The German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Eleonora Schamberger Foundation present:
Symposium:
Cosmopolities in Antiquity and Modernity – Mechanisms of Multiethnicity
Pythagorio, Samos May 15th/16th 2026
The Charles Lwanga Farm is an agricultural project in Uganda, located in the Kamukongo district, approximately 100 km south of Kampala. We have been supporting the Charles Lwanga Farm on a regular basis since 2016. The foundation´s project began with the establishment and construction of a vocational school. The students study the theory and practice of agriculture and animal farming so that after completing their training, they are able to manage their own plots of land or work as trained employees on other farms. The practical skills are taught on the farm. It now includes a chicken farm, a large livestock farm, vegetable cultivation and a coffee roasting facility, which is run on a cooperative basis. The harvested crops, milks and eggs are sold in a shop in a small village nearby.
In addition, the products are used to maintain a poor relief fund that caters for the poorest of the poor in the immediate neighborhood and for the orphanage located in the community. In economical terms,the farm is self-sufficient; today, we solely support new projects that require additional funds.
building for the coffee production
In cooperation with the Department of Provincial Roman History at the University of Munich, we award each year two “Germany Scholarships” in the fields of prehistory and early History” and provincial Roman archaeology.
The first two scholarships were awarded in the July 2025, with candidates selected by the department.
Since 2024, we have been supporting the Camphill village community of Lehenhof. Here, almost 400 people with and without special needs live and work together. Lehenhof strives to overcome the differences between the “normal” and the “not normal” in communal living. Thus, people of all backgrounds live together under one roof, work together, and organise a shared cultural life. Lehenhof has formed close ties to its surroundings and is part of a diverse network. The Lehenhof welcomes people with special needs after they have finished school.
Provincial Roman archaeology
Provincial Roman archaeology is a discipline of ancient history that deals with the history, material culture, and civilization of the provinces of the Roman Empire, especially those in the Latin-speaking West—e.g., along the Rhine and Danube rivers, as well as England, France, Spain, and North Africa from Morocco to Libya. The time frame is defined by the beginning and end of the military and civil administration of a province, i.e., from the late Republic (2nd century BC) to the end of the Western Roman Empire (476 AD) or its incorporation into the Byzantine Empire (698 AD).
Apart from written sources, the main interest and subject-specific methodology are centered on material remains—from everyday material culture to archaeological sites and monuments. One of the tasks of the discipline is to use monuments and the diverse types of finds and materials to answer complex questions about occupation and provincialization, but also about the acculturation of the indigenous population and the fusion of Roman-Mediterranean and autochthonous culture. A wide variety of settlement forms, clothing and traditional costumes, as well as cult and religion, are taken into account. Both military and settlement history developments, as well as economic and trade history structures, production and sales of goods in individual provinces or larger regions can be analyzed and assessed in a more differentiated manner on the basis of material remains than on the basis of written testimonies of ancient writers and inscriptions of an official and private nature alone.
The foundation primarily supports provincial Roman archaeology at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU). One example is the study of Italian fine ceramics (known as terra sigillata) from the cities of Iuvavum Salzburg and Cambodunum/Kempten, which yielded important historical and commercial findings about the founding of these cities and their supply of tableware from Italy. The foundation financed temporary research positions and the printing of the Iuvavum study (2020).
For its focus on North Africa, the foundation has supported the publication of Ch. Eger’s postdoctoral thesis “Late Antique Clothing Accessories from North Africa” (2012) as well as M. Mackensen’s study on “Relief- and stamp-decorated North African sigillata from the late 2nd to 6th centuries” (2019). In addition, there is Mackensen’s three-volume publication on excavations and interdisciplinary archaeological investigations at the Roman fort Myd(—)/Gheriat el-Garbia on the Limes Tripolitanus (Libya) (2021 & 2024), an LMU excellent project from 2008–2010. Within this framework, far-reaching results were achieved for the understanding of the militarily controlled supraregional transport routes with the trade caravans and the seasonal migrations of the semi-nomadic population with their cattle herds in northwestern Libya and southern Tunisia. Here, the foundation has not only funded temporary research positions and costly scientific investigations, but also the printing of the final publications.
Currently, funding is being provided for the restoration of late antique sigillata and lamp pottery in northern and central Tunisia, as well as for a course on Roman vault construction using so-called vault tubes in North Africa.
At the Bavarian National Museum, the Eleonora Schamberger Foundation has provided support in particular in the form of printing cost subsidies. Museums bring topics to the attention of the general public and thus meet the aims of the Eleonora Schamberger Foundation. Over the years, the foundation has supported a wide variety of projects, including an exhibition on tableware ships, the ivory collection and the catalog on Bavarian Haffner tableware.
Since its establishment in 2006, the Eleonora Schamberger Foundation has been supporting the Elisabeth Saal Foundation, a non-profit foundation based in Munich that is dedicated to promoting classical language teaching and humanistic education in Bavaria. It recognises the importance of linguistic competence and the general educational value that can be gained from studying ancient texts.
The foundation’s main activities include awarding grants and prizes and organizing corresponding events.
