Trade and Communication Networks of the First Millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe

Transkript

1 Trade and Communication Networks of the First Millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 1

2 Trade and Communication Networks of the First Millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe: Central Places, Beach Markets, Landing Places and Trading Centres

3 Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung Band 1 herausgegeben vom Niedersächsischen Landesmuseum Hannover in Verbindung mit dem Internationalen Sachsensymposion durch Babette Ludowici

4 Trade and Communication Networks of the First Millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe: Central Places, Beach Markets, Landing Places and Trading Centres herausgegeben von Babette Ludowici, Hauke Jöns, Sunhild Kleingärtner, Jonathan Scheschkewitz und Matthias Hardt

5 Umschlaggestaltung: Karl-Heinz Perschall Satz und Layout: Karl-Heinz Perschall Grafische Arbeiten: Holger Dieterich, Karl-Heinz Perschall Redaktion: Beverley Hirschel, Babette Ludowici Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über abrufbar. 20 Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Hannover Alle Rechte vorbehalten In Kommission bei Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart Abbildungsnachweise liegen in der Verantwortung der Autoren Druck: BWH GmbH - Die Publishing Company, D-3047 Hannover ISBN

6 Vorwort zur Reihe Mit dem vorliegenden Band beginnt das Niedersächsische Landesmuseum Hannover unter dem Titel Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung eine neue Reihe von Veröffentlichungen aus dem Bereich seiner Forschungstätigkeit. Dazu gehört die wissenschaftliche Erschließung der umfangreichen archäologischen Sammlungsbestände zur Geschichte des ersten Jahrtausends im Gebiet des heutigen Bundeslandes Niedersachsen, die am Haus unter der mittlerweile traditionellen Bezeichnung Sachsenforschung betrieben wird. Sie bildet einen der wichtigsten Schwerpunkte der am Landesmuseum Hannover geleisteten Forschungsarbeit. Vieles von dem, was wir heute über die Lebenswirklichkeit und die kulturhistorische Entwicklung in den Landschaften Niedersachsens im ersten Jahrtausend wissen, basiert auf hierbei gewonnenen Erkenntnissen. Die Sachsenforschung am Landesmuseum Hannover zielt aber auch auf die wissenschaftliche Durchdringung der Ethnogenese und Geschichte des frühmittelalterlichen Stammesverbandes der Sachsen, die seit dem 6. und 7. Jahrhundert als Bewohner weiter Gebiete zwischen Rhein, Elbe, den Mittelgebirgen und der Nordseeküste überliefert sind. Wie andere germanische gentes, etwa die Franken, die Bajuwaren oder die Alamannen, haben die Sachsen die politischen und historischen Abläufe in Europa entscheidend mitgeprägt. Bis heute stiftet ihr Name territoriale Identitäten. Initiator und Doyen der genuin landesgeschichtlich orientierten Sachsenforschung am Landesmuseum Hannover war Albert Genrich ( ), der hier von 194 bis 1977 zunächst als Kustos und später als Leiter der vormaligen Abteilung Urgeschichte tätig war. Mit der Sachsenforschung von Beginn an und bis heute aufs engste verknüpft ist das 1949 von Karl Waller ins Leben gerufene Internationale Sachsensymposion mit heutigem Sitz in Belgien, zu dessen Gründungsmitgliedern Albert Genrich gehörte. Die damals noch Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sachsenforschung genannte Vereinigung fungiert seit vielen Jahrzehnten als international maßgebliches wissenschaftliches Forum für die Archäologie der frühen Geschichte Nordwesteuropas. Derzeit gehören ihr rund 130 Archäologen und Historiker aus Belgien, Dänemark, Deutschland, Finnland, Frankreich, Großbritannien, den Niederlanden, Norwegen, Schweden und den USA an. Albert Genrich war von 1968 bis 1986 Vorsitzender des Symposions, das einmal jährlich tagt. In der Nachfolge Genrichs wurde die Sachsenforschung am Landesmuseum Hannover von 1977 bis 2004 von Hans-Jürgen Häßler fortgeführt. Seine Untersuchungen zu frühgeschichtlichen Bestattungsplätzen und Grabfunden aus Niedersachsen haben der Forschung wesentliche Impulse verliehen. Mit der von ihm am Landesmuseum Hannover begründeten und dort bis zu seinem Ausscheiden aus dem Dienst lektorierten und redigierten Reihe Studien zur Sachsenforschung etablierte Häßler, der von 1996 bis 2002 auch Vorsitzender des Internationalen Sachsensymposions war, ein international anerkanntes Fachorgan zur Frühgeschichtsforschung. Dem Forschungsverständnis und dem Wirken Albert Genrichs und Hans-Jürgen Häßlers verpflichtet, deren zentrale Konstante der rege fachliche Austausch mit zahlreichen Wissenschaftlern und Forschungseinrichtungen im In- und Ausland war, werden die Neuen Studien zur Sachsenforschung vom Landesmuseum Hannover nunmehr in direkter Verbindung mit dem Internationalen Sachsensymposion herausgegeben. In diesem Sinne programmatisch veröffentlichen wir als ersten Band der Reihe die Ergebnisse des internationalen Workshops zum Thema "Trade and Communication Networks of the First Millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe: Central Places, Beach Markets, Landing Places and Trading Centres" am 4. und. September 2008 in Bad Bederkesa, den der Arbeitsbereich Sachsenforschung am Landesmuseum Hannover mit veranstaltet hat. Jaap Brakke Direktor des Niedersächsischen Landesmuseums Hannover Claus von Carnap-Bornheim Leitender Direktor der Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Vorsitzender des Internationalen Sachsensymposions Babette Ludowici Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Hannover, Arbeitsbereich Sachsenforschung

