Early Glazed Ware from Medieval Denmark

A number of sherds of glazed pottery of late 1 Oth- or early 11 th-century date have been found at Lund, Sweden, and Lejre, on the island of Sealand, Denmark. Petrological analysis of a sample of these sherds shows that they are extremely similar in their petrological characteristics to locally-produced Baltic wares. However, the methods of manufacture and the range of forms found shows no local influence whatever. It is suggested that these vessels were the products of a short-lived pottery industry set up in the kingdom of Denmark in the later 10th or early 11th century by an immigrant potter. Comparison of the technical characteristics of the pottery with those of contemporaneous western European wares suggests that this immigrant potter came from England, and most probably from Stamford, Lincolnshire.