GIVEN THE SCOPE of the project, this book constitutes a historical-archaeological synthesis in its entirety of the Carpathian-Danubian space during the eighth and the ninth centuries. Thus, through this book, we have offered narrative information and archaeological data regarding the history of the eighth and the ninth centuries.

Archaeological research on the early Middle Ages in the regions north of the Lower Danube has been steadily improving over the last six or seven decades. This study has been realized based on the data published in the specialized literature; however, we should be clear that many archaeological discoveries from the researched period still remain unpublished and thus publicly unavailable. Nevertheless, the data so far give us a rich trove of material, on the basis of which the early medieval history of the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic regions can be reconstituted.

For the first time, this work has included the majority of archaeological discoveries across a wide territory north of the Lower Danube, between the Tisza and the Dniester, in one study, going beyond current political boundaries. Over 2,500 archaeological points have been recorded and mapped in this book, reflecting the current level of our archaeological knowledge about the regions included into the research. Based on statistical data, we can observe an increase in the number of archaeological sites dating from the eighth– ninth centuries as compared to those from the fifth– seventh centuries, a phenomenon characteristic of most geographical areas in the Carpathian-Danubian space.

Although written sources regarding the early Middle Ages remain modest and controversial, archaeological data continue to accrue and can form the basis of synthetic studies of the history of the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic regions. Narrative data were used in the context of the event and the phenomenon referred to by the medieval authors. Analysis of the history of archaeological investigations and the historiography of the problem allowed us to establish the current state of research regarding the history of the eighth– ninth centuries in a number of European states. The review of historiographical achievements allowed us to highlight the main results in this area as well as the diversity of issues addressed by researchers concerned with the early medieval history of the Carpathian-Danubian regions.