7 Foreword This publication presents the results of an international workshop entitled Trade and Communication Networks of the First Millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe: Central Places, Beach Markets, Landing Places and Trading Centres, which was held on September 4 th and th, 2008, in Burg Bad Bederkesa, near Cuxhaven in Germany. Thirty-six participants from six countries discussed questions relating to structural relationships and points of contact in the first millennium AD between settlements and other localities that were dependent on agriculture and those that functioned as central places, which can be identified as such by evidence of religious activity, trade and exchange as well as traces of craft production. For several decades now, research in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia has concentrated on coastal Viking Age trading posts and their hinterland. At present, more than eighty sites are known in the area of the North and Baltic Seas that were part of a supra-regional trade and communication network in the early and high Middle Ages. In the written sources, they are usually described as trading posts, market places or early towns. It has been established that these places also played an important role in the life of the inhabitants of other settlements, in both the immediate vicinity and the further hinterland. The discovery of numerous landing places for boats, seasonal markets and craft workshops shows that an infrastructure had developed in the surrounding area for the specific purpose of supplying the central place. The model used in modern town planning for centres or central settlements and their peripheries can also be applied, at least partially, to settlement structures at the end of the first millennium AD. In southern Scandinavia, in particular, research has also been increasingly preoccupied since the early 1980s with the economic and social conditions before the Viking Age, i.e. in imperial Roman times and the Migration period. Focal points of this research are settlement areas and agglomerations in which settlement continuity can be traced over several centuries and where the archaeological finds and features indicate that they were centres of political, economic and religious power. A centre should not be understood as a clearly circumscribed area but rather as consisting of several contemporaneous settlements with different functions, including beaches or man-made landing places for boats in protected bays, where goods could be loaded and unloaded and where there are signs of considerable trade and craft activity. Such places gave the central settlements direct access to supra-regional transportation and communication routes. Scholars generally agree that these Iron Age central places, like the trading emporia of the Viking Age, were under the control of the social elite. On the other hand, the question of who organised the exchange or trading of goods, whether the ruler himself or several more or less independent traders, is the subject of much controversy. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that decisive social changes took place in the central places, which finally led to the transformation from the Iron Age tribal system to the Germanic kingdoms and states of the early and high Middle Ages. The discovery and preliminary investigation of most Iron Age central places began with a systematic survey using metal detectors, whereby large quantities of high-quality objects made of bronze, silver or gold were recovered. A more detailed examination reveals that the finds consist mainly of jewellery and costume elements of various origins, which when dated often indicate settlement continuity over several centuries. The characteristic find spectrum includes not only the remains of non-ferrous metal-working but also figurative images made of thin gold foil, commonly called gubber. Gold objects, either as single finds or in hoards, e.g. containing gold bracteates, are also found in low-lying areas around the central places. The purpose of these gold objects was to honour the gods; the gold gubber can probably be interpreted as temple money. Concentrations of theophoric place names in the proximity of several central places in imperial Roman times also underline the religious function of the central places. Research over the past few decades has found increasing evidence of central places in the southwestern part of the North Sea region as well. However, their structure is still largely unknown. In inland areas, too, growing numbers of sites with similar ranges of finds have been found in remarkably convenient topographical locations from the point of view of transportation. A structural comparison of these sites and their functions has not yet been undertaken. To sum up, it can be said that the research situation regarding central places, their various functions, their surrounding areas and the relationships between them is very different from region to region. While well-substantiated models can already be presented for parts of southern Scandinavia, research has 6

8 only just begun in the southern Baltic and southwestern North Sea areas. Against this background, the main objective of the workshop was not only to present and collate the latest scientific approaches and the most recent research projects on the subject but also to discuss them thoroughly. Consequently, when preparing the workshop, the organisers did not send out the usual call for papers but, instead, defined specific topics to be discussed. The focal points thus defined, which not only covered the chronologically and geographically related cultures but also took into consideration the research done by other historical disciplines, provided the basic framework for both the programme of the workshop and the contents of this publication. Experts on each subject were selected and asked to collate the latest research, make a constructive critical appraisal, and produce a manuscript that included the most important points to be considered at the workshop. At the same time, for each subject, a second expert was selected to review the manuscript and write a commentary to be presented in a short statement as the starting point for the round-table discussion. In order to create the right atmosphere for an animated debate, it was decided to limit the number of participants in the workshop to those colleagues who had agreed to take an active part as either first or second expert. To encourage the participants to prepare themselves thoroughly for the event, copies of all the manuscripts and all the commentaries were placed at their disposal about four weeks before the workshop. English was chosen as the official language. After the workshop, all the authors had an opportunity to revise and up-date their texts and comments to include issues raised during the discussions and take into account new points of view. The editors Babette Ludowici Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Hannover Hauke Jöns Niedersächsisches Institut für historische Küstenforschung, Wilhelmshaven Sunhild Kleingärtner Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Universität Kiel Jonathan Scheschkewitz Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, Esslingen Matthias Hardt Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas e.v. an der Universität Leipzig We would like to thank all the participants of the workshop for having accepted this unusual procedure without complaint and for having handed in their papers on time. We also wish to thank the Burg Bederkesa Museum for having placed such an impressive room at our disposal, which was a perfect location for our workshop. We also thank Beverley Hirschel (Cologne) for going over all the English texts and Holger Dieterich (Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte at the University of Kiel) who prepared the layout of the papers handed out for the workshop and took charge of the graphics for the illustrations in this volume. And, last but not least, our special thanks go to the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (Cologne), which not only financed the cost of accommodation, meals and travel but also provided the necessary funds for the subsequent editorial preparation of the manuscripts for publication. 7

