Ambiguous pots:Everyday practice, migration and materiality.The case of medieval Baltic ware on the island of Bornholm (Denmark)

Archaeologists routinely deal with the remains of everyday life. Yet the significance and dimensions of daily practices are rarely reflected upon. Merging Bourdieu’s theory of practice, recent theories of everyday life and the materiality approach in archaeology, this study addresses the potential importance of daily practices and mundane objects in dealing with a rupture caused by migration. As a case study I use an example of medieval (eleventh century) Western Slavic migration to the island of Bornholm (Denmark) and production and daily handling of ceramic pots, the so-called Baltic ware. I explore the possible background to the introduction of the new pottery style, its significance for the local population of the island and above all the meanings these types of ceramics could have had for the immigrant Slavs

The origins of Odense – new aspects of early urbanisation in southern Scandinavia

The article presents an updated study of the centuries prior to Odense’s traditional ‘birth certificate’ of AD 988, resulting in a new model for the urbanisation of Odense. The conclusion reached is that there was activity of a permanent and possibly urban character in Odense from the end of the late eighth century until the late tenth century. The town’s development can be followed through three phases. Phases 1 and 2 cover the periods AD 700–900 and AD 900–100, respectively, while phase 3 covers the period AD 1000-1101. During phases 1 and 2, the proto-town develops through bottomup processes, such as network, crafts and possibly trade. After AD 1000, Odense develops into a town proper, under royal influence. The model from Odense provides the background for a fresh view of urbanisation in southern Scandinavia in general. A three-phase model is proposed. Phase 0 constitutes the emporia of the eighth–ninth century, which perhaps primarily is satellites in a trading network controlled from the south. Phase 1 takes the form of locally initiated and based incipient urbanisation extending from the end of the eighth century until the tenth century. Phase 2 comprises the royally established towns from around AD 1000 onwards