.
The largest group of ceramic products from
Cibalae are vessels influenced by traditions of
the La Tène period. With Romanisation, new
shapes and production techniques were quickly
adopted. Roman influence can best be observed
in the production of fine tableware and storage
vessels whose typology can be outlined from the
first to the fourth century40. Continuing local tra-
ditions are reflected in the shapes, colours and
texture (temper) of the different ceramic types41.

37 Iskra-Janošić 2004 (note 1) 186–190; Durman 2013 (note 2) 53.

38 Ibid.
39 Iskra-Janošić 2001 (note 11) 106–116.
40 I. Ožanić Roguljić, Tipologija rimske keramike iz Vinkovaca. Monogr. Inst. za Arh. 10 (Zagreb 2016).
41 D. Roksandić, Ceramic pottery as indicator of life in Late antique Cibalae. Unpubl. PhD dissertation,
Univ. of Zagreb (Zagreb 2015); I. Ožanić Roguljić, Roman Coarse Pottery from Cibalae: A Typology. Rei
Cretariae Romanae Fautorum Acta 40, 2008, 185–189 here fig. 4,6.

153
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

0 3 cm

Fig. 6 Fragments of stamped ceramic from Late Antique layers in Cibalae (fifth–sixth century AD).

In Croatian research there has been little focus
on the ceramic material from Late Roman and
Early Medieval settlements because only a few
sites have been recorded or investigated so far42.
One of the best-known examples is Cibalae,
where stamped ceramics, which could be rela-
ted to the Late Antique and Migration period
(Fig. 4a–b; 5), were found in settlement layers
along-side Late Roman types.
Late Antique ceramic types
So far forty fragments of this stamped ceramic
could be examined. They come from twelve lo-
cations in the area of the city. Most of these frag-
ments were found in Late Antique cultural layers
(fifth–sixth century AD) together with typical
forms of Late Roman ceramic tradition.
The study of the ceramic material – especial-
ly the composition and structure of the fired
clay – gives us valuable information about three
main aspects: the technology of the manufactu-
ring process, the physical characteristics of fired
products, and the origin of the material. For our
analysis we used three methods: macroscopic,
mineralogical-petrographic, and compositional
(chemical composition)43. These methods were
applied to study the temperature and firing con-
ditions, the inclusions, and the clay matrix. Vi-
sual analysis was first employed to identify basic
fabric types, and it served as the basis for detailed
petrographic and complex chemical analyses of
each type of pottery. Macroscopic analysis of the
fabric was carried out for more than 500 frag-
ments of different groups of Late Roman potte-
ry; it resulted in the identification of 19 fabric
types44.
A basic classification of seven pottery groups
and a typological classification into Late Roman
pottery from Cibalae was based on these fabric
types. The seven groups are: 1) coarse pottery
(with handmade pottery); 2) coarse grey potte-
ry; 3) slipware (black and red slipware); 4) bur-
nished and polished pottery; 5) glazed pottery;
6) stamped pottery; 7) imported pottery (am-
phorae, African red slip ware and thin-walled/

42 In autumn 2014 and 2015, during rescue excavations by the Archaeological Museum of Zagreb (thanks to
J. Balen for this information), along the path of the A5 motorway (Beli Manastir-Osijek) near Novi Čeminac
(site Jauhov salaš), a cemetery (11 graves) and settlement (22 houses) of the Migration period was discovered.
The rich findings provide a preliminarily date of the fifth century for the site, but processing of the finds is
still ongoing, see JASA. Rezultati arheoloških istraživanja lokeliteta Novi Čeminac-Jauhov salaš. Arh. Muz. u
Zagrebu. Centar za kulturu Grada Belog Manastira (Zagreb 2016).
43 C. Orton, Dealing with the pottery from a 600-acre urban site. In: M. Millett (ed.), Pottery and the
Archaeologist. Inst. of Arch. Occasional Publ. 4, 1979, 61–72; C. Orton/P. Tyers/A. Vince, Pottery in
Archaeology. Cambridge Manuals in Arch. (Cambridge 2003) 132–151.
44 With digital microscope, Dino, Lite Pro am413T. Details of the analysis are available in Roksandic’s PhD
dissertation (see note 41).

154
 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

0 3 cm

Fig. 7 Fragments of burnished ceramic from Late Antique layers in Cibalae (fifth–sixth century AD).

egg-shell pottery). The most interesting groups
for determining the fifth and sixth century were
two main groups of fine pottery (stamped and
burnished) and a group of coarse pottery (hand-
made and grey coarse pottery).
The technique of stamping appears on pottery
throughout the Roman period and derives from
the La Tène period. It is typical for fine tableware,
mainly bowls, plates, cups and pitchers. In Pan-
nonia, it is characterised by a group of coloured
and grey pottery that has a specific decoration
(pannonische Glanztonware)45. Production con-
tinued in the Late Roman period, but with new
forms of grey and black vessels with different
stamped decorative motifs (mostly geometric)
which are linked to the presence of Germanic
groups in the province46.
Vessels with stamped decoration from the area of
Cibalae are represented by fragments of different
sizes and very thin walls (Fig. 6). These are smal-
ler vessels, bowl-shaped or pear-shaped, wheel-
turned, and are characterised by astamped motif
in the shape of a rhomboid or circle. This pottery
is made from fine, refined clay and the extreme-
ly thin walls indicate that a fast wheel was used.
The surface is carefully finished and probably
polished several times to achieve a greater shi-
ne. The stamped decoration is very well execu-
ted, clean and deep, with stamping tools made
of bone. Two stamps made of animal bone were
found near the pottery kilns47.
Most of the fragments are extremely dark, due
to reductive firing, while some fragments are
yellowish-brown with traces of grey stains indi-