9 Contents The conception of central places in time and space Winfried Schenk Central Places as a point of discussion from German geography in (pre)historical research Marion Brüggler Types, meaning and significance of central places in the Germanic provinces of the Roman Empire Jörg Drauschke The search for central places in the Merovingian kingdom Jürgen Udolph The evidence of central places in place names Questions concerning continuity through the centuries: casestudies Hauke Jöns Case study 1: The Elbe-Weser region in northern Germany (the regions of Sievern and Stade in the first millennium AD) Johan A.W. Nicolay Response to case study 1: Power formation and the rise of central places in the Elbe-Weser region and the coastal area of the northern Netherlands a comparison Birgitta Hårdh Case study 2: Uppåkra Lund. A central place and a town? Western Scania in the Viking Age Claus von Carnap-Bornheim Comment on: Uppåkra Lund. A central place and a town? Western Scania in the Viking Age (B. Hårdh) Ulrich Müller Case study 3: Trading centres Hanseatic towns on the southern Baltic Coast: Structural continuity or a new start? Rolf Bärenfänger General comment on: Trading centres Hanseatic towns on the southern Baltic Coast: Structural continuity or a new start? (U. Müller) Trade contacts in the reflection of the finds Sebastian Brather Silver, weights and scales around the Baltic, 8 th to 11 th centuries Christoph Kilger General comment on: Silver, weights and scales around the Baltic, 8 th to 11 th centuries (S. Brather) Sunhild Kleingärtner Trade contacts as reflected in archaeological finds: Costume accessories Iben Skibsted Klæsøe Comments on: Trade contacts as reflected in archaeological finds: Costume accessories (S. Kleingärtner)

10 Barbara Armbruster Remains of the Viking-Age goldsmith s craft and workshop Heiko Steuer Comments on: Remains of the Viking-Age goldsmith s craft and workshop (B. Armbruster) Central places and their hinterland: examples and casestudies Dagfinn Skre Centrality and places. The central place Skiringssal in Vestfold, Norway Michael Müller-Wille Comments on: Centrality and places. The central place Skiringssal in Vestfold, Norway (D. Skre) Michiel H. Bartels and Michel Groothedde Central places and fortifications: The case study Deventer and Zutphen a medieval Burgenordnung in the eastern Netherlands? Martin Segschneider Comment on: Central places and fortifications: The case study Deventer and Zutphen a medieval Burgenordnung in the eastern Netherlands? (M. Bartels and M. Groothedde) Donat Wehner The hinterland of the early medieval trading places Wolin and Menzlin: A comparison Mateusz Bogucki The Baltic emporia and their hinterland comments on Donat Wehner s study of Wolin and Menzlin Lars Jørgensen Gudme and Tissø. Two magnates complexes in Denmark from the 3 rd to the 11 th century AD Dagfinn Skre Comments on: Gudme and Tissø. Two magnates complexes in Denmark from the 3 rd to the 11 th century AD (L. Jørgensen) Means of transport and trade routes routes to central places? Jonathan Scheschkewitz Water transport specialized landing-places in the coastal areas of northwestern Germany in the first millennium AD Jens Ulriksen A comment on: Water transport specialized landing-places in the coastal areas of northwestern Germany in the first millennium AD (J. Scheschkewitz) Oliver Grimm Traffic-related reflections on Norway s prehistory and some remarks about Sweden Jan Bill Towards an archaeology of transport. Some comments on: Traffic-related reflections on Norway s prehistory and some remarks about Sweden (O. Grimm)

11 Babette Ludowici Overland routes as markers for central places: The Hellweg between Rhine and Elbe Volker Hilberg Overland routes, transport and power. Some comments on: Overland routes as markers for central places: The Hellweg between Rhine and Elbe (B. Ludowici) Structures of rule and religion Matthias Hardt Structures of power and religion according to the written sources Przemysław Urbańczyk What did early medieval authors know about structures of governance and religion in northern Central Europe? (A comment on M. Hardt) Andres S. Dobat and hold therein feasts of sacrifice archaeological perspectives on the sacral functions and significance of Late Iron Age Scandinavian central places Alexandra Pesch Comments on: and hold therein feasts of sacrifice archaeological perspectives on the sacral functions and significance of Late Iron Age Scandinavian central places (A. Dobat) Summary Michael Müller-Wille Trade and communication networks of the first millennium AD in the northern part of Central Europe central places, beach markets, landing places and trading centres Summary and perspectives 380

