Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.1998, Page 149

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Bergen. After the initial Norwegian
phase the following period is influ-
enced by the German Hanse. Because
Iceland’s 15th century was dominated
by English merchants, this period is
often referred to as the „English cen-
tury“. The most important trading
links with England were with Bristol,
King’s Lynn, Hull, Yarmouth, Ipswich
and London. The following century
also brought about a change in trading
history: Denmark imposed a trrade
monopoly which lasted from 1602
until 1787. A considerable amount of
red earthenware found in Iceland can
be related to this period and may have
found its way through Denmark.
Chapter eight, the last one, suggests
further work needed in Icelandic pot-
tery research: above all the redware has
to be studied in more depth. However
this will be a difficult task since simi-
lar types of redware have been pro-
duced all over Northern Europe. The
author indicates emphatically that in-
tensive cooperation with pottery spe-
cialists in Scandinavia, northern
Germany and Holland is absolutely
fundamental. Scientific discussion
with these areas is needed in order to
draw conclusions about the pottery
found so far. For instance pottery
found in Norway (especially Trond-
heim and Bergen) and Iceland is char-
acterized by a number of correspond-
ing features.
Appendix I deals with thc studies
undertaken by Níels Oskarsson of the
Nordic Volcanological Institute of the
University of Iceland. He analyzed one
chip of pottery by using microscopic
inspections, which involved minera-
logical microscopy, x-ray crystal anal-
ysis (XRD) and chemical analysis
(XRF).
Appendix II describes the results of
the Neutron Activation Analyses
(NAA) carried out by M. J. Hughes
from the Department of Scientific Re-
search of the British Museum. 25
sherds of redware were investigated,
21 of which were discovered in Iceland
and 4 in the area of Ribe. The main
task of this investigation was to
ascertain the approximate origin of the
sherds.
How could the book be of use for
students and scientists? First of all it
provides a general overview about the
pottery found in Iceland. Every single
type of pottery which was discovered
is described and on this basis the book
can be seen as an introduction into this
particular discipline within the field of
medieval and post-medieval archaeol-
ogy. Furthermore the volume offers in-
formation about the archaeological
sites of Iceland. Trading history is
treated as well as attempts to manu-
facture pottery on the island itself. The
publication is well structured and il-
lustrated with tables, coloured pictures
and drawings. The bibliography at the
end of the book is worth mentioning.
It lists supplementary literature deal-
ing with all the types of pottery
mentioned in the text and is therefore
very useful for students.
In my opinion the author met the
requirements of offering the interested
reader a complete handbook about
pottery found in Iceland. For the first
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