Editing Franconia (section)

=== Early history and Antiquity ===
[[File:Staffelberg 2006-05-07.jpg|thumb|The [[Celts]] built the mighty fortress of [[Menosgada]] on the [[Staffelberg]]]]
Fossil finds show that the region was already settled by [[Caveman|primitive man]], ''[[Homo erectus]]'', in the middle [[Last Glacial Period|Ice Age]] about 600,000&nbsp;years ago. Probably the oldest human remains in the Bavarian part of Franconia were found in the cave ruins of Hunas at [[Pommelsbrunn]] in the county of [[Nuremberg Land]].<ref>[http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Hunas.htm ''Die Höhlenruine von Hunas''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306073056/http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Seiten/Lexikon/Hunas.htm |date=2016-03-06 }}, Archäologisches Lexikon, retrieved 17 June 2014.</ref> In the late [[Bronze Age]], the region was probably only sparsely inhabited, as few [[noble metal]]s occur here and the soils are only moderately fertile.<ref>Hans-Peter Uenze, Claus-Michael Hüssen: ''Vor- und Frühgeschichte.'' In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 3–46, here: pp. 17ff.</ref> In the subsequent [[Iron Age]] (from about 800&nbsp;B.C.) the [[Celts]] became the first nation to be discernible in the region. In northern Franconia they built a chain of [[hill fort]]s as a line of defence against the [[Germani]] advancing from the north. On the [[Staffelberg]] they built a powerful settlement, to which [[Ptolemy]] gave the name ''[[Menosgada|oppidum Menosgada]]'',<ref>Josef Motschmann: ''Altenkunstadt - Heimat zwischen Kordigast und Main''. Gemeinde Altenkunstadt, Altenkunstadt, 2006, p. 10</ref> and on the [[Gleichberge]] is the largest surviving ''[[oppidum]]'' in [[Central Germany (geography)|Central Germany]], the [[Oppidum Steinsburg|Steinsburg]]. With the increased expansion of [[Roman Empire|Rome]] in the first century B.C. and the simultaneous advance of the [[Elbe Germans|Elbe Germanic tribes]] from the north, the Celtic culture began to fall into decline. The southern parts of present-day Franconia soon fell under Roman control; however, most of the region remained in [[Free Germania]]. Initially, Rome tried to extend its direct influence far to the northeast; in the longer term, however, the Germanic-Roman frontier formed further southwest.<ref>Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig: ''Unterfränkische Geschichte. Von der germanischen Landnahme bis zum hohen Mittelalter.'', Vol. 1. Würzburg, 1989; second edition: 1990, pp. 27–37.</ref>

[[File:Weißenburg Porta decumana1.jpg|thumb|left|A 1990 replica of the ''Porta decumana'' of the [[Biriciana]]. View over the camp ring road]]
Under the emperors, [[Domitian]] (81–96), [[Trajan]] (98–117) and [[Hadrian (emperor)|Hadrian]] (117–138), the [[Rhaetian Limes]] was built as a border facing the Germanic tribes to the north. This defensive line ran through the south of Franconia and described an arc across the region whose northernmost point lay at present-day [[Gunzenhausen]]. To protect it, the Romans built several forts like [[Biriciana]] at [[Weißenburg in Bayern|Weißenburg]], but by the mid-third century, the border could no longer be maintained and by 250&nbsp;A.D. the [[Alemanni]] occupied the areas up to the [[Danube]]. Fortified settlements such as the [[Gelbe Bürg]] at [[Dittenheim]] controlled the new areas.<ref name="kraus2">Wilfried Menghin: ''Grundlegung: Das frühe Mittelalter''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3rd vol., 1st sub-vol.: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 47–69, here: p. 60</ref> More such Gau forts have been detected north of the former Limes as well. Which tribe their occupants belonged to is unknown in most cases. However, it is likely that it was mainly Alemanni and [[Juthungi]], especially in the south.<ref name="Kraus1">Wilfried Menghin: ''Grundlegung: Das frühe Mittelalter''. In: Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte, begr. von Max Spindler, 3. Bd., 1. Teilbd: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, re-published by Andreas Kraus, 3rd, revised edition, Munich, 1997, pp. 47–69, here: S. 55.</ref>

By contrast, it was the [[Burgundians]] who settled on the Lower and Middle Main.<ref name="Kraus1"/> Many of these hill forts appear to have been destroyed, however, no later than 500&nbsp;A.D. The reasons are not entirely clear, but it could have been as a result of invasions by the [[Huns]] which thus triggered the [[Migration Period|Great Migration]]. In many cases, however, it was probably conquest by the [[Franks]] that spelt the end of these hilltop settlements.<ref name="kraus2"/>