Pottery traditions of Early Medieval shell-tempered ware in northwestern Central Europe

在8世纪到10世纪之间，北海南部沿海地区的陶器库存在很大程度上以贝壳回火陶器的出现为特征。然而，壳回火陶器也出现在其主要分布区域之外；特别是在中世纪早期北海和波罗的海地区的贸易场所发现了这种瓷器。一般来说，这与弗里斯兰商人的存在有关。由于其超区域分布，壳回火陶器对重建中世纪早期北海和波罗的海沿岸的贸易网络具有突出的重要性。在研究项目的框架内，将使用各种考古分析方法收集有关壳回火陶器及其原材料的技术方面的广泛数据库。在拟建的一期工程中，重点应放在陶器群主要集散地及其周边区域的陶器上。这个地区从东弗里斯兰的荷兰沼泽地和易北-威西三角延伸到石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因的西海岸。这些调查的目的是表征用于生产的原材料及其加工的技术特征，以便区分区域工艺传统，并可能确定核心区域内的个别车间。此外，这些分析有助于更精确地定位壳回火陶器的生产区域。在项目的第二阶段，收集到的数据将作为分析核心区以外发现的壳回火陶器的重要参考。为此，在多雷斯塔德（Dorestad）、里伯（Ribe）、考邦（Kaupang）和海德比（Hedeby）等地作为外国商品出现的贝壳回火陶器将被纳入研究范围。需要澄清的一个问题是，根据匹配的粘土成分和技术特征，这种外国陶器材料与当地陶器之间的相似性可以识别到什么程度，这将指向当地生产。观察来自遥远地点和地区的贝壳回火陶器是否可能存在差异或匹配，也将是一件有趣的事情。最后，调查是否有可能将在贸易场所发现的壳回火罐与主要分布区域的发现集合和车间联系起来。这一结果有望对确定超区域分布的壳回火陶器的来源作出重大贡献。此外，比较研究将为来自北海地区的商人的不同货物流动和贸易路线提供重要证据。对贝壳回火陶器的分析将使人们对中世纪早期强烈影响中欧西北部的超区域贸易有新的认识。

Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the pottery inventories of the southern North Sea coastal area are characterized to a considerable extent by the appearance of shell-tempered pottery. However, shell- tempered pottery occurs also outside of its main distribution area; the ware is found especially at the Early Medieval trading sites in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions. In general, this is associated with the presence of Frisian traders. Due to its supra-regional distribution, the shell-tempered pottery is of outstanding importance for the reconstruction of Early Medieval trading networks along the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. Within the framework of the research project a broad database of technological aspects of the shell-tempered pottery and its raw material is to be collected using various archaeometric analysis methods. In the proposed first phase of the project, the focus should be on pottery in the main distribution area of the ware group and its peripheral zones. This area extends from the Dutch marshlands over East Frisia and the Elbe-Weser triangle to the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The aim of these investigations is to characterize the raw materials used for the production as well as the technological features of their processing in order to differentiate regional craft traditions and possibly to identify individual workshops within the core area. In addition, the analyses should help to localize the production area of the shell-tempered pottery more precisely. In the second phase of the project, the collected data will serve as an important reference for the analysis of shell-tempered pottery found outside the core area. For this purpose, shell-tempered pottery, which occurs as foreign good in various sites such as Dorestad, Ribe, Kaupang and Hedeby, is to be included in the study. One question needing clarification is to what extent similarities between this foreign pottery material and the local ware can be identified based on matching clay compositions and technological features, which would point to a local production. It will also be interesting to see, which possible differences or matches of shell-tempered pottery from distant sites and regions might occur. Finally, investigating whether it is possible to relate shell-tempered pots found at the trade-places with the find ensembles and workshops in the main distribution areas. The result is expected to contribute significantly to the determination of the provenance of the supra-regionally distributed shell-tempered pottery. In addition, the comparative studies will give important evidence of different flows of goods and trade routes of traders originating from the North Sea region. The analysis of shell-tempered pottery will gain new insights into the supra-regional trade, which was strongly influencing the Early Middle Ages of north-western Central Europe.