Anglo-Saxon style pottery from the northern Netherlands and north-western Germany: fabrics and finish, regional and chronological patterns, and their implications

This paper presents the results of a study of Anglo-Saxon style pottery in the northern Netherlands and north-western Germany, involving macroscopic and microscopic analysis of fabrics and finish. Both regions show similar developments in form and decoration in the pottery of the fourth and fifth centuries AD, the late Roman and Migration period, resulting in the typical decoration and shapes that are known as the Anglo-Saxon style. In the northern
Netherlands, this style is traditionally associated with Anglo-Saxon immigrants. It has, however, been suggested that this style was, rather, part of an indigenous development in areas in the northern Netherlands where occupation was continuous, though influenced by stylistic developments in north-western Germany. That hypothesis is supported by the analysis of fabrics and finish presented here. The characteristic of fabrics and surface treatment indicate
technological continuity. The use of local clay sources for Anglo-Saxon style pottery and for contemporary regional types indicates that most of the Anglo-Saxon style pottery in the northern Netherlands was not brought by Anglo-Saxon immigrants or as imports, but must have been made locally. That applies to settlements with continuous habitation, as well as settlements in the coastal area that were not inhabited during the fourth century AD.