45 O. Brukner, Rimska keramika u jugoslovenskom delu provincije Donje Panonije. Savez arh. društava
Jugoslavije. Diss. et Monogr. XXIV (Beograd 1981) 30; K. Póczy, Der Einfluss der spätitalischen Sigillata-
Werkstätten auf die pannonischen Prunkgefässen. Acta Arch. Acad. Scien. Hungaricae 11, 1959, 143–158 here
151.
46 S. Dimitrijević, Arheološka topografija i izbor nalaza s vinkovačkog tla. Corolla Memoriae Iosepho
Brunšmid dicata. Izdanja Hrvatskog arh. društva 4, 1979, 133–276 here 133–200; M. Dizdar et. al., Vinkovci
u svijetu arheologije. Exhibition Cat. (Vinkovci 1999) 65–72 here 65–68; K. Simoni, Dva priloga istraživanju
germanskih nalaza seobe naroda u Jugoslaviji. Vjesnik Arh. muz. Zagreb 3,X–XI, 1977–1978, 209–233.
47 See site NA-MA 1977/78 and Ul. kralja Zvonimira 14/2014.

155
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

Fig. 8 Overview of ceramic groups from twelve sites in the area of the Roman city of Cibalae.

cating that they are oxidised. Generally, stamped
pottery is grey to very dark grey and black. The
stamped decorations on these vessels are usually
applied on an area below the neck, the shoulder
and belly of the vessels. The forms of the stamped
pottery vary but generally they are distinctive
pots, bowls and jugs, which are markedly bico-
nical, with a high cylindrical neck, more or less
curved outwards, usually with profiling on the
rim. The various motifs allow us to identify 13
types in our typology of the stamped decoration
(Fig. 6).
Vessels decorated with burnished ornaments
dated to Late Antiquity have not so far been
published in Croatia. The so-called ‘Gepidic’
ceramic has traditionally been interpreted as re-
presented by stamped pottery fragments only.
This is due to the absence of treatment of Late
Roman ceramics. The origin and presence of
this pottery type still cause many polemics, but
the fact is that it appears together with stamped
pottery precisely on settlements dated to the fifth
and sixth century, which are linked to the pres-
ence of Gepids and Lombards48.
The origin of the burnished ornaments goes back
to Late La Tène ceramic traditions, retained in
the first and second century AD and then reap-
pearing in the fifth and even sixth century49.
Grey and black polished wares with burnished
ornament could be linked to some ‘barbarian’
groups, especially if we take into account stam-
ped pottery from the same layer. All the types
from Cibalae are fragments of larger biconical or
pear-shaped vessels, which were made on a fast
wheel and are characterised by a smooth decora-
tion, composed of vertical, inclined and zig-zag
lines that sometimes form a mesh or grid (Fig.
7). They were made of fine, purified clay, and the
decorated surface is well polished. The colour
of the vessels varies from light to dark grey and
black, achieved by reductive firing. The decorati-
on was probably made with blunt tools, i.e. sticks
of wood or bone, on wet clay.
The very process of making these vessels is quite
demanding and involves knowledge and experi-
ence, from the preparation of the clay that had
to be extremely well purified to burnishing and
firing techniques. The vessels are mainly bowls of
various sizes, jugs with one or two handles, and
pots. Three chronological groups of burnished
pottery can be defined from their form and de-
coration: 1) from the mid-fourth century to the
second half of the fourth century; 2) from the
end of the fourth century to the beginning of the
fifth; 3) from the beginning of the fifth century to
the middle of the sixth century.

48 Csallány 1961 (note 33) 254–258; Tóth 2006 (note 36) 83–85.
49 K. Horedt, Moreşti – Grabungen in einer vor- und frühgeschichtlichen Siedlung in Siebenbürgen
(Bukarest 1979) 122–147; F. Vagalinski, Излъскана керамика от I – началото на VII век южно от долен
Дунав (България). (Burnished pottery from the first century to the beginning of the seventh century AD
from the region south of the lower Danube [Bulgaria]) (Sofia 2002) 77.

