Pre- and early history

The Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) can be dated to around 4 to 3 million years to 5,500 BC.

The Neolithic period defines the time between 5,500 and 2,300 B.C. In the Near East, the cultivation of the first types of grain and the breeding of the first domestic animals began thousands of years earlier.

The Bronze Age lasted from 2,300 to 750 BC and was characterized by the discovery of a harder mixed metal consisting of a lot of copper and little tin: bronze.

The Iron Age refers to the years between 750 BC and the birth of Christ. It is divided into 2 phases; the older Iron Age, also known as the Hallstatt period, and the later Iron Age (Latène period).

In our region, the Roman Empire lasted from the birth of Christ until 260 A.D. Since the conquest of Gaul by Gaius Julius Caesar, the Rhine formed the border to Free Germania.

From 260 to 700 AD: The Alamanni, a new Elbe-Germanic tribal confederation, overran the Limes in the 3rd century AD and established themselves in the Lower Main region.