1,700-year-old ‘barbarian’ burial discovered along Roman Empire border in Germany

Archaeologists in Germany have discovered the 1,700-year-old burial of a “barbarian” who lived on the edge of Roman Empire and received valuable grave goods, including glass, ceramics and a thick comb.

The grave, which is believed to date from the first half of the 4th century, contains the remains of a man who died at around the age of 60. It was found in May during excavations preceding the construction of new houses in the center of the village of Gerstetten, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of the city of Stuttgart in southwestern Germany, according to a translation statement from the Stuttgart Regional Council.

The grave was elaborately crafted, surrounded by a wooden chamber and located in an isolated but visible location, the statement said.

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Among the grave goods, one glass chalice was of particularly high quality and may have come from the nearby Roman fort at Guntia, now Günzburg, while the characteristic features of the remaining grave goods suggested that they came from further north, from the Elbe-Saale region in what is now central Germany.

The grave goods included pottery and glass vessels. One high-quality glass chalice may have been obtained from a nearby Roman fort. (Photo source: Yvonne Mühleis/State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, Stuttgart Regional Council)

Barbaric Germania

The northern frontier of the Roman Empire in this region—known as the “Upper Germanic Limes”—ran just north of Gerstetten; beyond that were the lands known as “Magna Germania,” or Greater Germania, where the Germanic tribes lived.

This Roman limes was heavily guarded by legionaries stationed in forts along the border, such as the fort at Guntia, but Germanic lifestyles – and Germanic burials – were practiced outside the forts.

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The Romans called the Germans “barbarians” — a Greek word originally meaning “people who speak differently,” which they applied to non-Romans outside their own territories. After the 5th century, Germanic barbarians — led by Visigoths AND Vandals — invaded the Roman lands in the south and accelerated fall of the empire.

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Archaeologists say the man in the grave belonged to a Germanic tribe belonging to the Alemanni federation and was about 60 years old when he died.(Photo source: Gizem Dakmaz/State Office for the Protection of Monuments, Stuttgart Regional Council)

Restoration work

The man buried in Gerstetten likely belonged to the Alemanni, a group of Germanic tribes whose population lived near the Upper Rhine Valley, according to the statement. Alemanni graves from this period are rare in the region, the statement said. They were typically found in groups of five to 12 people, and archaeologists believe two more graves could be found in the surrounding area.

Artifacts from the Germanic grave in Gerstetten were transported to a restoration workshop in the nearby town of Esslingen.

Human bones are still in place so archaeologists can document them, but samples have already been taken from one of the dead man’s ribs. radiocarbon dating in a lab in the city of Mannheim. The results show the man was buried between 263 and 342 AD, according to the statement.