The Gepids in Serbian archaeology: Evidence and interpretations

Abstract

In this article we reassess late fifth- and sixth-century Germanic finds from present-day Serbia, usually attributed to the Gepids, and try to present a model for their more accurate interpretation. In doing so, we try to avoid the ‘mixed argumentation’ by combining securely dated archaeological finds with historical-geographical knowledge. While most of the finds from Banat and Bačka can be seen as Gepidic, we suggest another – Herulic – affiliation of the finds from eastern Syrmia, Serbian Danube region, and perhaps southern Banat, while the finds from the Central Balkans are too few to allow any sustainable interpretation.