The origins of King's Lynn? Control of wealth on the Wash prior to the Norman Conquest

This paper investigates the archaeology and history of 'productive' sites, estate centres and towns between A.D. 600 and 1100 in north-western East Anglia. Whilst it concentrates on a specific sub-region (NW. Norfolk), an argument is developed on the nature of the relationship between archaeological assemblages and administrative structures that can be applied more widely for this period. In particular, the nature of 'productive' sites is discussed, and it is suggested that these places were centres of estate administration and tax collection. The later history of 'productive' sites in western Norfolk is then examined, focusing on the effect that the Viking wars and subsequent (short-lived) Danish rule may have had on them. How this background may have affected the decision by Herbert de Losinga (first Bishop of Norwich) to site a priory, port and new town at Lynn is then explored.