Western Europe Regional Group
- Brulet, Raymond
- Dark, Ken
- Kasprzyk, Michel
- Noble, Gordon
- Martinez, Damien
- Ristow, Sebastian
- Seaman, Andy
- Tejado Sebastián, José María
International Scientific Network Late Antique Hilltop Settlements in Europe (LAHIS)
International Scientific Network
Late Antique Hilltop Settlements in Europe (LAHIS)
The international academic network »LAHIS« (Late Antique Hilltop Settlements in Europe) was founded in 2022. It provides an interdisciplinary and international platform for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge on hilltop settlements, which had a decisive influence on settlement landscapes in many parts of Europe from the late 3rd to the 7th century AD.
The LAHIS network comprises forty archaeologists and historians from eighteen European countries. By adopting a pan-European perspective on hilltop settlements, it aims to pool research expertise and to compare and discuss theories, methods, and the current state and future prospects of research. The network focuses on gathering and disseminating knowledge on late antique hilltop settlements. In addition to developing a database, an exhibition on late antique hilltop settlements aimed at the general public is planned for 2028/29.
Late Antique hilltop settlements in Europe
Monte San Martino, Lomaso (Trentino, Italien). Archeaological project by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Foto: Link3D, Freiburg.
Settlements situated in topographically significant or exposed locations are referred to in academic research as hilltop settlements or hilltop fortresses. Many of these sites, from Bronze Age fortifications to High Medieval castles, were occupied repeatedly over the centuries. In cultural and local collective memory, these places are often associated not only with cultic and religious practices, but also with notions that foster a sense of identity and perhaps serve to legitimise it. The shift from the valley to the hilltop during Late Antiquity can only be understood against the backdrop of the transformation of the Roman world. Although hilltop settlements are often attributed an important role in the cultural reorientation of many regions between Antiquity and the Middle Ages, there is a lack of systematic classification of this phenomenon. Hilltop settlements are known to have existed as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries within and on the outskirts of the Roman Empire’s borders and to have gained increasing significance during the 5th and 6th centuries with the decline of the ancient urban landscape and state control. Depending on their political context and the range of artefacts and findings, hilltop settlements may have fulfilled various functions, whether as short-term refuges, fortresses or military outposts, or as permanent settlements, sacred centres, or regional and/or supra-regional seats of power. The various stages of development have produced different forms of hilltop settlements, with motivations and location also playing an important role.
Current projects by network members and ongoing research on hilltop settlements include:
- Marcus Zagermann: San Martino
- Gerald Grabherr/Barbara Kainrath: Burgbichl bei Irschen
Member and institutions
LAHIS-Network. Origins of network members and locations of the planned exhibition.
The LAHIS network is an association of archaeologists and historians from eighteen European countries. The network’s members are organised into several groups. In addition to a core group responsible for organisational management, there are three regionally based groups, namely the Alps and Alpine foothills, Western Europe and the Balkan Peninsula.
Core Group
- Grabherr, Gerald
- Heinrich-Tamáska, Orsolya
- Milinković, Mihailo
- Prien, Roland
- Zagermann, Marcus
-
-
Alps and Alpine Foothills Regional Group
- Auer, Fabian
- Chavarría Arnau, Alejandra
- Eitler, Josef
- Kainrath, Barbara
- Milavec, Tina
- Modrijan, Zvezdana
- Pavlovič, Daša
- Pircher, Stefan
- Possenti, Elisa
- Steinacher, Roland
- Villa, Luca
- Wyss, Annina
-
Balkan Peninsula Regional Group
- Džidrova, Ljubinka
- Gračanin, Hrvoje
- Katić, Miroslav
- Kirilov, Chavdar
- Lepić, Adisa
- Milinković, Mihailo
- Nallbani, Etleva
- Petrov, Ordanche
- Rizos, Efthymios
- Sdrolia, Stavroula
- Snively, Carolyn S.
in progress
Exhibition 2028/29
The LAHIS network is involved in the preparation of an exhibition on late antique hilltop settlements, in collaboration with the following museums:
National Museum of Slovenia (Ljubljana): Dr. Daša Pavlovič, Dr. Vesna Tratnik
Archaeological Museum in Zagreb (Croatia): Dr. Ivan Radmann
Archaeological Museum Frankfurt am Main (Germany): PD Dr. Wolfgang David, Maria Messner M. A., Dr. Carsten Wenzel
Database
In collaboration between the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (Project II.E.05 Archaeological Research on the Roman Alpine and Danube Regions), an OpenAtlas database for recording late antique hilltop settlements was designed under the direction of Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska and Marcus Zagermann. The LAHIS database systematically records known late antique hilltop settlements, including their geographical location and basic details such as size, location, dating, interpretation and publication. The data serve both academic analysis and the planned exhibition.
Contact
Fabian Auer | BA
Institute for Archaeology
University of Innsbruck
csas9138(at)student.uibk.ac.at
Contact
Late Antique Hilltop Settlements in Europe
Prof. Dr. Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska
Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO)
Specks Hof (Eingang A)
Reichsstraße 4–6
D-04109 Leipzig