Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Wosinszky Mór Múzeum Évkönyve 15. (Szekszárd, 1990)

Handelsbeziehungen - Johann Callmer: The beginning of the Easteuropean trade connections of Scandinavia and the Baltic Region in the eighth and ninth centuries A. D.

Southern Scandinavia and along the Southern coast of the Baltic. Most telling in this connections is the non permanent trading site at Âhus, Scania, also with sceatta finds like in Ribe and also many other close parallells. Other examples are Paviken on Gotland and the late phase on Helgö in Middle Sweden. Glass, pottery, (with wine and salt?) textiles, metal and high quality weapons were traded to the Baltic region from Western Europe (cf Arbman 1937). It could be argued that the seventh century long distance trade of the Baltic more actively was connected with the Scandinavian Peninsula then the eighth century bringsabout a changed picture. Also the Southern coast as already pointed out and the Eastern coast of the Baltic becomes directly or indirectly involved in the trade with the West (cf Herrman 1989, Filipowiak 1987, Latvijas PSR archeologija 1974, Eesti esiajalugu 1982 252). Trading places like Ralswiek (Herrman 1984), Menzlin (Schoknecht 1977) and Wolin (Filipowiak 1987) begin already in the eighth century. Western trade material, especially high quality weapons make their occurrence in areas inhabited by the Baits (Kunciene 1972 206f, 210 f; c. f. Antejn 1973) and also in the northeast in Estonia and Finland (Tallgren 1923, Salmo 1938). During the eighth century contacts with eastern Europe become more and more accentuated and regular. This development of eastern contacts in the eighth century can be studied under three different aspects. The first aspect is closely related to the traditional eastern contacts of Finland with Northeastern Europe. During the eighth century a by now considerable number of ornamental belts Brody-Nevolino type reached Finland (Callmer 1980 209 with map and later unpublished additions) (Figl). The number of finds which now is 19 strongly suggests that this link with the East represents something more than a low frequency transfer by exchange from the east. The belts which are female attributes in Eastern Europe are appearing as high status male attributes in Finland (cf Meinander 1973 149-150). There is also one find of a belt of this type in a rich mans burial on the Swedish side. This observation makes it most unprobable that these belts were brought to Finland as a result of actual visits by Finns to the East. In addition to these belts there are also a few finds, especially some types of beads which further strengthen this connection with the Volga-Kama region (beads of type B 751 and cylindrical Bbeads with protrudingeyes, see Callmer 1977 46, 143). The second aspect on connections of the Baltic

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with the East is the special position of the population of the Aland Islands. The Aland Islands are situated in the north center of the Baltic at the mouth of the Bothnian, the Gulf of Finnland and the mouth of Lake Mälaren. The Scandinavian population on the Aland Islands develops a graveritual in the seventh century already which among other details also comprises paws of burnt clay which by zoologists have been identified as depicting bear paws and more often as beaver paws (Kivikoski 1934,1965, Fechner 1963). Both these animals have never been numerous on the islands and it can be suggested that the contact with these economically important animals must have taken place on the Finnisch-Estonian Mainland or further east (Callmer 1988 104f). The contacts of the Álanders with western Finland can on the basis of the ceramic material be shown to be very intimate (Callmer 1982 A). Intermarriage can also be proven in the grave material (Kivikoski 1963 127f). There are also a number of finds on Aland which show us that there were also contacts in the eighth century as far as the Volga-Oka area (cf Rozenfeldt 1982 72, Kivikoski 1947 22