156
 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

the fourth century, it is rough in texture, the pre-

Fig. 9 Fragment of coarse ceramic (GL19/2)
analysed by digital microscopy (enlarged by 50×8).
From a typological point of view, 16 types of or-
nament in various combinations can be defined
within the burnished pottery group. This pottery
has many parallels with material from other Late
Roman settlements in the Danube region and Al-
pine area50. The closest analogies come from Sin-
gidunum/Belgrade (Serbia), where such pottery
was found in cemeteries of the Migration period
and described as belonging to a ‘foederati type’51.
This type of pottery is also known from the Late
Roman upland settlement of Ajdovski gradec/
Vranje (Slovenia), where it was linked to the pre-
sence of Lombards, as was also suggested for the
sites of Rifnik, Kranj and Tinje52. Further paral-
lels are documented in Ternitz (Austria), where a
large amount of this pottery was found in kilns53.
The second group of Late Antique ceramics to be
presented here is coarse pottery. Until the end of
vailing colours are dark grey and dark brown, so-
metimes almost black with darker margins and
surfaces. There is some evidence of multi-colou-
red quartz, fine mica and flint inclusions in the
fabrics. This type of pottery is locally made and is
used for food preparation, cooking and storage.
At Cibalae the forms vary, with various kinds of
bowls, pots, lids and strainers.
At the end of the fourth century some changes oc-
curred in the production of coarse pottery, which
is became increasingly better made and with thin-
ner walls. Typologically, there is a decrease in the
number of forms, although the Roman tradition
is still dominant. This group of pottery is termed
grey (grained) coarse pottery. This coarse potte-
ry is represented by small pots and bowls which
are almost identical in structure and colour; 47 %
of all the pottery is coarse pottery54 (including a
group of handmade pottery), the remainder con-
sists of tableware (black and red-slipped pottery,
with as mall percentage of glazed pottery). Im-
ported, burnished and stamped pottery accounts
for less than 3 % (Fig. 8).
The forms of vessels do not differ markedly from
provincial Roman shapes found in earlier layers
in Cibalae, but their structure and colour are dif-
ferent. The macroscopic and microscopic ana-
lysis of the fragments shows that they were all
made from highly purified clay with pebbles and

50 P. Hárshegyi/K. Ottományi, Imported and local pottery in Late Roman Pannonia. Late Antique
Arch. 10, 2013, 471–528; F. Horváth, Das spätantike Keramikspektrum in Keszthely-Fenékpuszta
– erste Ergebnisse. In: O. Heinrich-Tamáska (ed.), Keszthely-Fenékpuszta im Kontext spätantiker
Kontinuitätsforschung zwischen Noricum und Moesia. Castellum Pannonicum Pelsonense 2 (Budapest
et al. 2011) 597–652; K. Ottományi, Late Roman pottery. In: D. Gabler (ed.), The Roman Fort at Ács-
Vaspuszta (Hungary) on the Danubian Limes. BAR Intern. Ser. 531 (Oxford 1989) 318–386, 492–570: Eadem,
Veränderungen des Töpferhandwerks in der ersten Hälfte des 5. Jhs. anhand der Keramik der Befestigung
Visegrád-Gizellamajor. In: T. Vida (ed.), Romania Gothica II. The Frontier World Romans, Barbarians and
Military Culture. Proceedings of the International Conference at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, 1–2
October 2010 (Budapest 2015) 691–741.
51 V. Ivanišević/M. Kazanski, Nouvelle nécropole des Grandes Migration de Singidunum. Starinar LVII,
2007 (2009), 113–135.
52 T. Knific, Vranje near Sevnica: A Late Roman Settlement in the Light of Certain Pottery Finds. Arh.
Vestnik 45, 1994, 211–237.
53 H. Friesinger/h. Kerchler, Töpferöfen der Völkerwanderungszeit in Niederösterreich. Ein Beitrag zur
völkerwanderungszeitlichen Keramik (2. Hälfte 4.–6. Jh. n. Ch.) in Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich und dem
Burgenland. Arch. Austriaca 65, 1981, 193–266.
54 Hárshegyi/Ottományi 2013 (note 50) 489.

157
 Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić

0 1 mm 0 0,2 mm

mollusk shell

a b

Fig. 10 Thin section petrography of coarse pottery (GL 19/2): a traces of quartz; b mollusc shells.

organic matter55. The techniques and methods
of producing all the fragments of coarse pottery
that were analysed are very similar and origina-
te from the same workshop in Cibalae. The clay
used for production is of local origin, from the
area of Vinkovci56.
Concluding remarks
All the evidence shows that the Roman city of
Cibalae reached its peak in the fourth century
AD57. The arrival of new, barbarian settlers and/
or influences, but also the continued presence of
the Roman local inhabitants can be seen in the
ceramic forms and the archaeological remains
until the middle of the sixth century58.
In the last forty years, in the context of rescue
excavations in the area of present-day Vinkov-
ci, many finds that could belong to the fifth and
sixth centuries have been recovered. They consist
primarily of graves located within the urban area
of Roman Cibalae, of sporadic metal finds and of
stamped pottery fragments59. Traditionally such
finds were linked to the Gepids, but there are
methodological difficulties to face when defining
ethnic entities in this period60.The presence of
Ostrogoths and Lombards in the area, with stray
finds from the area of Dalj, Sotin, Ilok, Popovac,
Beli Manastir and Donji Miholjac, also remains
an open question61. The evidence from graves,
settlement features, survey finds and written
sources suggests that Cibalae may have been

