| Abstract | Paper -a:
This paper will discuss the scale of technological innovation in major high-output ore-resourcing and metalworking installations situated near the borders of ferritic zones in late Merovingian and early Carolingian contexts. The archaeology of specialised innovations in non-ferrous and bloomery steel products in Lorraine, Alsace, the Swiss Jura, and Brittany (case studies from Sermerheim, Develier-Courtételle, Pratz Le Curtillet, Locminé, and Bignan in Morbihan set in comparison to the well-researched metalworking sites of Ludres) will illustrate the diverse practices and individual technological solutions within early medieval metalworking processes at different scales. Circulation and movement of people, products, and similarities in their technological cultures will be explored as also internal organisation of workshops, the social roles of artisans, and a generalised scale of metalworking production in Francia during this period.
Paper -b:
There is currently no settled understanding of the nature and function of local boundaries and units in Scotland before 1100. It is clear that kindreds were important in the kingdom of Alba (of the Scots), with power shifting at regional and local levels between different kindreds, each with their own landholdings. However, sub-parish units such as the davoch may indicate continuity from the preceding Pictish period. This paper uses case studies of Rhynie and Burghead, both important Pictish centres, and their surrounding areas, combining place-name, textual, and archaeological evidence to consider issues with identifying early boundaries, and to suggest that some units from early medieval Scotland can be reconstructed.
Paper -c:
From the 11th century onwards, a new kind of economy developed in which cities, industrial production, and direct maritime trade played a major role, increasing the importance of the coastal region of Flanders, amongst others. Besides official correspondence concerning specific trade disputes and narrative sources, it is hard to find documents that reveal the real scope and nature of this transition in Flanders. However, 12th-century toll tariffs, sources generated by state officials responsible for levying taxes on goods, provide one way to help us better understand high medieval commercial change and development in this region. Using a comparative approach, this paper thoroughly examines form and content of the Arras, Letterswerve, Nieuwpoort, and Saint-Omer tariffs, as a case to study this phenomenon.
|
|---|
