Merovingian Settlements between Local and supra-regional Elites. A Landscape Archaeological Comparison of the Rhineland with its Neighbouring Regions. (04)

• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2016 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 257731206

The subproject focuses on phenomena of power and domination in Merovingian rural areas. The results obtained in the first phase of the project from the Rhineland will be compared in several landscape archaeological studies with results from northwestern Europe. Based on models such as Soft Power and Limited Statehood, it is assumed that local communities have a great capacity for self-organisation. Governance is not only understood as a top-down process of control by supreme leaders, but the voluntary integration of local elites into supra-regional networks is also regarded as important.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1167: Macht and Herrschaft – Premodern Configurations in a Transcultural Perspective
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Project Head: Dr. Timo Bremer, since 7/2020