Elbe-Germanic Archaeological Cultures
Description
Maps of Archaeological Finds of the Suebi/Elbe germanic Groups
Abstract (English)
Maps of Archaeological Finds of the Großromstedt, Elbe Germanic, Debczyno and Alamanni archaeological groups, including associated fibula and other accessories.
Notes (English)
Important Note: The main map shows both finds of the Großromstedt, Alamannic and Elbegermanic cultures, which largely correspond in territory but not always. Attached in seperate maps are the three cultures on their own, with the Großromstedt Culture dating to around 80bc-40ad, and the Elbe-Germanic Culture to 1ad-300ad, and the Alamannic Culture to 230-400ad. The Alamanni continue into later periods, with more numerous finds, but this map only covers the finds up to the start of the 5th century.
NOT included are the Thuringian, Mecklenburg, Vinarice, Friedhain-Prestovice, Bajuwari, Niemberg and Nydam groups, as well as the Langobardic finds in Moravia, Pannonia and Italy, and the Late Danube Suebi finds in Pannonia as well as the Suebi in Spain
Methods (English)
1. Data sources: Varies greatly, but usually we aim to use up-to-date sources from international but also national research from the country/region that is being mapped. For this, extensive translation and communication with scholars abroad is vital. Sometimes, no up-to-date research exists on a given topic, so old research will have to be used, cross-referenced with modern research from other fields to check its validity where it may apply. Nevertheless, older research is still foundational to all of the modern work, and must be read and analyzed in conjunction with modern scholarship.
2. GIS methodology: Maps are produced in QGIS. Sitemaps from multiple archaeological publications and books are Georeferenced into QGIS and plotted manually site-for-site, compiling all of them into a comprehensive "Master Map" showing all of the data from all available publications in one place. Problematics with this are that not all sitemaps are uniform. Some display only the single icons per site, some display number of finds from certain sites, some do not distinguish at all. Some give names for the sites, and some dont. Due to this, to standardize cataloguing, and due to the extreme volume of data needed to be manually plotted, site names have been ommitted.
3. Cartographic approach: After the Data has been compiled and prepared, it is visually stylised to make the knowledge understandable, accessible, and beautiful while retaining the high information-density and academic usability that is required for topics this complex. Of note is sampling bias, which our Maps sometimes show uncomfortably clearly: When one region or country has more archaeological excavation done in it than others. This can reflect in certain parts of the Map being denser while others are less so while corresponding exactly to natural boundaries, such as, for example, the Site-Density visibly dropping south of the German-Danish border
4. Citation & licensing: Maptism maps are produced for use. Every map in the Maptism map archive is published under [CC BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Free for academic papers, dissertations, conference presentations, museum exhibits, teaching materials, and other non-commercial contexts, with attribution. Commercial reproductions (textbooks for sale, paid documentaries, revenue-generating exhibits) require a separate license, handled through the [commissions page](https://maptism.org/commissions/).
Other (English)
For full bibliography and more information:
Maptism, 'Elbe-Germanic Archaeological Cultures' 2026. https://maptism.org/maps/suebi/
Files
Alamanni.png
Additional details
Additional titles
- Alternative title (English)
- Maps of Suebi Groups