12 Case study 3: Trading centres Hanseatic towns on the southern Baltic Coast: Structural continuity or a new start? Ulrich Müller The rapid development of the high-medieval chartered towns on the southern Baltic coast, their relationship with earlier settlements and with the Hanseatic League have been recurrent issues in archaeological and historical research. At the same time, urban archaeology has seen a surge of interest, especially since the 1990s, when the political landscape underwent a radical change (GLÄSER 1997; JÖNS et al. 200). Large-scale investigations (SCHNEIDER 2008) and dendrochronological analysis (WESTPHAL 2002) have produced new insights into the history of a number of sites. Although intensive urbanisation was a common phenomenon all over 12 th - and 13 th -century Europe, there are some essential differences between the newly occupied areas in the Slavonic east and the homeland of the settlers in the west. In the west, urban development had been a continuous process already starting in ancient or at least early medieval times (HENNING 2007; STEUER 2007; WILSCHEWSKI 2007). The central places of Viking Age Scandinavia, however, hardly developed into urban centres. Here, royal authority played a decisive role in the foundation of towns (CALLMER 2007; URBAŃCZYK 2008). On the southern Baltic coast, fortified urban settlements, socalled Burgstädte, emerged when the early medieval trading places along the coast had lost significance in the th century (KLEINGÄRTNER 2009). The concept of Burgstadt originally refers to the administrative centres of the Great Moravian Empire and the Přemyslid (Mikulčice, Stara Kouřim, Staré Mesto) and Piast (Poznań, Wrocław, Kraków) dynastiempires. It denotes an urban model which cannot be easily grasped according to well-established West European criteria (ENGEL 199). It may be described as a settlement complex consisting of several topographical and functional nuclei (ibid 19) in which centres of ecclesiastical and secular power and dependeant nonagrarian suburbs cannot be clearly distinguished (KIRILOV 20067; ŽEMLIČKA 2000) and which may cover a larger area than many West European towns. On the southern Baltic coast, places such as Usedom, Szczecin, Kołobrzeg and Gdańsk have been characterised as Burgstädte (BIERMANN 2006a; BUKO 2008). This approach is not without problems, as a clear distinction between a stronghold with a well-developed suburbium on one hand and a real Burgstadt on the other is not always possible. Sites such as Starigard/Oldenburg or Alt- Lübeck indeed share some attributes with the typical Burgstädte of eastern Central Europe, nevertheless they show a much more moderate degree of agglomeration. A problem which has not been solved so far is the question of whether a Burgstadt had special legal rights or whether it maintained privileged areas in a developing seigneurial system (MACHÁČEK 2007). Without discussing the concept of Burgstadt any further at this point, it is evident that it is strongly connected with the centralisation of seigneurial structures. Despite this early Burg Kiel Lütjenburg Heiligenhafen Barth Stralsund Rugendal/Garz Oldenburg Damgarten Köslin Ribnitz Grube Kröpelin Sülze Marlow Richtenberg Kolberg Plön Eutin Grimmen Greifswald Körlin Neustadt Treptow Rostock Triebsees Wolgast Belgard Neubukow Tessin Cammin Segeberg Travemünde Gnoien Loitz Grevesmühlen Wismar Schwaan Gützkow Laage Greifenberg Demmin Lübeck Usedom Bützow Güstrow Altkalen Anklam Wollin Plathe Oldesloe Neukalen Warin Ueckermünde Regenwalde Polzin Gadebusch Teterow Kummerow Neustettin Brüel Malchin Altentreptow Naugard Razteburg Sternberg Neuwarp Labes Schwerin Krakow Stavenhagen Friedland Burg Stargard Mölln Gollnow Crivitz Goldberg Neubrandenburg Strasburg Pölitz Dramburg Falkenburg Massow Wittenburg Plau Waren Pasewalk Nörenberg Lübz Woldegk Hagenow Malchow Penzlin Prillwitz Parchim Stettin Löcknitz Lauenburg Neusadt-Glewe Stargard Jakobshagen Röbel Neustrelitz Altdamm Boizenburg Prenzlau Kallies Penkuhn Grabow Wesenberg Gartz Greifenhagen Pyritz Stadtgründung Dömitz Bahn bis 120 0km Fiddichow nach 120 Figure 1. Towns of high medieval origin on the southern Baltic coast. B 11

13 urban development, the high-medieval towns appear as a new element within the settlement and landscape pattern in legal, administrative, economic and also cultural terms (Figure 1). Their foundation has to be seen within the context of highmedieval internal colonisation, taking place under German law and involving immigrants as well as natives. In eastern Central Europe, high-medieval urban development was part of a general transformation process, with colonisation and urbanisation running more or less parallel to each other from the 12 th century on. High-medieval colonisation was not a uniform process; there were chronological, geographical and organisational differences. The regions between the rivers Elbe and Oder have to be distinguished from those of the Piast territory or the Baltic countries (BLOMKQVIST 200; BUKO 2008; RĘBKOWSKI 2001; RUCHHÖFT 2008b). In eastern Holstein and also in some parts of western Mecklenburg colonisation was a brief and controlled process attracting settlers from beyond the border (SCHNIEK 2003). In Mecklenburg, there were also larger groups of immigrants taking part, but here the colonisation these privileges had developed from earlier legal structures or whether they represented a new legal form in its own right. Towns were centres in an economic (market) and spiritual-social sense (church), often attached to a castle. When a marketplace is established in a certain region, the economy of that region starts to focus on the new centre. This results in a (re-)- structuring of the surrounding landscape, affecting different areas. Thus, towns can be regarded as nodal points and contact areas, reliable instruments in the establishment and maintenance of authority a fact which granted them a significant role in the ambiguous political situation of the 12 th and early 13 th centuries east of the river Elbe (Figure 2). The high-medieval colonisation, urbanisation and the coalition of the Wendish towns (ENGEL 1993) a short time after the mid-13 th century created conditions in the Baltic rim which were essential for the constitution of a complex with considerable economic and political power the Hanseatic League. It is not possible to give a precise date for the formation or establishment of the Hanseatic League; being the product of Fürstentum Grafschaft Stift Lübeck Holstein Stift Ratzeburg Herrschaft Mecklenburg Herrschaft Rostock Stift Schwerin Stralsund Rügen Herzogtum Wolgast Cammin Wollin Pommern-Demmin Köslin Kolberg Herzogtum Stettin-Demmin Sachsen Herzogtum 0km Schwerin Grafschaft Schwerin Grafschaft Dannenberg Herrschaft Parchim Herrschaft Werle Stift Havelberg Pommern Markgrafschaft Branden- burg Stettin Herzogtum Pommern-Stettin Stargard Figure 2. Political topography of the southern Baltic coast in the first half of the 13 th century. process relied primarily on the indigenous and largely Christianised population. In Mecklenburg, as in Vorpommern, small-scale clearances of considerable chronological depth and several phases have been recorded (DONAT et al. 1999; BRACHMANN 2003; FORSTER and WILLICH 2007). Between the incorporation of Wagria into the earldom of Holstein (1138/39) and the Ascanian expansion into Pomerania, the restructuring of the Slavonic principalities into castellanies and territorial lordships and their partial replacement by bailiwicks lies a period of roughly one hundred years which was determined by a number of agents. In an agrarian landscape characterised by unfortified settlements, strongholds and monasteries, towns were islands of urban culture. The town was, in the true sense of the word, a privileged place regardless of whether a longer process taking place between the 13 th and 14 th centuries (HAMMEL-KIESOW 2004), it has never been founded in the strict sense of the word. Although Lübeck and the Wendish towns played an important role in the development of the Hanseatic League, one should not underestimate the impact of the inland trading places and their networks, which could often look back on a pre-hanseatic tradition. The alliance of travelling merchants in guilds and co-operatives does not only have precursors in the North Sea and Baltic areas of the early Middle Ages but had also been known before in western and central Europe. As town formation and economic development are closely interconnected, many seaports such as Hamburg, Lübeck or Stralsund are often named Hanseatic towns. This, however, 116

