Helena Hamerow, in 'British Archaeology' (Issue 66, August 2002), writes: "For much of the 20th century, historians and archaeologists believed that the 7th and 8th centuries AD were economically disastrous for Britain and North-West Europe... Anglo-Saxon Southampton - or Hamwic as it was then known - has, more than any other site, helped to reshape our thinking about the fate of long-distance trade and the origins of towns in England during this critical period. It has long been known from written sources that Hamwic was a port and market during the 8th and early 9th centuries. Indeed, we now know that, far from being a 'dark age', this period saw an economic resurgence in Anglo-Saxon England... Hamwic (also known as Hamtun) must have possessed considerable administrative importance, as by the middle of the 8th century it had given its name to the shire - Hamtunscire, that is, Hampshire... Because occupation had shifted by the 10th century to the site of the medieval town of Southampton, mid-Saxon Hamwic, which lay on the west bank of the River Itchen, has remained relatively well preserved... In 1978, the site at Six Dials in the northern part of the settlement provided ... the most informative window yet opened onto Hamwic. Over 60 mid-Saxon buildings were uncovered as well as large numbers of pits containing datable assemblages of finds and animal bones. Six Dials showed conclusively that Hamwic possessed, from the outset, a planned system of well-maintained, gravelled streets as well as defined plots and properties. This was crucial evidence for it implied that the settlement had been created by a centralized authority - presumably the king of Wessex, maybe Ine.  As a result of Six Dials and over 50 other excavations within Hamwic, we now know that the wic was founded in about 700, and possibly somewhat earlier, it occupied at least 100 acres (42 ha), and is likely to have had a population of 2,000-3,000. This new type of settlement - so different in size, appearance and function from the farms and monasteries of the period - must have been perceived by contemporaries as a radical innovation, although whether its founder thought he was establishing a 'town' remains a moot point... The evidence which Hamwic yielded for long-distance and regional trade also set it apart. Its wide-ranging trade contacts with the Continent as well as other parts of England are reflected by the provenance of the many coins found there, and by imported goods. Most prominent among these are quernstones from the Rhineland, Frankish glass and pottery. Some 18 per cent of the excavated pottery had been imported from abroad, especially from northern France, the Rhineland and the Low Countries, although some was almost certainly brought by the traders for their own use... it is difficult to define Hamwic's trade connections with any precision, particularly as most of the exports known from written sources to have left England in this period - such as hunting dogs, wool, cloth, hides and slaves - have left no archaeological trace.  Many different crafts were practiced at Hamwic, including metalworking, textile production, bone and antler working, and glass working. We can perhaps assume that much of this production served the needs of the local community. Some items, however, must have been marketed more widely. Hamwic was certainly well connected by road and river to its hinterland and, of course, to Winchester... The archaeology indicates that by the mid-9th century, like other English wics, Hamwic was in severe decline, almost certainly caused by the disruptive impact of Viking raiding on long-distance trade and the vulnerability of an undefended riverside site. By the 10th century, Hamwic had been largely abandoned in favour of a site a short distance to the south-west, where a defended settlement was established... Work at Hamwic continues. The most recent excavations on the site of Southampton Football Club's new stadium have uncovered richly-furnished 7th century burials containing weaponry and gold jewellery (BA August 2000) possibly associated with a royal 'vill' or settlement at the north-eastern edge of the wic. These suggest that the date of the founding of Hamwic may need to be pushed back to before 700, thus corresponding more closely with the founding of the wics at London and Ipswich."