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Summary
Drinking culture in an urban context in Bergen in late medieval and early modern times
The aim of this thesis was to address questions related to drinking culture in an urban context
in late medieval and early modern times, based on an analysis of the archaeological finds
recovered from Room 1 in the medieval Wine Cellar (Vinkjelleren) in Bergen. From the
Wine Cellar, that was a part of the Town Hall, the City Council had royal monopoly on the
wine sale in Bergen, from which they also received profits. The Wine Cellar was in use from
around 1300 until it was torn down in 1651. From 1437, or somewhat earlier, it was leased by
the German Office of the Hanseatic League.
My main focus has been on the pottery, which amount to 2117 finds. These have been
identified and classified based on provenience and fabric characteristics, such as hardness,
colour and decor. My classification shows a large degree of homogeneity in the material, with
German Siegburg stoneware constituting 85 percent of the recorded sherds. This probably
reflects the increasing cultural, economic and political influence from German traders, who
were present in large numbers at the German Office at Bryggen.
The Siegburg stoneware was chosen for further analysis. Compared to the production
site, the type variation turned out to be limited, a possible sign of difference in use. The
Siegburg material also showed few distinctive characteristics, like decor, indicating a lack of
social distinctions in the cups themselves. There is, however, a distinction between the pottery
and the glass material in the Wine Cellar, as the distribution of glass is confined to only one
part of the room. This indicates that the room could have been divided into different zones
and this could perhaps be related to social differentiation.
Furthermore, my analysis determined the relation between the types related to drinking
and the types related to serving respectively, and how these are distributed in time and space.
Drinking vessels dominated throughout the whole period, and their presence increased over
time: from 54 % in the earliest period to 71 percent in the latest. The great number of drinking
vessels, opposed to fewer serving vessels, indicates an increase in the use of individual
drinking vessels as opposed to communal ones, and can be related to an overall trend, where
the society during this period were moving towards a larger degree of individualization.
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