14 does not pay attention to the fact that it was not the Hanseatic League that took the initiative in the urbanisation process but that the formation of the League itself only took place due to the confederation of these towns. Thus, urban development is not necessarily an expression of Hanseatic culture (GAIMSTER 2006; GLÄSER 2000). It cannot be denied that there was indeed a common way of life inspired by northwest European urban culture (MÜLLER 2004), but up to the present day no archaeological criteria have been developed in order to define such a Hanseatic cultural model (MÜLLER 2006; IMMONEN 2007). Therefore, the term seaport seems more appropriate than Hanseatic town, especially for the early phase of the 12 th and 13 th centuries. Nevertheless, these ports did participate in a communication network of towns (HENN 1992), making them Hanseatic towns in the direct sense of the word. The members of that network were offered ample scope and chances but also created them themselves. To sum up, one could say that the urbanisation of the Baltic area was tied to a number of factors (Figure 3): the internal colonisation process, involving new settlers but also indigenous groups, profound and comprehensive Christianisation, the creation of larger administrative entities in the sense of territorial lordships, the integration into an overall trading network with farreaching political and cultural influence. 1. Central place theory and the town In historical archaeology, terms as central place, early urban site, urban centre or town appear in a variety of contexts (cf. Müller-Wille in this volume; MÜLLER 2009b in press). In spite of this variety, the underlying concepts are more or less the same. They are largely based upon a number of criteria which are also employed in geographical research (Table 1; STEUER 2007). They only differ in terms of the emphasis that is placed on individual features. It is, however, a notable fact that the legal aspect ( town charter ) is hardly considered at all, although the legal distinction between town and country was of fundamental importance in medieval and post-medieval times (SCHWENTKER 2002). The central place theory introduced by W. Christaller in 1938 (cf. Schenk in this volume; SONIS 2007) has remained popular especially with German-speaking archaeologists up to the present day. However, in employing this model, terms such as centrality, central functions or settlement hierarchy are frequently detached from the original (geographical) theory and used differently in different contexts. This also explains the above-mentioned diversity of terms referring to the sites themselves. In modern geography, however, the central place theory now only plays a minor role (SCHENK 2004, 33ff.). This is due on one hand to its abstract view and assumption of homogeneous conditions, and on the other to the fact that H Ökonomie Ök on o Ökon omie om Herrschaft Beschleunigung B Stadt Landesausbau Mission desausba Figure 3. The town. Acceleration and concentration as characteristics of town formation. Verdichtung static location theories have only little empirical value as they centre on the attainment of balance rather than on dynamic processes. Moreover, under the influence of the so-called spatial turn and New Geography, the spatial sciences that are concerned with more recent phenomena presently assign only little relevance to the concept of centrality and central places. Although space as an absolute and physical factor still plays a prominent role, the relativity of the concept of space is recognized also in geographical research. This can mean for example that social groups may act within very different zones. It also places special emphasis on the soft factors of social action (SCHOER 2006), which consequently also affect the concept of centrality. Thus a number of new approaches have been developed in order to explain settlement patterns and locations (e.g. network analysis, centre-periphery and diffusion models, models adopted from operations research; MEIJERS 2007). The archaeological registration and evaluation of settlement and concentration processes still relies heavily on the concept of central place and central functions. This, however, involves two problems:. Apart from the empirical value of the concept of central places, there is the question to what degree central functions can be recognized and used as a parameter in historical periods. At present, this problems is tackled from two opposing sides: The qualifying approach (e.g. DENECKE 200; MITTERAUER 2002; WEHNER 2007) seeks to take into account the blurred and incomplete information we are left with. Quantifying approaches, normally employed in prehistoric archaeology and showing parallels with quantitativetheoretical urban research in geography, resort to spatial statistics in order to describe hierarchies of settlements. In this sense, archaeology follows the same line of development as geography, in which the idealistic central place theory has been supplemented by an empiric and more practical approach. Another deficit is that, at least in historical archaeology, the issue of central places is firmly linked with that of town formation, and that the criteria for the identification of d 117

