Archaeology - Badorf Pottery
One of the most important trade goods in the Carolingian era was turned
pottery. There must have been an extensive pottery industry, especially
in the Rhineland near Cologne and Bonn. This industry supplied 80 to 90%
of the pottery needs of the lowlands. The pots were very much in demand
as stockpots or cooking pots and, through almost all of the Netherlands
where finds from the Carolingian period have been made, large numbers of
shards from this type of pottery have been found. Due to the discovery
of an oven complex near Badorf, this type of pottery is generally named
Badorf pottery. Besides its shape, the light yellow colour is also characteristic.
Badorf pottery is categorized into three types, based on exterior features.
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The most important types of Badorf pottery |
| Badorf Type II |
Badorf Type III |
Badorf Type IV |
The potshards that were found with both Westerklief Viking treasures
were of the Badorf type (type III and type IV, respectively, for the first
and second treasure).
The vast majority of Carolingian potshards in the Netherlands have been
found near Dorestad and Deventer. This is not too surprising, as these
cities were both important trade centres, with river harbour access. Large
lots of Badorf pottery were probably brought to these centres in ships.
From there, they spread further through the Frisian realm via trade routes.
Last updated: 17 August 2000