Can the Alemannic and the Frank be distinguished purely on the basis of their archaeological remains? This central problem in archaeology is discussed using a concrete case study, and a solution is proposed.

Can the Alemannic and the Frank be distinguished purely on the basis of their archaeological remains? This central problem in archaeology is discussed using a concrete case study, and a solution is proposed. The concrete results, an archaeological concept of ethnos and a map showing the distribution of these early medieval peoples, is of interest not only for achaeologists, but also and particularly for historians and philo-logists.