55 The thin section petrography and interpretation of the material was undertaken by Ladislav Palinkaš (Dep.
of Geology, Univ. of Zagreb). The preparation of the ceramic thin sections was by Zdravka Hincak (Dep. of
Arch., Univ. of Zagreb).
56 Roksandić 2015 (note 41).
57 A. Rapan Papeša, Topography of Cibalae in Late Antiquity. Opuscula Arch. 35, 2011, 189–224.
58 D. Roksandić, Germanska naseobinska keramika u kasnorimskom sloju Cibala. Acta Mus. Cibalensis 5,
2012, 133–158.
59 A. Rapan Papeša, Early Mediaeval Barbarian Elements in Late Antique Southern Pannonia. In: Migotti
2012 (note 23) 415–439.
60 Rapan Papeša 2011 (note 57) 7–57; Csallány 1961 (note 33).
61 Z. Bojčić, Pregled istraživanja i rasprostranjenosti ranosrednjovjekovnih arheoloških nalaza u Istočnoj
Slavoniji i Baranji zdanja. Izdanja Hrvatskog arh. društva 9, 1984, 211–222; Idem, Seoba naroda i srednji vijek
– vodič kroz stalni postav (Osijek 2009); M. Ilkić, Nalazi seobe naroda i ranog srednjeg vijeka iz Sotina –
Funde der Völkerwanderung und des Frühmittelalters aus Sotin. Prilozi 24, 2007, 277–288 here 277 f.;
Z. Vinski, Arheološki spomenici Velike seobe naroda u Srijemu. Situla 2 (Ljubljana 1957).

158
 Cibalae/Vinkovci during Late Antiquity (fifth to sixth century AD) – new insights about old assumptions

under Gepidic rule during the second phase of
their domination (AD 536–567) over eastern
Slavonia and Srjem (Pannonia Sirmiensis)62.
In Late Antiquity, from the late fourth to the
sixth century, several new phenomena can be
observed in the area of Cibalae: a change in the
urban structure, new types of dwellings and bu-
rials intra muros. Nevertheless several Late Ro-
man pottery workshops were located within the
inner area of the city. We can thus conclude that
Cibalae was a large production and trade cen-
tre in the hinterland of the Danube limes in the
middle of the fourth century AD. Some pottery
types suggest the coexistence of new and local
traditions, a combination of Roman technology
and ‘barbarian’ style.

Summary

This article presents the current state of archaeological research in the Roman city of Cibalae in Pan-
nonia, present-day Vinkovci (Croatia), during the fifth and sixth centuries AD, based on burials, set-
tlement features and pottery production. In Croatian archaeology and historiography the notion that
the Roman city of Cibalae was completely burnt down and destroyed at the end of the fourth century
has become the norm from the nineteenth century onwards. A re-evaluation of old finds and records,
combined with the results obtained by new archaeological excavations, has changed this perception.
These results now show that life in Cibalae continued well into the sixth century AD. This period is of
particular interest because the finds and features indicate that Late Antique structures were well used
by the local Roman population as well as by new, barbarian settlers. The Roman ceramic workshops
continued production and produced new shapes during the fifth and sixth centuries AD.

Zusammenfassung

Cibalae/Vinkovci während der Spätantike (5.–6. Jahrhundert n. Chr.) –

neue Erkenntnisse zu früheren Prämissen

Im Beitrag wird der aktuelle Stand der archäologischen Forschung in der römischen Stadt Cibalae in
Pannonien, dem heutigen Vinkovci (HR) während des 5.–6. Jahrhunderts anhand von Bestattungen,
Siedlungsstruktur und der Keramikproduktion vorgestellt. In der kroatischen Archäologie und Ge-
schichtswissenschaft manifestierte sich seit dem 19. Jahrhundert die These, dass die römische Stadt
Cibalae am Ende des 4. Jahrhunderts abgebrannt und zerstört wurde. Erst die Neubearbeitung der
Altfunde in Verbindung mit neuen archäologischen Ausgrabungen hat diese Annahme widerlegen
können. Aufgrund dieser Ergebnisse kann heute davon ausgegangen werden, dass das Leben in
Cibalae bis ins 6. Jahrhundert kontinuierlich andauerte. Dieser Zeitraum ist vom besonderen Inter-
esse, da die Funde und Befunde bezeugen, dass die spätantiken Strukturen sowohl von der lokalen
römischen Bevölkerung als auch von den neuen, barbarischen Siedlern genutzt worden waren. Auch
die Tradition der römischen Töpferwerkstätte existierte weiter und produzierte während des 5. und
6. Jahrhunderts neue Formen.

62 Gračanin/Rapan Papeša 2011 (note 15) 29 f.

159
 Abbildungsnachweis / Figure credits

Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska und Daniel Syrbe 11–40

Abb. 1; 2; 5 Verändert nach der Vorlage: Großer Historischer Weltatlas, hrsg. Vom Bayerischen
Schulbuch-Verlag. Erster Teil: Vorgeschichte und Altertum (München 61978) 52 (Ausschnitt der
Karte „Das Römerreich im Jahre 395 n. Chr.“), 53 (Ausschnitt der Karte „Das Römerreich im Jahre
454 n. Chr.“), 55 (Ausschnitt der Karte „Europa beim Tode Kaiser Justinians  [565 n. Chr.]). – Abb. 3
Konzept: O. Heinrich-Tamáska, Graphik: K. Kolozsvári. – Abb. 4 Verändert nach der Vorlage: Großer
Historischer Weltatlas, hrsg. vom Bayerischen Schulbuch-Verlag. Zweiter Teil: Mittelalter (München
2
1979) 1 (Ausschnitt der Karte „Die christliche Welt um 600“). – Abb. 6 Nach Pohl 1988 (Anm. 58)
Karte 2 (Ausschnitt).

Anne Hähnel 67–82

Tab. 1–3 A. Hähnel.

