Leuphana (Λευφάνα) is a city name, first mentioned by Ptolemy in the year 150 in the Atlas Geographia.
Ptolemy mentioned in Geographica 2, that ten cities unified by their not being under Roman occupation, created a settlement named Leuphana.
Johann Grässe put Leuphana in his place name dictionary on par with
Lüneburg. Ptolemy mentioned a large number of German settlements that were not under Roman occupation, such as Ascalingium.
After Günnewig, Leuphana is located on the lowest stretch of the
Elbe, although it is unknown on which side. Speculation is that Leuphana is near
Hamburg,
Dömitz (Mecklenburg), or in the area near
Altmark.
However, identification of Leuphana is far from certain. Ptolemy may have been mistaken, as he was about Poleis. Grässe also may have been incorrect, both men confusing it with
Levefanum, that was located on the left side of the
Rhine. The nomenclature expert Jürgen Udolph has the opinion that Leuphana has nothing to do with Lüneburg. His opinion on the matter is supported by other nomenclature experts.
Research by the Institute for
Geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
of the Technical University of Berlin, into a geodesic deformation analysis of the Ptolemaic map concluded that Leuphana lies to the east of Lüneburg on the Elbe, located next to
Hitzacker, which speaks in favor of the correctness of the Ptolemaic localization. This finding is supported through the archaeological excavations in Marwedel near Hitzacker, where the University of Göttingen and the Free University of Berlin and their archaeologists Olaf Fabian and Ivonne Baier located a settlement from the time period of 78/80 to 225. In 1928 and 1944, the graves of
Chieftains from Marwedel were found, two
elite tombs with rich grave offerings from the Germanic time of 150.
Since March 20, 2007, the
University of Lüneburg has adopted the name Leuphana. The advertising agency
Scholz and Friends of Hamburg proposed the name change to the university board in 2006.
''Markenentwicklung für Universitäten.''
Auf: ''markenbusiness.com.'' 29 March 2007.
References
Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at :de:Leuphana; see its history for attribution.
{{reflist
External links
''Google Earth in Antiquity.''
In: ''Der Spiegel.'' 39/2010, S. 152 ff., retrieved 7 February 2013.
Ancient cities
Settlements in Germania Magna