[gothic-l] Re: Heruls and Archaeology

[Troels Brandt]

Dirk,

It has been stated that the Heruls were Eastgermanics and not Huns,
and we know they revolted against and left the Huns 50 years before
they went to Scandinavia. Therefore most of your German analyzes
below are irrelevant in relation to Procopius and the Heruls, and the
brief changes regarding the Saxons tells a lot.

You do not mention that the official archaeological periods in
Denmark and Sweden changed (due to changes in burials, offerings and
military), when the Heruls settled - just to choose the most
significant general change - but I will not blame you being a German
in London that your Scandinavian sources are limited.

We do not know the characteristics of the Heruls and until now I have
not found any archaeologist investigating that problem related to
Scandinavia. Most of the Scandinavian scholars covering that period
have analyzed the connections to Western Europe (Franks, Lombards and
Alamans) but very seldom the connections to the former Czeckoslovakia.

However the discussion you want to provoke will lead you nowhere. It
has not been proved by archaeology, that the Heruls settled in
Sweden, and neither has it been proved that they did not - and as you
already know from other discussions, you will not do it in this way.
You have to wait.

Troels

--- In gothic-l at y..., dirk at s... wrote:
> I tried to verify suggestions that a Herulic migration to
Scandinavia
> was reflected in a change in the archaeological cultures of Sweden
> and/or even affected a massive cultural change in form of the
creation
> of the Vendel culture.
>
> Firstly, in the process of checking some sources I discovered that
I
> was wrong when I earlier said that the Saxons who returned from
Italy
> are not identified by archaeology. In Studien zur Sachsenforschung
No.
> 13, 1999, it is clear that archaeologists are able to show that
these
> Saxons really did re-settle in the Harzvorland, just as Gregory of
> Tours had said.
>
> Yet, I could not find any source on Swedish archaeology that stated
> that an influx of Heruls or any other East Germanic culture was
> responsible for cultural changes in Sweden or is even detectable.
> Especially J. Werner, who analysed the archaeology of the Attila
> period and the spread of cultural influences caused by the Huns
found
> apparently no trace of this in Scandinavia. In this context, the
> appearance of occasional East Germanic or Mediterranean cultural
> objects is not very significant. Archaeologists seem to be looking
for
> changes in customs that can be linked to another culture. As an
> example of what sort of archaeological evidence would be indicative
of
> a East Germanic migration to Scandinavia I would like to briefly
line
> out the recent finding in German archaeology, which is particularly
> relevant to this list.
>
> Prof. Berthold Schmidt found (Studien zur Sachsenforschung No. 13,
> 1999) that in the aftermath of the arrival of the Huns in south
> eastern Europe, carriers of the Gothic Chernyahkovsk culture and
the
> Sintana de Mures Culture moved into Middle-Germany. According to
> Schmidt, this constituted a migration that is not attested in the
> historical sources, but which was nonetheless of substantial size.
It
> led in the last quarter of the 4th century to the creation of the
so
> called 'Niemberger Gruppe' and 'Grossbadegaster Gruppe' in middle
> Germany, which is a direct continuation of the Sintana de Mures and
> western Chernyakhovsk cultures.
>
> Apart from decorations etc. one of the characteristics of this
culture
> are the way in which bodies were placed in the graves. Thus, one
way
> was to place them on their face. This influx of East Germanic
people
> may have been significant in the Thuringian ethnogenesis. The
> Thuringians are first mentioned in 400AD. From the 420s/30s actual
> conflict with Huns is demonstrated by the grave material in
Thuringia.
> Burials of the Niemberger Gruppe show frequent battle wounds
including
> nomadic arrowheads in the wounds. From 430AD the area came under
> Hunnic domination, with nomadic weaponry and decorations appearing
in
> rich graves. Also, the custom of artificial skull deformations
becomes
> very widespread in Thuringia. Some 50% of the artificially deformed
> skull show 'mongolic' features. The dating was made possible by the
> discovery of a 20-year old Germanic woman, who died in about 450AD
and
> who's skull had been deformed in early childhood. The Hunnic
influence
> starts to fade after the battle at the Nedao, but artificial skull
> deformations remain in custom until the first third of the 6th
> century.
>
> While this is an interesting example of a migration that can only
be
> identified by its archaeological evidence, it seems to be
informative
> for the indications that we would have to expect if Heruls had
> migrated to Scandinavia. Thus, one would need cultural
characteristics
> that can be linked directly to the East Germanic groups in Moravia.
I
> particular should archaeological evidence reflect the arrival of
new
> customs like burial practices. Pohl has also emphasised the
widespread
> use of artificial skull deformations among graves attributed to
> Heruls.
>
> I have tried to find archaeological reports about Sweden covering
the
> period and areas in question. One such report seemed to explain the
> appearance of the Vendel culture around Uppsala with the
exploitation
> of iron mining. Somewhat older authors like Terjal (1970s) and
Werner
> (1950s), who are mainly concerned with the archaeology of the
> Attila-period. make no mention of East Germanic cultures in
> Scandinavia. However, there could be more up-to-date research and
it
> might be interesting to pose the question of whether or not anEast
> Germanic culture has entered Sweden around 500AD.
>
> cheers,
>
> Dirk


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