Alois Stuppner 83–102

Abb. 1 Nach R. Ployer, Der norische Limes in Österreich. Fundber. Österreich – Mat. B 3 (Wien
2013) 90 Abb. 61. – Abb. 2 Nach Doneus 2014 (Anm. 30) 46 Abb. 51. – Abb. 3 Fotoarchiv d. Inst. f.
Urgesch. u. Hist. Arch. der Univ. Wien. – Abb. 4 Nach Hegewisch 2008 (Anm. 65) 120 Abb. 19. –
Abb. 5 Nach Varsik/Kolník 2013 (Anm. 52) 76 Abb. 4. – Abb. 6 Grafik: B. List, Czernin Verlag Wien,
und Th. Pertlwieser, Inst. f. Urgesch.u. Hist. Arch. der Univ. Wien.

Jaroslav Tejral 103–120

Abb. 1 Nach Böhme 1987 (Anm. 9) Abb. 40–41. – Abb. 2a nach I. Bóna/J. Gy. Szabó, Tarnaméra-
urak dűlője. In: I. Bóna/M. Nagy, Gepidische Gräberfelder am Theißgebeit I. Mon. Germanorum
Arch. Hungariae 1 (Budapest 2022) 20–242 hier Taf. 57,1–5, 7; 58,1, 3; b nach Tejral 2011 (Anm.
25) Abb. 292–293; c nach V. Ivanišević/M. Kazanski, Nouvelle nécropoles des Grandes Migrations
de Singidunum. Starinar 57, 2007, 113–135 hier Abb. 5–7. – Abb. 3a nach Tejral 2006 (Anm. 24)
Abb. 92; b nach G. Olivér, 5. századi sírok Kővágószölös határában A Jánus Pannonius Múz. Évk.
43, 1998, 131–140 hier Taf. III,4-5; c nach Kiss 1995 (Anm. 38); d nach Straub 2011 (Anm. 39) Taf.
1,7; 2,1; 3,7; e nach J. G. Ódor, The 5th century cemetery and settlement at Mözs (Tolna Country,
Hungary) – some issues concerning the „East-Germanic“ period in Transdanubia. In: Heinrich-
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és nepi kapcsolatai. In: P. Havassy (Hrsg.), A Gepidák. Kora középkori germán királyság az Alfölden.
Gyulai Katalógusok 7 (Gyula 1999) 79–89 hier Abb. 2; g nach G. Bácsmegi/S. Guba, Letűnt korok
emlékezete. Szurdokpüspöki régmúltja a legújabb régészeti kutatások tükrében. Szurdokpüspöki
Helytörténeti Füzetek 4 (Szurdokpüspöki 2007) S. 16-17. – Abb. 4a nach Tejral 1982 (Anm. 41) Abb.
104; b unpubl. Archiv J. Tejral; c nach J. Macháček, Zpráva o archeologickém výzkumu Břeclav-
Líbivá 1995–1998 (Ein Bericht über die archäologische Erforschung der Lokalität Břeclav-Líbivá 1995-
1998). In: Z. Měřínský (Hrsg.), Konference Pohansko 1999: 40 let od zahájení výzkumu slovanského
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2; e–g Tejral 1982 (Anm. 41) Abb. 94, 96, 99,2; h nach Ruttkay 2007 (Anm. 41). – Abb. 5 J. Tejral.

385
 Abbildungsnachweis / Figure credits

Levente Nagy 121–132

Abb. 1 © Ungarisches Nationalmuseum, Budapest, Inv.-Nr. 68.8.1, Photo: András Dabasi. – Abb. 2.
Nach Ristow 2007 (Anm. 38) Taf. 67d.

Hrvoje Vulić 133–144

Abb. 1 Šašel/Scherrer 2004 (Anm. 1) 9. – Abb. 2 Gradski muzej Vinkovci, Photo: D. Bota. – Abb.
3 Geoarheo Ltd. – Abb. 4, 6 Gearh GmbH, Bearbeitung: K. Kolozsvári. – Abb. 5 Photo: D. Puharic. –
Abb. 7–10 Photo/Graphik: Hrvoje Vulić.

Anita Rapan Papeša and Danijela Roksandić 145–160

Fig. 1; 5; 8–9 Photos/graphics: D. Roksandić. – Fig. 2 Photo: B. Kratofil, Gradski Muzej Vinkovci. –
Fig. 3 Photo: A. Rapan Papeša. – Fig. 4a–b Photo archive, Gradski Muzej Vinkovci. – Fig. 6–7 Photo:
D. Puharić. – Fig. 10a–b Photo: L. Palinkaš.

Marina Šimek 161–178

Abb. 1 Verändert nach Leleković/Rendić-Miočević 2012 (Anm. 12) fig. 1. – Abb. 2 M. Šimek,
Grundlage: Topographische Karte 1: 25 000 Blatt Varaždin 4 (271-4). – Abb. 3: Foto und Ergänzung:
M. Šimek. – Abb. 4–5; 16 Foto und digitale Bearbeitung: B. Šimek. – Abb. 6; 17 Foto: M. Vuković.
– Abb. 7; 10; 12 Foto und Ergänzung: M. Šimek. – Abb. 8 Zeichnung und digitale Bearbeitung: M.
Šimek. – Abb. 9 3D SCAN Modell Vektra d.o.o. Varaždin, digitale Bearbeitung: M. Šimek. – Abb. 11
Foto: M. Vuković, ergänzt durch M. Šimek. – Abb. 13–14 Fotos: A. Švoger, Gradski muz. Varaždin. –
Abb. 15 Foto und digitale Bearbeitung: M. Šimek.

