The Vikings and the origins of wheel-thrown pottery production in ninth century England

ABSTRACT

The origins of the first post-Roman pottery industries to utilize wheel-throwing that emerged in eastern England around the middle of the ninth century is a subject that has caused a divergence of opinion amongst archaeologists for many years. Many regard the earliest industries to have been based in Stamford, Ipswich and Thetford and that they started around AD 850, before the invasion of the Viking Great Army. Others maintain that the catalyst for the start and/or the growth of the industries was the arrival of the Scandinavian invaders in AD 865 and the subsequent settlement phase of the mid-870s. The article examines the current state of knowledge regarding the origin and development of these pottery-making centres, concentrating on the three potentially earliest. This is set in the context of recently-obtained evidence from the excavation of settlement sites in eastern England and a re-examination of older evidence from the manufactories. The ‘new’ wheel-thrown pottery will also be situated within the hitherto under-investigated cultural and economic systems of their time.

Acknowledgments

I am extremely grateful to Sue Anderson, Duncan H Brown, Dr Chris Cumberpatch, Dr Caitlin Green, Dr Seren Griffiths, Dr Jesper Langkilde, Dr Jette Linaa, Dr Cassie Newlands, Dr Sadie Watson and Professor Howard Williams for their extremely helpful advice and information while writing this paper. Any errors are mine.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).