Viking age and early medieval pottery in Western Russia

There is much evidence, from ancient written as well as from archaeological sources, for the existence of lively contacts -interchange of goods and ideas - transmitted by boat over the northern part of the Baltic Sea during the Viking Age and the Early Medieval Time. Investigations of some of the most important communities on either side of the sea, the places of departure and landing, Sigtuna on the Swedish coast and Gorodishche/Novgorod on the Russian side have been the focus of the recent ceramological research projects. The present work emphasises the potter's craft and its development through the early medieval centuries at the two Russian sites. The transformation of the pottery craft being influenced by the gradual shift in importance and power from one side of the River Volchov to the other, which is to say from an old site to a new centre, is an essential aspect in this study.