Settlement Development in the Shadow of Coastal Changes – Case Studies from the Baltic Rim - The Baltic Sea Basin - page 328

Fig. 15.15 Distribution of early trading centres of the eighth until the tenth century AD at the
Baltic Rim (Graphic: H. Dieterich, Kiel)
One of the oldest trading centres in the Baltic area was at Groß Strömkendorf
on the shore of the Wismar Bight, only a few kilometers south-east of the above-
mentioned Mesolithic and Neolithic sites to the west of Poel island. This site
was occupied from the early eighth until the beginning of the ninth century AD
and is presumably identical with the emporium reric mentioned in the Frankish
annals (Jöns 1999 ). The site's waterfront is of special interest in the discussion of
shore displacement in the area of the Wismar Bight. Geological and geophysical
investigations have proved that the harbour was located in a long stretched-out bay
that had been washed out by meltwater in the deglaciation phase (Fig. 15.16 ). In
Fig. 15.16 Scenario of the
Wismar Bight in the early
Medieval period (designed by
the author, based on a model
by M. Meyer, IOW)