After Rome: Genomic insights from southern Germany reveal the formation of Central European societies

Many of today's villages and towns in Central Europe trace their origins to settlements that emerged after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, often on former Roman territory or in the immediate vicinity of the Limes, the former imperial frontier. Since the nineteenth century, this period was often associated with the idea of large migrating groups of Germanic peoples. However, historical research has long since moved away from the concept of a unified Germanic identity and large-scale migration events.