Settlement, Economy, and the 'Productive' Site: Middle Anglo-Saxon Lincolnshire A.D. 650-780

Abstract

The surge in metal-detecting over the last twenty years, although highly controversial and problematic in its nature, has led to an unprecedented explosion of new material for the Middle Saxon Period. A first assessment of these finds in Lincolnshire illustrates not only the outstanding value of this new material for the closer understanding of the Middle Saxon economy and trade, but also enables a wide range of previously unknown 'productive' sites to be identified. Although increasingly noted from other areas, mainly along the eastern and southern coasts of Britain, the nature of these sites is still little understood. Set into the context of the natural landscape, settlement, and wealth, this study identifies common characteristics and functions of 'productive' sites) and explores their economic role in Middle Saxon Lincolnshire. Incorporating evidence from hitherto neglected Continental written sources, theories are developed as to the nature and development of 'productive' sites, and their origins and evolution, which, it is argued, will probably have to be sought in the context of the ultimate success of Christianity and the structuring influence of the evolving church.