Die Rolle der nordfriesischen Inseln im frühmittelalterlichen Kommunikationsnetzwerk

As late as the beginning of this century, the question discussed in this publication – the role of the North Frisian islands within Early Medieval trading networks – could not have been answered in any detail. When a hoard of 87 denarii and sceattas, deposited together with a few shards of Frankish glasses, fragments of basaltic lava from Mayen and sherds of wheelthrown Ribe ware, was discovered in the area of Goting cliff in 1976, it indicated that trading vessels must have repeatedly visited the islands of Amrum, Föhr and Sylt between the 8th and 11th centuries. However, the social importance of trade and its organisation remained subject to speculation. It is only the systematic analysis of aerial survey data, initiated in 2006, which in combination with large-scale geophysical work led to the discovery of several well-preserved settlements. These were first investigated in the course of rescue excavations and later in much more detail as part of the “North Sea Harbours” project, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. This yielded an exceptionally diverse and high-quality set of fi nds and features, thus providing the perfect opportunity for re-writing the Early Medieval settlement and economic history of the North Frisian islands. This task has been tackled by Bente Sven Majchczack, who not only directed several of the excavations, but also grew up on the island of Föhr. The results of his investigations were accepted as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Rostock and are presented in this volume. Noch zu Beginn dieses Jahrhunderts hätte die in der vorliegenden Publikation diskutierte Frage nach der Rolle der nordfriesischen Inseln innerhalb der frühmittelalterlichen Handelsnetzwerke kaum eine fundierte Antwort zugelassen. Zwar hatte ein 1976 im Bereich des Goting Kliffs entdecktes Depot von 87 Denaren und Sceattas gemeinsam mit einzelnen Fragmenten fränkischer Gläser, Bruchstücken Mayener Basaltlava oder Scherben von Ribe-Drehscheibenware vermuten lassen, dass die Inseln Amrum, Föhr und Sylt zwischen dem 8. und 11. Jh. immer wieder von Handelsschiffen angesteuert worden waren. Welche gesellschaftliche Bedeutung der Handel besaß und wie er organisiert war, ließ sich hingegen nur erahnen. Erst eine systematische Luftbildprospektion ab 2006 führte gemeinsam mit großflächigen geomagnetischen Messungen zur Entdeckung mehrerer gut erhaltener Siedlungsplätze, die zunächst im Rahmen von baubedingten Rettungsgrabungen und schließlich innerhalb des von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft geförderten Projekts „Nordseehäfen“ detailliert untersucht werden konnten. Auf diese Weise ist ein überaus qualitätvolles und vielfältiges Befundmaterial und Fundmaterial erschlossen worden, das optimale Voraussetzungen dafür bot, die frühmittelalterliche Besiedlungsgeschichte und Wirtschaftsgeschichte der nordfriesischen Inseln neu zu schreiben. Diese Aufgabe hat Bente Sven Majchczack übernommen, der nicht nur einen Teil der Ausgrabungen selbst geleitet hat, sondern auch auf der Insel Föhr aufgewachsen ist. Seine Untersuchungsergebnisse wurden an der Universität Rostock als Dissertation angenommen und werden mit den vorliegenden Bänden präsentiert.

As late as the beginning of this century, the question discussed in this publication – the role of the North Frisian islands within Early Medieval trading networks – could not have been answered in any detail. When a hoard of 87 denarii and sceattas, deposited together with a few shards of Frankish glasses, fragments of basaltic lava from Mayen and sherds of wheelthrown Ribe ware, was discovered in the area of Goting cliff in 1976, it indicated that trading vessels must have repeatedly visited the islands of Amrum, Föhr and Sylt between the 8th and 11th centuries. However, the social importance of trade and its organisation remained subject to speculation. It is only the systematic analysis of aerial survey data, initiated in 2006, which in combination with large-scale geophysical work led to the discovery of several well-preserved settlements. These were first investigated in the course of rescue excavations and later in much more detail as part of the “North Sea Harbours” project, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. This yielded an exceptionally diverse and high-quality set of fi nds and features, thus providing the perfect opportunity for re-writing the Early Medieval settlement and economic history of the North Frisian islands. This task has been tackled by Bente Sven Majchczack, who not only directed several of the excavations, but also grew up on the island of Föhr. The results of his investigations were accepted as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Rostock and are presented in this volume.