In search of a complex past Lombards in Italy: a population on the move in late antiquity
In facing the investigation of a migrant population as the Lombards, it is never simple nor intuitive to collect all available sources. The Lombards started their departure from Scoringa, a small island close to the coast of Germany. European burial contexts testify their path across the North of Europe to Hungary, the ancient Roman region of Pannonia. As reported in Historia Langobardorum by Paul the Deacon, in 568 AD this population crossed the Italian boundary to occupy its territories. From this moment, the interaction with the inhabitants and land-use began.