Rethinking early medieval 'productive sites' : wealth, trade and tradition at Little Carlton, East Lindsey

The rising popularity of hobbyist metal detecting has provided early medieval scholars with various important new datasets, not least the concentrations of metalwork commonly known as ‘productive sites’. Awareness of these foci derives almost exclusively from archaeological evidence, yet they continue to be interpreted through a documentary lens, and are frequently labelled ‘monasteries’. Using the recently discovered site of Little Carlton, Lincolnshire, as a case study, it is argued that comprehension of metal-rich sites is significantly furthered by turning to archaeologically-orientated research agendas and terminologies. As a consequence, seventh to ninth-century Little Carlton can be understood as one element of a high status ‘meshwork’ within early medieval East Lindsey, in which elite power was articulated in the landscape through a number of contemporary centres. On site, archaeology indicates the presence of occupation, burial, and craft working, but shows that highly symbolic indigenous practices were taking place too, including intentional deposition into a naturally-occurring pond. Evidence for activity either side of the seventh to ninth centuries also stresses the importance of long-term trajectories in shaping the character of places previously celebrated for their finds-rich phases alone.