Legacy of the disowned: Findings ambátts in High Medieval Scania and Östergötland through ceramic production

The existence of slavery in Viking-Age and high medieval Scandinavia is accepted as a fact. Law codes, literary sources and some few burials vouch for that. It is, however, more complicated to ascertain regional differences in the use of slaves, their ethnic identities and geographical distribution, as well as changes in the intensity of their exploitation over time. A new source, household pottery produced from the tenth to the thirteenth century, can shed some light on these questions. This paper suggests that the production of household pottery in Scandinavia was a task for individuals in bondage and interprets it as a female chore, taught from generation to generation through tacit knowledge. Thus, pottery styles can reveal ethnic and cultural affiliations of the producers. The chronological and geographical distribution of foreign ceramic traditions indicates the origin of the slaves, or ambátts, as the female thralls were called. During the period of agrarian expansion from the late tenth to mid-twelfth century thralls became vital for manors in Scania. Political upheavals in the Polabian area (settled by western Slavs, to the north of the river Elbe) from 983 to mid-eleventh century resulted in the transfer of people from the island of Rügen and its hinterland to eastern Denmark (i.e. Scania). Agrarian expansion and the availability of labourers not only created an opportunity to increase arable land, but also introduced a new group of female pottery producers into the Scanian households. Their transfer to and settlement in Scania took place rapidly and on a large scale, judging from the very short introduction phase for late Slavic pottery and the absence of hybrid forms between this tradition and the local Scandinavian ware. Late Slavic ware became a Scanian cultural trait after only one generation; this tradition is today called ‘Baltic ware’, as it was produced outside the Slavic area by an increasing number of local potters. After the mid-eleventh century, direct transmission ceased due to stylistic drift between vessel forms in Scania and Polabia. Baltic ware continued, however, to be used in Scania until c. 1200 ad.