Cultural Transformations in Germania Secunda: A Holistic Approach to Barbarian Migrations (Archaeopress Roman Archaeology, 128)

Studies of the Late Roman Lower German frontier have often focused on the evidence for Germanic migrants from either burials, material culture or settlement forms. Cultural Transformations in Germania Secunda adopts a multi-variate approach combining data on settlements, finds and metallurgy in both Germania Secunda and Germania Magna to present a more complex picture. A long-term comparison of structural evidence, archaeobotanical data and handmade pottery from rural settlements challenges the role of migration in the changes observed in the Late Roman settlement landscape. Instead of distinct migration events, this book argues for long-term interactive processes such as trade, exchange and multi-directional mobility.

This book further brings together evidence on style, decoration, dating, spatial distribution and find contexts of 4540 civilian and military copper-alloy dress ornaments to challenge labels such as "Roman", "Germanic", "military" and "civilian" to argue for long-term continuity and hybridisation of material culture styles in the Lower Rhine frontier area in the Late Roman period. This Nuanced approach is also supported by the metallurgical analysis of 686 copper-alloy dress accessories, which gave insight into the production organisation of items worn by different social groups.

Berber S. van der Meulen-van der Veen acquired her BA and MA in Archaeology at Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam in 2014 and 2017 respectively. From 2018-2023, she carried out her AHRC-funded PhD research at Cardiff University and the University of Reading into the archaeology of the Late Roman Lower Rhine frontier. She currently works as a lecturer in historical archaeology at the University of Amsterdam and sits on the editorial board of the Historical Metallurgy Journal.