This thesis addresses the process of identity construction in Lombard Italy through an examination of the expression of gender, an aspect often neglected in Lombard archaeology, which has tended to focus on issues surrounding migration and ethnicity. The main evidence considered are the grave good assemblages (1639 objects recorded from 347 furnished graves) found in sixteen Lombard-period cemeteries distributed across northern Italy and Tuscany. Methodologies for studying gender in Early Medieval cemeteries elsewhere in Europe have been adopted and adapted, including multivariate statistics, and the analysis has been also supported by information obtained from the written and iconographic sources. Through an integrated perspective that allows us to observe both the general trends and (as importantly) their variations, I show that beyond the well-known association between masculinity/weapons and femininity/jewellery gender discourse was a complex phenomenon, deeply intertwined with other facets of identity, and with local concerns and traditions
