Post-Roman Britain discoveries.

[svalbard]

Tintagel excavations reveal refined tastes of medieval settlers

It looks like Britain post Roman rule was not as isolated or forgotten as was once thought. Localised societies seemed to have flourished for a time.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Especially when you're sat on one of the only significant deposits of tin in northern Europe.

 

[Dave]

As Brian says, if you have Tin and Copper then people will come to you with all kinds of things to trade in exchange. Oysters weren't rare though; they were food for the poor until pollution reduced their numbers.

Having said that, the main thrust of that article, that people traded much further afield than was once thought, is sound. Mediterranean pottery is often found in Cornish digs. They have just found a statue of Buddha in a Viking grave in Sweden, and Islamic rings have been found there before so Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead is not so far-fetched.