4.1 The 3rd century
During the 3rd century AD, typical ’Frisian’ characteristics such as decorated rims (so-called Wellenrand-pots), which had been part of the pottery of the northern-Netherlands since the early pre-Roman Iron Age, disappeared from the repertoire (Taayke 1996, V, 179). The so-called Driesum style (Taayke 1996, V, 180) developed during this period (fig. 2, left column). In Friesland, this style represents the final phase of pottery development. The Driesum-style still has the angular shapes of the middle-Roman Iron Age, but rims get longer and thinner, carinated walls get more rounded. Wide-mouthed as well as narrow-mouthed pots (type Ge6), the latter in smaller numbers, occur. Besides large pots, there are well-finished, funnel-shaped beakers and miniature versions of Ge6 (K6). In northern Drenthe, pots in Driesum-style were used well into the 4th century.
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Figure 2 Overview of pottery types from the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries in the northern Netherlands and northwestern Germany; based on
Taayke 1996
,
Plettke 1921
and
Schmid 2006
. AS: pottery in Anglo-Saxon style; Dr.: types from the typology of northern Drenthe (
Taayke 1996
, II); Gr.: types from the typology of central Groningen (
Taayke 1996
, III). (Drawing: author).
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