ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the context of the hoards is extended to Bornholm and the Baltic Sea region. Trends and changes are discussed and related to other archaeological objects from Bornholm and compared to the development in the areas surrounding the Baltic Sea. It is discussed whether the owners of the hoards were active participants in the outlined developments. A prominent theme is whether the hoard sites reflect continuity or rupture, and if the same actors (families/areas) initiate the various changes on Bornholm, or if new actors on the island generate the changes. It is investigated whether the shifts in the structure and deposition of the hoards may be conditioned and/or influenced by contacts with the outside world. The discussion draws on Bourdieu’s concept of capital and investigates the agency of hoards in the economic, social, cultural, and symbolic fields. The power structure of the island is examined, and it is documented that the distribution of early Samanid dirhams reflects an elite network across the island where women played an important role in the network and in the distribution of dirhams. It is argued that it was the same people among the elite of Bornholm who imported dirhams and early German coins. In contrast, the acquisition of silver through participation in raids in England seems to have created the basis for a new elite structure and thus affected social mobility on Bornholm. An increase in the number of hoards deposited late in the tenth century is investigated in relation to the trade system of Bornholm and trade relations in the Baltic Sea region. The two prevailing theories of war versus peace, and paganism versus Christianity, are discussed as possible reasons for a decline in the number of hoards deposited from the mid-1000s. Economic stagnation is presented as an alternative cause for the decline.