15 these two settlement types are often used interchangeably. Depending on how much emphasis is placed on individual features, the concept of town becomes broader. This is furthered by the fact that attaching the term town to a site seems to alter its image and elevate it to a higher evolutionary level in this respect historical archaeology is still influenced by the urban sociological studies of G. Simmels (SCHOER 2006, 60ff.). The central place theory is based on the assumption of a completely homogeneous flat space. Even though the ideaswork of W. Christaller and his successors hasve been adopted in Anglo-American and Scandinavian research, a considerable number of alternative models have been developed (BORSAY 2004). For example, HOHENBERG and LEES (198) distinguished between the central place system and the network system as early as 198. Without elaborating on differences and similarities at this point (MÜLLER 2009a in press), I would like to refer to the definition by ROZMAN (1976), who noted: An urban network is a hierarchy of settlements differentiated according Table 1. A comparison between Central Place System and Network System. to population or commercial and administrative functions. Those settlements included in the urban network are called central places and can be distinguished from ordinary villages by the presence of an administrative seat or a periodic market (ROZMAN 1976, 33). The network model, last contrasted with central place theory by SCHENK (2004), exhibits a high dynamic potential and thus is more suitable to describe complex historical processes. Moreover, with the concept of the urban landscape (ESCHER and HIRSCHMANN 200), an idea has been revived which makes it possible to conduct spatial analysis by comparing entire regions with each other and which focuses on similarities from a synchronic as well as a diachronic point of view. Approaches based on actions and agents as have been applied in recent urban research hardly play a role in archaeological investigations. In my opinion, they could, however, serve as a powerful analytical tool, as they connect the micro-sociological with the macro-sociological level. Moreover, they enable us to perform both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis and, using a network model, put special emphasis on interaction. Finally, they do not define (cf. B. Latour) agent solely as a human being but also as entities which make things. Consequently, it is no longer distinguished between human beings and non-human beings as agents, which makes it possible for archaeology to focus on the role of objects. Archaeological and historical research on urban history have proposed a number of criteria in order to delineate the concept of town and to comprehend urban development (STEUER 2007; HEIT 2000, 62ff.). Research in the German-speaking area is still based on the urban sociological studies conducted by G. Simmel (SCHOER 2006, 60ff.). Due to their spatial approach they also lend themselves to archaeological analysis. In the following, the concept of town is described by means of four groups of attributes and spheres of activitiy: The functional sphere of activity regards centrality. The topographical sphere of activity refers to the geographical space, e.g. the density and structure of settlement and development. The formal sphere of activity is concerned with normative-legal aspects. The socio-cultural sphere of activity is expressed by a certain urban lifestyle. 1.1 Alt-Lübeck/Lübeck The city of Lübeck has made its way into literature as the prototype of a medieval planted town. It is considered a typical Hanseatic town (MIHM 2002) and belongs to the group of free imperial cities (JOHANEK 2000). Both Alt-Lübeck and Lübeck have undergone thorough archaeological and historical research (FEHRING 1994; GLÄSER 2001a; 2006; 2008; HAMMEL- KIESOW 200; LEGANT-KARAU 200). The first and the second 118

16 foundation of Lübeck in 1143 (Adolf, Earl of Schauenburg) and 113/9 (Henry the Lion) as well as the establishment of a see (1160), the granting of town charters (1181/88) and of imperial immediacy (1226) are milestones in the development of Lübeck. Its precursor, Alt-Lübeck, is situated almost 2 km away from the mouth of the river Trave on a sandy elevation. During the reign of the Nakonidians Gottschalk (43-66) and his son Heinrich ( ), Alt-Lübeck became the centre of the Obotritic territory (Figure 4). This process involved different phases of rampart strengthening, the emergence of a complex suburbium, the construction of a church which also served as a dynastic burial ground, and the establishment of a mint. Within the enclosure there was a densely built-up area, including the princely chapel and residence, the garrison s quarters and the dwellings of highly specialised artisans as well as ancillary buildings. Its western part housed a settlement of unknown purpose, while the suburbium in the south was inhabited inter alia i.a. by craftsmen. On the right bank of Trave Siedlungsnachweise Siedlungsnachweise m wide Trave. The Lübeck Basin has produced numerous late Slavonic sites. Next to the ford across the river Wakenitz, which was probably in use in Slavonic times, at the northern end of the elevation occupied by the historic city centre, there was a circular late Slavonic stronghold with a suburb (Figure,1). A large number of late Slavonic, sometimes residual, finds have been discovered all over the town area. The construction of a sovereign castle by Adolf II, Earl of Holstein, in 1143/47, under the protection of which a settlement of merchants seems to have evolved, presents an important step in the urban history of Lübeck. The stronghold (Figure,2) consisted of a U-shaped ditch system which opened up to the escarpment of the river Trave in the west and could be passed by a gate in the east. The ramparts and palisades enclosed an area of c. 4,900 m 2, in which a well dating from 11/6 was found. The existence of a landing place west of the stronghold is highly speculative the contemporary settlement probably has to be looked for in the northern part of the peninsula. So far, evidence of the early phase of urban history has come almost exclusively from three different areas in the historic city centre: the fortified area in the north, the elevation on which St Peter s church was erected in later times, and the area between the marketplace/st Mary s, the river Trave as well as Holstenstraße and Mengstraße. This last mentioned area, which later was to become the mercantile quarter, was apparently used for gardening and partly subdivided by fences and drainage ditches (LEGANT-KARAU 200, 84). Despite this evidence and several dendrochronological dates, the picture of the early town remains somewhat vague, not permitting any assertions as to its settlement and building structure and thus to the exact extent of civitas and forum. Whether the dates obtained so far are sufficient to confirm the assumption that urban development started on the western hill spur and expanded across the ridge in the direction of the river Wakenitz (LEGANT-KARAU 200, 83) is open to debate, just as is the localisation of the civitas in the area around St Peter s or the forum in the southwest (HAMMEL- KIESOW 200, 142). In the next phase, Henry the Lion, a nephew of Emperor Lothar and a member of the Guelph dynasty, pursued his own plans, using the new town as a gateway to take control over the southwestern Baltic area. The creation of the so-called Löwenstadt by Henry the Lion in 119 which was in fact a seizure of power rather than a town foundation is a typical example of a sovereign foundation. Henry was not only supported by the clergy, whom he tied to his town by transferring the see from Oldenburg to Lübeck, but probably also relied on two other social groups: the ministeriales and the (long-distance) merchants. The new Lübeck soon began to differentiate into diverse areas. Apart from the castle, which was rebuilt in brick and equipped with turrets from the 1180s (Figure,3), these comprise (Figure 6,1): the cathedral immunity with the living quarters of the bishop and the chapter in the southwest (from 1160), the waterfront along the Trave and the adjoining settle- Schwartau Figure 4. Alt-Lübeck (after GLÄSER 2006). the Trave, situated on a harbour inlet, there appears to have been a settlement of long-distance traders who had their own church a building which has never been traced archaeologically, though. The region north of the enclosed area has not yet been properly investigated, yet. Alt-Lübeck was destroyed by Cruto in 1138 due to internal conflicts amongof the Slavs. This interpretation is confirmed by the archaeological evidence, which does not give any indication of further settlement activities. Now and then, Alt-Lübeck has been classified as a Burgstadt (LECIEJEWICZ 2000b); it was, in any case, a seigneurial centre. The site exhibits a number of features characteristic of a supra-regional centre and shared by places such as Szczecin, Kołobrzeg, Poznań or Kraków. It only never played a lasting role as a princely seat but lost that function when the Obotrites had to give up their western territories. The head of the Hanseatic League, Lübeck, is located approximately 28 km away from the Baltic Sea on the c. 30 to 40 Medebek N 0m 119