Ivana Popović 179–194

Fig. 1 After Jeremić 2005 (note 51) fig. 4. – Fig. 2–3, 10, 12–13 Documentation, Museum of Srem,
Sremska Mitrovica. – Fig. 4, 6–8, 15 Documentation, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade. – Fig. 5 After
Jeremić 2005 (note 51) fig. 1, with church added. – Fig. 9 Documentation, Museum of Srem, Sremska
Mitrovica and Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. – Fig. 11 Drawing after Milošević 1973 (note 44),
colour plate. – Fig. 14 After Jeremić 2005 (note 51) 128, fig. 12.

Efthymios Rizos 195–214

Fig. 1 Lazarev 1976 (note 56) pl. 64. – Fig. 2 Tudor 1969 (note 58) no. 37.

Ádám Bollók 215–230

Fig. 1 Drawing: M. Éber after Harrison 1947 (note 57) 271, pl. 111,44–45. – Fig. 2 Drawing: M.
Éber after Brunton 1930 (note 58) 27, pl. XLVII,1–10. – Fig. 3 Courtesy of the trustees of the British
Museum, photo: Á. Bollók. – Fig. 4 Drawing: M. Éber after Sîrjan 1970 (note 60) fig. 1–3.

Stefan Pop-Lazić 231–246

Fig. 1 Institute of Archaeology, Belgrad. – Fig. 2 Institute of Archaeology, Belgrad, Drawing: S. Pop-
Lazić. – Fig. 3–4 Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Photos: S. Pop-Lazić. – Fig. 5–6; 12a–c National
Museum Zaječar, photos: S. Pop-Lazić. – Fig. 7; 13 Concept/drawing: S. Pop-Lazić. – Fig. 11 Institute
of Archaeology, Belgrade, Photo/drawing: S. Pop-Lazić.

Sofija Petković, Ivan Bugarski and Nataša Miladinović-Radmilović 247–272

Tab. 1–5 compiled by N. Miladinović-Radmilović. – Fig. 1 Documentation of the Institute of
Archaeology, Belgrade, overlaid onto Google Earth relief data, prepared by S. Petković. – Fig. 2
Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, S. Petković and I. Bugarski. – Fig. 3–4 and 13 drawings by S.
Živanović. – Fig. 5–9 photos: N. Borić. – Fig. 10–12 photos: N. Miladinović-Radmilović. – Fig. 14
prepared by I. Bugarski.

386
 Abbildungsnachweis / Figure credits

Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska 273–290

Fig. 1 Garam 2001 (note 1) pl. 3,1–6. – Fig. 2 O. Heinrich-Tamáska, graphics: K. Kolozsvári. – Fig.
3–4 photoss: A. Blay/Zs. Bendő/O. Heinrich-Tamáska. – Fig. 5 After Heinrich-Tamáska/Voss in
press (note 54) fig. 1, graphics of the belt elements after Garam 1993 (note 56) pl. 1–6. – Fig. 6a–c
After Heinrich-Tamáska/Voss in press (note 54) fig. 12b, 15 and 14c. – Fig. 7 Photos: O. Heinrich-
Tamáska (a–b Heinrich-Tamáska/Voss in press [note 54] pl. 12,3, 5; c–d Ibid. pl. 13,1, 6; e–f Ibid.
pl. 22,5–6; g–h Ibid. pl. 34,2, 4).

Adrienn Blay und Levente Samu 291–310

Abb. 1–4, 6–9, 11, 13 Graphik: A. Blay und L. Samu nach den zitierten Fundlisten teilweise mit
Ergänzungen. – Abb. 5,1 nach Vida 2011 (Anm. 33) 404; 2 nach Gorny/Mosch 2010 (Anm. 30)
78, Kat. Nr. 108.; 3 nach Bárdos/Garam 2009 (Anm. 35) 322, Taf. 119,11; 7 nach Müller 2010
(Anm. 33) Taf. 2,IV.79. – Abb. 10,1 nach Kazanski/Mastikova 2007 (Anm. 70) Pl. 24,6; 2 nach
Marin/Buljević/Ivanišević 1994 (Anm. 68) Kat. Nr. IV, 14.; 3 Koenig 1981 (Anm. 69) 304, Abb.
1c; 4–5 nach É. Garam, Katalog der awarenzeitlichen Goldgegnstände und der Fundstücke aus den
Fürstengräbern. Cat. Mus. Nat. Hungarici. Ser. Arch.a I. (Budapest 1993) 51, Taf. 1,5 und 68, Taf. 32,1–
2.; 6 nach I. S. Uvarova, Die Sammlungen des Kaukasischen Museums (Tiflis 1902) Taf. 5; 7 nach
G. E. Afanasev/A. P. Runic, Мокрая Балка (Mokraja Balka) (Moskau 2001) 74, Abb. 37,5; 8 nach
Cs. Bálint, Die Archäologie der Steppe. Steppenvölker zwischen Volga und Donau vom 6. bis zum
10. Jahrhundert (Wien, Köln 1989) 41, Abb. 16. – Abb.12, 1 nach Ross 1965 (Anm. 79) Pl. XLVII,86;
2 nach V. H. Elbern, Neubewerbungen spätantiker und byzantinischer Goldschmiedekunst für die
Frühchristlich-byzantinische Sammlung II. Berliner Museen 16,2, 1966, 6-13 hier 12, Abb. 9; 3 Nach
K. R. Brown/D. Kidd/Ch.T. Little (Hrsg.), From Attila to Charlemagne (New York 2000) 108; 4
nach Peroni 1967 (Anm. 82) 106, Taf. I,XI; 5 nach Froscheuer/Harrauer 2004 (Anm. 84) 93–95;
6 Radimský 1893 (Anm. 85) 307–315. – Abb. 14 Foto: L. Samu; Balatoni Múzeum Keszthely, Inv. Nr.:
65.4.2.

