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.

Possible indirect indications of trade is the blossoming of coastal sites during the seventh century along the coasts of southern Scandinavia. They are best known from the province of Scania (southern Sweden and the island of Gotland. Some of these sites have produced workshop debris, from craft production, and trade technical finds (Callmer 1982 136,1989, Carlsson 1987). An example, of this type of site is a coastal settlement at Östra Torp on the Scanian south coast which yielded finds of moulds and a pair of scales (unpublished excavation by B. Jacobsson UV Syd; cf Stjernquist 1988). Indications of long distance trade connections are in the seventh century with few exceptions only indications of contacts with Western Europe (cf Koch 1974, Holmquist 1976 154 with cited literature). A small number of finds from Finland show that traditional contacts with northeastern Europe continued. It is however not likely that these contacts were of trade character (Kivikoski 1964186 and note 25) A special problem is the occurrence ofCyprea shells and beads made of parts of these shells. Shells ofCyprea pantherina and beads made of parts of these shells occur on Gotland especially in the seventh century (Trotzig 1988). Later occurrences - even in a few cases in Viking Period context-may be explained as old pieces inherited or otherwise transferred over the generations. Shells of Cyprea pantherina and Cyprea tigris are found quite frequently in rich women's graves in France, Germany and even England during the fifth to seventh centuries. The finds on Gotland are to be understood as connected with this inflow to western Europe via the Mediterranean (Voigt 1952). The import of Coptic metal vessels in the same period to Western Europe may have been closely relared to this import of shells. Cowries, Cyprea moneta occurring in Latvian graves from the eighth century on probably poses another problem and must be understood in another way (Mugurevic 1962). These finds have been made only in graves in the eastern part of Latvia and not in the parts which belong to the coastal zone of the Baltic. The occurrence of Cyprea moneta must be understood as a phenomenon connected with close contacts between Eastern Latvia and the Upper Dniepr Basin. Hoards dating to the eighth century found in the Dniepr Basin have yielded cowries (e. g. Berezovec 1952). It is interesting to note that the Cyprea pantherina and Cyprea tigris have their natural habitat in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden where as the Cyprea moneta stems above all from the waters around the Maldives, further east. Although closely related they must be connected with quite different trade connections. Much stronger indications for long distance trade connections with Western Europe have been documented for the eighth century than for the seventh. Of great importance have been the excavation results from Ribe in Southwestern Denmark. Here a seasonally occupied trading site with very close connection with Western Europe especially with the Lower Rhine Area and Frisia begins in the first quarter of the eighth century. Probably this is one of the main points of inflow of trade material from the West to Scandinavia and the Baltic region (Bencard 1979, Frandsen & Jensen 1987). Ribe is also without doubt economically well integrated with Frisia and the Rhine Estuary. A proof of this are the numerous finds of sceattas, i. e. Westeuropean silver pennies in Ribe (Bendixen 1981). A number of important sites in the Baltic region show us that a fairly efficient trade network led further to the northeast (Callmer 1989). These sites we find both on the coasts of 21