17 T r a v e Burg Figure.1. Lübeck, Late Slavonic stronghold. T r a v e Fernhandelsweg Fernhandelsweg 2 Haus D Haus C Haus A Brunnen Haus B Deutsche Burg ab 1143 Siedlung Figure.2. Lübeck, Schauenburg castle around 1143/47. 1 T r a v e 2 Hafen Fernhandelsweg Fernhandelsweg Palasgebäude Figure.3. Lübeck, Guelph castle around ment area west of St Mary s church (from the third quarter of the 12 th century on), an ecclesia forensis (mentioned 1163), which has not been located yet, and St Peter s church (mentioned 1170), the friary of St John, which was established in the eastern part of the peninsula in 1170/7. In addition to these structures, which have been largely verified by archaeological investigations, HAMMEL-KIESOW (200) proposes the existence of a settlement of ministeriales, which he chooses to locate in the southeast. Thus, the civic community, the civitas, appears to have been surrounded by at least three Tor Fernhandelsweg Fernhandelsweg Fernhandelsweg Fernhandelsweg Fernhandelsweg Burgtor W a k e n i t z W a k e n i t z W a k e n i t z settlement components on which the town s lord had a firm hold. The legal status of these very diverse settlement areas, however, remains a debatable issue, just as is the question as to what extent the town charters granted by Frederick I (1181/88) helped to ease the situation (ibid 143f.). Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the expansion of Lübeck was a systematic process: a result of the privilege of 1181/88 (expansion to the south), of the designation of area by the abbot of the friary of St John in 1182 (expansion to the east), and the reclamation of building land along the Trave in the southwest and northwest since the 1180s (Figure 6,2). Archaeological evidence shows that the harbour on the Trave was reorganised. It was no longer the place of a beach market but was reduced to a location for loading and unloading, which meant that trading activities were transferred to the main marketplace and the warehouses in the city. The early beach market of the 12 th century had been situated outside the town wall of the late 12 th century, which enclosed substantial parts of the civitas (Figure 6). The area comprised a revetment constructed around 117 and repaired around 119 as well as several small domestic buildings and storehouses built in timber. The spur on which it was situated was bordered by marshy alluvial terrain to the north and south which probably had been reclaimed by 1188, when the new town charters were granted. Further urban development in the 13 th century may be subsumed under the headings of reclamation of building land and restructuring of the townscape (Figure 6,3). These processes were closely connected with the Danish rule (1202-2), during which the Danish king and the Lübeck merchants became allies with a common objective: the maintenance and expansion of power in the Baltic area via Lübeck. The town was transformed according to an urban master plan which set the frame for structural details and demonstrates that there was a close interaction between communal and seigneurial initiatives. These included large-scale buildings projects, e.g. ecclesiastical buildings such as the cathedral and St Mary s church, the new town wall (around 1217/20) and the town hall (1226) a representation of communal power and the seat of the municipal authority as well as the modification of already existing parts, traced by means of archaeological and architectural research (HAMMEL-KIESOW 200; LEGANT-KARAU 200), and, finally, the reclamation works on the Trave and the upper Wakenitz (GLÄSER 2008). The new town wall, which was constructed during the Danish period in 1217/20, was a demarcation line, both in a concrete and a symbolic sense. Its erection was associated with a transfer of trade from the public beach market into the city centre (see above), where it was controlled by the merchants of Lübeck, which by then had become stationary traders (Figure 7). The Saalgeschossbau Alfstraße 38, a building which was probably started at the same time as the town wall, may be regarded as a visible sign of that process. This multi-storeyed building covers an area of 22 x 12 m, providing an overall space of approximately 00 m

18 Kirchen und Abgrenzung um 1170 Kirchen und Abgrenzung um 1182 Dienstleutesiedlung Stadtmauer 1200 Stadtmauer 1230/40 Steinhäuser Figure 6.1. Lübeck. Schematic representation of urban development: around 1170/80 (after GLÄSER 2004; HAMMEL-KIESOW 200; LEGANT-KARAU 200 ). Figure 6.3. Lübeck. Schematic representation of urban development: around 1230/40 (after HAMMEL-KIESOW 200). Stadtmauer Holzhäuser Landzuwachs Figure 6.2. Lübeck. Schematic representation of urban development: around 1200 (after GLÄSER 2004; HAMMEL-KIESOW 200; LEGANT-KARAU 200 ). It only took a few years to create a built-up area with a diverse though clear structure which was compatible with a commerce-oriented way of life. This went hand in hand with the gradual construction and improvement of an efficient network of longitudinal streets linked by transverse streets, a characteristic feature of Lübeck, and the conversion of the town hall and the marketplace, which became the topographical and constitutional focus of the town. Lübeck should be regarded not so much as the result of individual projects but as the product of different agents with common and divergent aims, dealing with complex situations. While in the 19 th and early 20 th century Lübeck was thought to have been founded as a deliberate act on previously undeveloped land, there is no evidence whatsoever that clearly and reliably supports the idea that the town had been laid out in theory before (GLÄSER 2004). If the foundation of a town is, however, no longer regarded as a unique act but as a process of joint action, a different picture emerges. Then, the foundation of a town may be considered as the reflection of an agreement between different interest groups. This also includes the sovereign s initiative to establish a marketplace and a church. The sovereign s officials and the Freigeborene probably played a considerable role in early urban history (HAMMEL-KIESOW 200). The socially heterogeneous group of the merchants was yet another factor. With all probability, families and merchants of considerable influence and prosperity were also to be found in the northwestern and northern regions (ibid 38-42). Thus it 121

