Wyss, Annina IrèneAnnina IrèneWyss0000-0002-2791-43182024-12-192024-12-192024-11-29https://boris-portal.unibe.ch/handle/20.500.12422/194410The region of the central Alps, the province of Raetia I, with its numerous archaeological sites, lends itself to investigations into the relationships between people and spaces. In this paper, the spatial structures and in particular the hilltop settlements between the 3rd and 8th centuries will be analysed for their potential to provide information about society, its changes and patterns of activity. Settled with varying degrees of intensity from prehistoric times onwards, economically and socially prominent societies developed on hilltop sites in the course of the 7th and 8th centuries, parallel to the development of large ‘manor houses’ in the valley. However, their embedding in the spatial structure in connection with churches and burial grounds shows that different groups conceptualised spaces differently.enconference_item