Medieval archaeology

The medieval archeology - due to the increasing integration of the modern age archeology now better described as archeology of the Middle Ages and modern times - is an archaeological discipline, the knowledge on the Middle Ages from soil and Baubefunden and the recovered during excavations and Bauuntersuchungen (ie not in a museum handed ) legacies ( features and finds ) wins. It complements the knowledge of the Middle Ages to those aspects that are not to be gained from the analysis of written or pictorial sources.

Methodically, the medieval archeology is related to the prehistory and early history; but plays in contrast to this the integration of written and pictorial sources play an important role. Close relations continue to exist on the art and architectural history and geography and of course to medieval history.

Medieval Archaeology is subject at various universities such as Tübingen or Bamberg. Individual course offerings exist beyond at other universities, mostly in the context of Prehistory and Early History (Bonn, Berlin, Munich, Halle) or the history of art ( Heidelberg). As is often the prehistoric archeology - - In other countries, the archeology of the Middle Ages in the History of Art ( Mediterranean) or is in the story (Eastern Europe ) involved.

• 6.1 Germany
• 6.2 Austria
• 6.3 Switzerland

History of Research

Since the 1970s, increasingly, the modern era is included. It is important to refer firstly to the principle the same methodological problem of the combination of archaeological and written sources. In addition, often there is the idea of the "long Middle Ages", the French historian Jacques Le Goff has formulated. Increasingly, the discipline is referred to as " Archaeology of the Middle Ages and modern times ."

In the UK, Scandinavia and the archeology of the Middle Ages forward a few decades, since the written tradition begins later. In the Mediterranean, a confrontation especially with ecclesiastical archeology has led in the framework of Christian Archaeology and Byzantine archeology to an archaeological study of the Middle Ages. Numerous Survey projects as V.A. have increasingly been carried out since the 1970s and went out of the prehistoric and classical archeology, have necessarily rendered younger monuments. Thus, the range of questions about the religious buildings stretched out. In Italy, a broad-based medieval archeology has been able to develop the important impulses received by French and British projects and va was coined by Riccardo Francovich. In Spain, the interest for a long time was V.A. the Islamic period ( Islamic archeology), but is increasingly also the time after the reconquista into view.

Research fields

• Settlement archeology: rural settlements, towns, castles, monasteries
• Archeology of cult: churches, monasteries, cemeteries, pagan and Jewish places of worship
• Material culture research
• Country's history
• Cultural History
• Social archeology: social differentiation, " gender studies "
• Economic archeology: craft and technology, production and trade
• Environmental Archaeology
• Archaeology of War: Battlefields, mass graves

Definitions

Over the short history of research the subject was defined differently:

• Paul Grimm 1966, archaeological early historical research '
• Herbert Jankuhn 1973, direct continuation of the prehistoric and early historic archeology, both on the problem, such as by methodical approach '
• Günter Fehring 1987, on the condition and working target a historical science; due to the embedded in the ground fixed sources and their methods an archaeological discipline '

The most recent definition of the discipline was formulated by Barbara Scholkmann:

• Barbara Scholkmann 1998: a history of science whose research are the subject sources. The questions are aimed at cultural phenomena and developments, she works with a wide range of methods, which form the core of archaeological methods '

Decisive for the chronological beginning of the working field of medieval archeology today is the Christianization, as it not only means a cultural change, but also a change of the source location: the end of the grave goods leading burials and the beginning of a supported of the monasteries written tradition. Here there is an overlap region with the prehistory and early history. To modern times, there is no clear boundary, as it is increasingly integrated into the self-understanding of the subject.

Theory and Method

The Archaeology of the Middle Ages and modern times use of for the development of their resources primarily archaeological methods. When interpreting their sources it is necessary to put this with the results of other disciplines of medieval studies or rather with what the written and pictorial sources in terms. This requires a methodology of interpretation that goes beyond the conventional in Prehistory and Early History analogy. A relevant theory is just beginning, as put this problem in the context of pre-and early history in this way hardly had ( Schreg 2007). According to their method, the archeology of the Middle Ages and modern times (as the classical archeology), therefore, a historical archeology, for the juxtaposition of material and written ( visual ) sources is characteristic. Recent issues of the historical sciences such as history of mentalities ( Schimpff 2004) penetrate the medieval archeology a slowly.

Seminars and Institutes

Germany

• Institute of Archaeology, Memorial History and Art History, Division II: Archaeology, Department of Archaeology of the Middle Ages and the modern era of the Otto -Friedrich- University of Bamberg.

• Institute of Prehistory and Early History and Archaeology of the Middle Ages, Albert- Ludwigs- University of Freiburg im Breisgau.

• Archaeology of the Middle Ages and the modern era of the Institute of Art History and Archaeology in Europe - Prehistoric Archaeology in Central Europe - the Faculty of Philosophy I: Social Sciences and Cultural Studies at the historic Martin Luther University Halle- Wittenberg.

• Institute of Prehistory and Early History and Archaeology of the Middle Ages the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen with the departments of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology ( Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences ), the Department Younger Prehistory and Early History ( Faculty of Arts ) and the Department of Medieval Archaeology (Faculty of Philosophy ).

Austria

• Medieval and Modern Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology of the Leopold -Franzens- University of Innsbruck.
• Medieval and Modern Archaeology at the Institute of Prehistory and Early History of the University of Vienna.

Italy

At a number of universities of medieval archeology is taught in conjunction with Christian archeology. Independent specialist representatives are identified below.

• Dipartimento di Storia delle Arti e Archeological, Area di Archeologia Medievale ( Department of Archaeology and Art History, Department of Medieval Archaeology ) at University of Siena with the field offices Grosseto, Poggibonsi and Val di Cornia.
• Department of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Sassari in Sardinia.
• Department of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Venice.
• Department of Archaeology, Department of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Bologna, based in Ravenna.
• Department of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Padua.
• Laboratorio di Dipartimento di Beni Archeological Medievale in Culturali ( settore storico - archeologico the University of Lecce.
• Medieval Archaeology in the Dipartimento di scienze Archeologiche the University of Pisa.

Switzerland

• Department of Archaeology and medieval art history at the Art History Institute of the University of Zurich.

Denmark

• Section for Medieval and Renaissance Archaeology - Department of Culture and Society at Aarhus Universitetet.

Companies

Germany

• German Society for Archaeology of the Middle Ages and modern times

Austria

• Austrian Society for Medieval Archaeology ( ÖGM )

Switzerland

• Swiss Group for Archaeology of the Middle Ages and modern times