19 T e Aufschüttungsmaßnahme he Eh ig li al ma em ie ni in li rl fer Ehemalige e Uferlinie Stadtmauer Holzhaus C Holzhaus Untertrave 98 Saalgeschoßhaus Holzhaus A Holzhaus B Dielenhaus mit Flügel T r a v e v a r Bohlenweg Tor Tor Alfstraße Stadtmauer Stadtmauer Uferbefestigung Uferbefestigung Uffff ferr fffffffffer rrb rrrrb bee bbef feef f es e s t i g u gng g Ausbesserung Figure 7. Lübeck. Schematic plan of the waterfront, showing features from before 1217/20 (grey) and from around/after 1217/20 (black). seems plausible to assume that these groups did not only try to profit from the foundation and rise of the town but that they actually also played a decisive role in the process itself. Even if the argumentation no longer centres on the final act of the foundation or the founding syndicate proposed by F. Rörig, agents with an extensive knowledge, organised in widespread networks, have to be reckoned with. In this sense, planned actions by which individuals (sovereign, bishop) or a group ( merchants ) taking legal or political decisions determined the development in parts of or in the entire town area also fit into the scene. Within almost less than three generations, Lübeck evolved from a market settlement under sovereign protection into a fully-fledged town with a council and a civic community which was going to bear the title head of the Hanseatic League in literature and which was primarily characterised by the commercial activities of its merchants. As a seaport, Lübeck did indeed play a leading role during the high-medieval colonisation process, a circumstance which is illustrated by the very fact that Lübeck law was adopted by a number of towns on the southern Baltic coast. But Lübeck also represents a special case in that its escape from sovereign authority, which was pursued consistequently and formally legitimised by gaining imperial immediacy, remains a singular phenomenon. 1.2 Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo/Kołobrzeg On the southern Baltic coast, situated in the valley of the river Parsęta, there are two settlement complexes which are comparable to Alt-Lübeck and Lübeck: Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo (Kolberg Old Town) and Kołobrzeg (Figure 8). As in the case of Lübeck, the question as to the relation between the late Slavonic Burgstadt and the high-medieval town arises. The development of the high-medieval town has been presented comprehensively and compared to other sites by RĘBKOWSKI (2001; LECIEJEWICZ and RĘBKOWSKI 2004; RĘBKOWSKI 2008). The settlement complex of Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo was excavated in the 190s and has been discussed in several publications (LECIEJEWICZ 2000a; LECIEJEWICZ 2006). 122

20 1 Gründungsstadt With all probability, Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo has to be regarded as the precursor of Kołobrzeg. The fort with its suburbium is located on the bank of the Parsęta on a low moraine hill which was partly surrounded by lowland, 4 km south of the present coastline. Salt springs at the mouth of the Parsęta are mentioned in documentary sources from later periods. Settlement formation started with an unfortified agglomeration dated to the 8 th /9 th centuries. In the late 9 th or early th century, this was converted into a stronghold which in the third quarter of the th century was strengthened again, covering approximately 1 ha. Dendrochronological dates pointing to the time around 979/86 have been connected with the construction of forts and the consolidation of central power under Mieszko I. From the second half of the 11 th century on, the stronghold was obviously enlarged again, possibly a consequence of growing local power due to the crisis of the Piast dynasty. The enclosed area and the suburbium have produced evidence of specialised craft activities and long-distance trade. They were characterised by buildings with walls of wattle or corner-jointed logs. In the northern base-court, St Mary s church was erected by Otto of Bamberg (112). St John s church, which has been preserved up to the present day, and St Peter s church are of a slightly later date. The few excavation results which have been published so far suggest a Burgstadtkomplex which for a short period also served as a base for missionary work and, according to Gallus Anonymus, Frühmittelalterliches Zentrum Figure 8. Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo and Kołobrzeg. Location of the settlement sites (after RĘBKOWSKI 2001) was the starting point for the formation of an independent state in Pomerania at the beginning of the 12 th century (RĘBKOWSKI 2007). The decline of Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo probably has to be seen within the context of the founding of Kamień, which, as an episcopal see and missionary base, also took over essential functions from both Wolin (WEHNER 2007) and Szczecin. The importance of the Parsęta region is underlined by yet another settlement complex associated with a stronghold. This site is situated c. 1 km south of Kołobrzeg at Bardy-Świelubie at a convenient river crossing. Here, a large earthwork of the Feldberg type was replaced by a small ring-fort at the end of the 9 th /beginning of the th century which has been interpreted as a stronghold of the lesser nobility. The settlement complex probably housed a market and comprises a burial ground with approximately 0 mounds many of which are furnished with grave goods of Scandinavian character. ŁOSIN- SKI (197) has postulated a suburbium of foreign traders next to the ring-fort, while RĘBKOWSKI (2001) and LECIEJEWICZ (2000a) emphasise the outstanding role of Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo. Even though the significance of the two places cannot be assessed with certainty yet, at least Kołobrzeg-Budzistowo seems to have been a high-status central place. If this holds true, the foundation of Kołobrzeg would appear as the natural continuation of a proto-urban phase. According to documentary evidence, Kołobrzeg received its town charters, which were based on Lübeck law, on 23 rd May 12 from the duke of Pomerania and the bishop of Kamień, who remained lord of the town until 131. So far, Kołobrzeg seems to have been founded on previously undeveloped land, with the earliest St. Marien Heiligengeisthospital Figure 9. Kołobrzeg. The high medieval town (after RĘBKOWSKI 2001). 123