Migration and Merovingian periods
From 260 to 700 AD: The Alamanni, a new Elbe-Germanic tribe, overran the Limes in the 3rd century AD and established themselves in the Lower Main region. Further advances, also by other tribes, ultimately led to the decline of Roman rule west of the Rhine.
Successful opponents of the Alamanni in the 5th century AD were the Franks, a union of small tribes from the area between the Rhine and Loire, under whose royal dynasty of the Merovingians our region came under Frankish power.
In 751 AD, the Carolingian family took power in the Frankish Empire. The Roman economic system collapsed abruptly after the fall of the Limes. It was only under the Franks that a regulated settlement of the land and the creation of an infrastructure took place again. Place names ending in -heim or -weil indicate early Frankish settlements.
Alamanni and Franks often buried their dead in their richly decorated costumes with weapons, tools and containers made of wood, glass, ceramics or metal. These grave goods often attracted grave robbers immediately after burial in the large cemeteries.
We know of at least two terraced cemeteries in the Offenbach area, and others can be assumed based on individual finds. The largest known cemetery with over 27 burials was in the Herderstraße and Uhlandstraße area in OF-Bieber. The increasing Christianization, enforced by Charlemagne (768 - 814 AD), put an end to the rich burial custom. However, this also meant that archaeologists lost one of their most important sources. The "dark" Middle Ages began.