Stefan Eichert 311–326

Abb. 1 Links: Pöll 2003 (Anm. 3) 52, Abb. 66. Rechts: Foto: S. Eichert (ausgestellt im Rahmen der
Sonderausstellung „News from the Past“, MAMUZ-Museum Asparn an der Zaya). – Abb. 2 Foto: .
Eichert (ausgestellt im Museum der Stadt Villach). – Abb. 3–4, 8, 12: Foto: . Eichert. – Abb. 5 Daim
2000 (Anm. 2) 113, Abb. 30b. – Abb. 6 Bühler 2010 (Anm. 21) 214, Fig. 01. – Abb. 7 Schretter
1991 (Anm. 22) 113 Abb. 2. – Abb. 9 Haseloff 1990 (Anm. 30) 64, Abb. 40. – Abb. 10 Bosselmann-
Ruickbie 2011 (Anm. 31) 369, Abb. 7. – Abb. 11 Haseloff 1990 (Anm. 30) 60, Abb. 37h. – Abb. 13:
Foto: Wolfgang Sauber (CC BY-SA 2.5). – Abb. 14 Foto: www.pmrmaeyaert.com (CC BY-SA 2.5). –
Abb. 15 Eichert 2010 (Anm. 42) 152, Abb. 1.

Daniel Syrbe 327–342

Abb. 1 Nach A. Rettner und B. Seidl in: Fehr 2010 (Anm. 22) Abb. 1. – Abb. 2 Nach Fehr/Heitmeier
2014 (Anm. 4) hinterer Innenumschlag.

Przemyslaw Urbanczyk 343–354

Fig. 1 After Z. Kurnatowska, Początki i rozwój panstwa. In: M. Kobusiewicz (ed.), Pradzieje
Wielkopolski.Od epoki kamienia do średniowiecza. Muz. Arch. i Etnologii PAN, Oddział w Poznaniu
(Poznań 2008) 297–395 here 326. – Fig. 2 After Kóčka-Krenz 2011 (note 36) fig. 32. – Fig. 3 Drawn:
K. Skrzyńska-Jankowska.

Stefan Albrecht 355–384

Abb. 1 Graphik: R. Schreg (RGZM Mainz).

387
 Autorenverzeichnis / Authors
Dr. Stefan Albrecht
Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Maainz
Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie
Ernst-Ludwig-Platz 2
D–55116 Mainz
albrecht@rgzm.de
Adrienn Blay, M.A.
Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem
Régészettudományi Intézet
Múzeum krt. 4/b.
H–1088 Budapest
blayadri@gmail.com
Dr. Ádám Bollók
Magyar Tudományos Akadémia
Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont
Régészeti Intézet
Tóth Kálmán utca 4.
H–1097 Budapest
bollokadam@yahoo.de
Dr. Ivan Bugarski
Arheološki Institut
Kneza Mihaila 35/IV
SRB–11000 Beograd
ivan.bugarski@gmail.com
Dr. Stefan Eichert
Universität Wien
Institut für Urgeschichte und
Historische Archäologie
Franz Klein Gasse 1
A–1190 Wien
stefan.eichert@univie.ac.at
Anne Hähnel, M.A.
Haselweg 4
D–72076 Tübingen
anne.poguntke@web.de
Dr. Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Geschichte
und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas
Ab dem 1.1.2017:
Leibniz-Institut für Geschichte und Kultur
des östlichen Europa (GWZO)
Reichstr. 2–4
04109 Leipzig
orsolya.heinrich-tamaska@leibniz-gwzo.de
Dr. Vujadin Ivanišević
Arheološki Institut
Kneza Mihaila 35/IV
SRB–11000 Beograd
vujadin.ivanisevic@gmail.com
Dr. Nataša Miladinović-Radmilović
Arheološki Institut
Kneza Mihaila 35/IV
SRB–11000 Beograd
miladinovic.radmilovic@gmail.com
Dr. Levente Nagy
Pécsi Tudományegyetem
Régészeti Tanszék
Rókus u. 2
H–7624 Pécs
nagy.levente@pte.hu
Dr. Sofija Petković
Arheološki Institut
Kneza Mihaila 35/IV
SRB–11000 Beograd
sofka960@gmail.com
Dr. Stefan Pop-Lazić
Arheološki Institut
Kneza Mihaila 35/IV
SRB–11000 Beograd
stefanpo@gmail.com
389
 Autorenverzeichnis / Contributors

Dr. Ivana Popović Marina Šimek, Mag. Archeol.

