March 17, 2005

Digging Barbarians discusses the culture of the Merovingians, a Germanic “barbarian” group in northern France, at the end of the Roman Empire and in the following centuries (approximately 400–750 ce). Historically Romans and barbarians have been thought of as distinct groups, but recent scholarship has shown that the lines between them were often blurred, as the Merovingians and other barbarian groups adopted Roman practices and were incorporated into Roman culture and military units. Around 500, Clovis, who is generally considered the first French king, converted to Christianity, creating a further bond with the Roman elite.

The Spurlock Museum has a wonderful collection of Merovingian pieces that come from one of the earliest scientifically excavated sites in Merovingian archaeology, a burial site near Paris called the Buttes des Gargans. The collection was purchased by the University in the 1920s and contains not only the artifacts but also notes and drawings made by the original archaeological team, providing invaluable insight into the condition and context of the pieces. More than 50 of these artifacts will be on display through July 30. Dozens of images of Merovingian artifacts, other primary source documents, and archaeological reconstructions accompany the exhibit on a slideshow on a computer kiosk in the gallery.

The exhibit is a feature of the Society for Late Antiquity’s Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity interdisciplinary conference, hosted by the University in March, whose theme this year is “Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World.” The exhibit was curated by Barbara Garvey of the Early American Museum, who researched the collection for her doctoral thesis, and Bailey K. Young of Eastern Illinois University, with additional assistance from UIUC’s Ralph W. Mathisen of the Department of History and Danuta Shanzer from the Department of the Classics.

Related Artifact: Visigoth Buckle