4 - ‘All quiet on the Western Front?’ The Western Netherlands and the ‘North Sea Culture’ in the Migration Period

Summary

For a long time, the only claim the western Netherlands had to participation in the 5th-century adventus Saxonum was based upon a handful of Anglo-Saxon pots in three cemeteries in the Rhine estuary. Recent research, however, dates these pots to the 6th century, thus beyond the initial period of migrations from Old Saxony (Niedersachsen) to Britain. Together with other differences in material culture, this clearly reveals a contrast to developments in the terpen area of Friesland and Groningen. The internal partition in the Lex Frisionum into three parts also points to regional differences (see further Knol and IJssenagger, and Nijdam, this vol.). Even within the region of West Frisia, the modern provinces of North and South Holland, regular archaeological distinctions can be found. Bazelmans (2009, 332–3) has already pointed to the fragmented ethnicity the different coastal regions must have had, following the crisis in habitation they all went through between the late 3rd and early 6th century ad.

At the same time there were some shared characteristics in the Frisian coastal region, such as brooches of the Domburg Type (Deckers, this vol.). How does this all add up to a coherent picture of the habitation history of the Dutch west coast in the Migration Period? In this paper a general outline is presented of the recent research of both authors as part of the former ‘Frisia Project’, taking an interdisciplinary approach (Dijkstra and van der Velde 2011; Dijkstra 2011; de Koning 2003; 2012).

An introductory warning about geographical terminology is required, however. In German studies present-day Friesland is called ‘West Frisia’, to distinguish it from the German East and North Frisia (e.g. Bos 2001, 490 and map 1). This is confusing, because in the Early Middle Ages the littoral of the western Netherlands was known as Frisia as well, and its inhabitants as Fresiones or Fresiones occidentales (West Frisians). The name Holland did not come into regular use until c. 1100, reserving the name West-Friesland for the northernmost part of Holland until the present day (Blok 1969). Consequently we prefer to refer to modern Friesland as Middle Frisia (Fig. 4.1).