Arheološki Institut R. Horvata 36
Kneza Mihaila 35/IV 42000 Varaždin
SRB–11000 Beograd HR–Kroatien
ivpop@eunet.rs marina.simek@optinet.hr

Anita Rapan Papeša. M. A. Dr. Alois Stuppner

Gradski Muzej Vinkovci Universität Wien
Trgbana Josipa Šokčevića 16 Institut für Urgeschichte und
HR–32100 Vinkovci Historische Archäologie
anita@muzejvk.hr Franz-Klein-Gasse 1
A–1190 Wien
Dr. Efthymios Rizos alois.stuppner@univie.ac.at
Linacre College
Oxford Dr. des. Daniel Syrbe
UK–OX1 3JA Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Geschichte
efthymios.rizos@history.ox.ac.uk und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas
Ab dem 1.1.2017:
Dr. Danijela Roksandić FernUniversität in Hagen
Sveučilište u Zagrebu Historisches Institut
Filozofski fakultet Lehrgebiet Geschichte und Gegenwart Alteuropas
Odsjek za arheologiju Universitätsstr. 33B
Ivana Lučića 3 58084 Hagen
HR–10000 Zagreb daniel.syrbe@fernuni-hagen.de
daroksan@ffzg.hr
Dr. Jaroslav Tejral
Levente Samu, M. A. Archeologický ústav AV ČR Brno
Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Čechyňská 19
Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont CZE–60200 Brno
Régészeti Intézet dagmajeli@seznam.cz
Tóth Kálmán utca 4.
H–1097 Budapest Dr. Przemyslaw Urbanczyk
samulevente@gmail.com Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii
Polska Akademia Nauk
Dr. Alexander Sarantis al. Solidarnosci 105
Department of History & Welsh History Pl 00-140 Warsaw
Hugh Owen Building uprzemek@iaepan.edu.pl
Aberystwyth University
Ceredigion SY23 3FL Hrvoje Vulić, M. A.
UK–Aberystwyth Gradski muzej Vinkovci
acs18@aber.ac.uk Trg bana J. Sokcevica 16
32100 Vinkovci
hrvoje@muzejvk.hr

390
Die Zeit zwischen 300 und 800 n. Chr. wird als Übergang zwischen An-
tike und Mittelalter verstanden und in der Archäologie und in den FSM 4
Geschichtswissenschaften zunehmend als eigenständige Epoche unter
dem Label „Spätantike“ wahrgenommen. Begriffe wie „spätrömisch“,
„frühchristlich“ oder „frühbyzantinisch“ treten in diesem Kontext als

Forschungen zu Spätantike und Mittelalter 4

konkurrierende Kategorien auf, die zeitlich und räumlich überlappen-
de Phänomene beschreiben. Sie sind primär als termini technici der For-
schung und damit als Ausdruck wissenschaftlicher Denk- und Interpre-

GrenzÜbergänge
tationsmuster zu bewerten, die stets kritisch hinterfragt werden sollten.
Im vorliegenden Band werden die Ergebnisse der 27. Jahrestagung zu
den Grundproblemen der frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im mittle-
ren Donauraum vorgelegt. Im Fokus des Interesses stehen die Region
von Norikum über Pannonien bis Mösien. In methodischen Beiträgen
werden Fragen der Interdisziplinarität und Periodisierung sowie an-
hand von Fallbeispielen aus der Untersuchungsregion Verwendung, Be-
deutung und Interpretation zentraler Begriffe und Quellen beleuchtet.
Sie liefern damit die Grundlage für eine Diskussion über trennende und
verbindende Elemente von „Grenz(en) – und – Übergängen“ zwischen
Epochen, Räumen und wissenschaftlichen Betrachtungsweisen diesseits
und jenseits der Donau.

The time between AD 300 and 800 is seen as a period of transition be-
tween Antiquity and the Middle Ages; archaeologists and historians in-
creasingly acknowledge its existence under the term ‘Late Antiquity’ as
a period in its own right. Categories such as ‘Late Roman’, ‘Early Chris-
tian’ or ‘Early Byzantine’ appear in this context as competing concepts

Bugarski, Heinrich-Tamáska,
that describe chronologically and geographically overlapping phenom-
ena. They are primarily termini technici used in historical research and

Ivaniševic, Syrbe (Hrsg.)

hence expressions of thought patterns and interpretative models which
must be subjected to critical scrutiny.
This volume contains the proceedings of the 27th annual conference
dedicated to major Issues in the Protohistory of the Middle Danube. Its
Ivan Bugarski, Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
focus is on a region covering Noricum, Pannonia and Moesia. It address-
Vujadin Ivaniševic, Daniel Syrbe (Hrsg.)
es questions of interdisciplinarity and periodisation within the region,
in contributions on methods as well as in case studies examining the
use, meaning and interpretation of concepts and sources. This forms
the basis of a discussion about the elements that separate and connect
the ‘boundaries’ and ‘crossings’ between periods, spaces and approach- GrenzÜbergänge
es to studying the past on both sides of the Danube. Spätrömisch, frühchristlich, frühbyzantinisch als Kategorien der
historisch-archäologischen Forschung an der mittleren Donau

ISBN 978-3-86705-079-1 Late Roman, Early Christian, Early Byzantine as categories in

ISSN 2195-2221 Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner historical-archaeological research on the Middle Danube