Archaeologists Reveal Visigothic Site in Bulgaria

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An 1875 illustration by Henric Trenk of perhaps the most famous find regarding the Goths, the Ring of Pietroassa. The ring was found in what is now Romania in 1875. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed numerous finds suggesting that a large settlement of Visigoths, an East Germanic people, once existed in what is now northeast Bulgaria.

The finds center around a Roman fortress—modernly referred to as Kovachevsko Kale—constructed in the 4th century CE, and consists primarily of ceramics.

According to the team at the site, the ceramics types—polished gray pottery and gray-black pottery—reveal a sudden appearance of a large amount of Eastern Germanic peoples during the 4th century, a notable period in Gothic history (and the Migration Period in general).

Beginning in the 4th century and spurred by the westward movement of the Huns, open conflict occurred between the Roman Empire and the Goths, events that are generally considered crucial to the collapse of the Roman Empire.

 

Leprosy May Have Spread from Scandinavia to Britain

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A team of researchers from several universities in Britain  have proposed that leprosy may have spread to Britain by way of Scandinavian migration during the Migration Period:


"An international team, including archaeologists from the University of Southampton, has found evidence suggesting leprosy may have spread to Britain from Scandinavia.

The team, led by the University of Leiden, and including researchers from Historic England and the universities of Southampton, Birmingham, Surrey, and Swansea, examined a 1500 year old male skeleton, excavated at Great Chesterford in Essex, England during the 1950s.
The bones of the man, probably in his 20s, show changes consistent with leprosy, such as narrowing of the toe bones and damage to the joints, suggesting a very early British case.

Modern scientific techniques applied by the researchers have now confirmed the man did suffer from the disease and that he may have come from southern Scandinavia."

Read more: "Ancient skeleton shows leprosy may have spread to Britain from Scandinavia" at Phys.org