Craft and industrial production
Adriaan Verhulst
As distinct from the situation in Merovingian times, when some of artisanal and industrial activities dealt with hereafter took place mostly an urban context, Carolingian Europe textiles, tools, weapons other iron wooden objects, glass, pottery salt were manufactured predominantly a rural manorial context. The best documented exception to this location is quarter, sometimes arranged as small town (vicus), annexed or integrated big abbeys, like Corbie, St Riquier, Gall San Vincenzo al Volturno. Manual workers diverse specialities such leather-working, metal-working smiths weaponmakers, woodturners wood-workers fur-makers had provide for needs very large abbey communities. On famous groundplan (c. 825–30), workshop various crafts depicted together brewery, mills, officina fullers workshops. In Riquier settlement consisted districts streets (vici) where artisans lived grouped by speciality. Even though seem have been more independent than numerous unskilled provendarii that near well, they did fact belong unfree half-free familia abbey. It therefore questionable whether worked their own benefit. At Volturno, not far east Monte Cassino on border Lombard Beneventan territories, recent excavations Richard Hodges brought light existence during one generation, up 820s, builders' yard, tiles basilica roof well floors roofs buildings made.
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