The German Ocean examines archaeological and historical evidence for
the development of economies and societies around the North Sea from the
beginning of the twelfth century until the mid sixteenth century. It
draws in material from Scandinavia to Normandy and from Scotland to the
Thames estuary. While largely concerned with the North Sea littoral,
when necessary it takes account of adjacent areas such as the Baltic or
inland hinterlands.
The North Sea is often perceived as a great divide, divorcing the
British Isles from continental Europe. In cultural terms, however, it
has always acted more as a lake, supporting communities around its
fringes which have frequently had much in common. This is especially
true of the medieval period when trade links, fostered in the two
centuries prior to 1100, expanded in the 12th and 13th centuries to
ensure the development of maritime societies whose material culture was
often more remarkable for its similarity across distance than for its
diversity.
Geography, access to raw materials and political expediency could
nevertheless combine to provide distinctive regional variations.
Economies developed more rapidly in some areas than others; local
solutions to problems produced urban and rural environments of different
aspect; the growth, and sometimes decline, of towns and ports was often
dictated by local as much as wider factors.
This book explores evidence for this 'diverse commonality' through the
historic environment of the North Sea region with the intention that it
will be of interest not only to historians and archaeologists but to
those who live and work within the historic environment. This
environment is a common European resource with much to contribute to a
sustainable future - the book provides an archaeological contribution to
the understanding of that resource.
