Emporium (early medieval)

Also known in English as wics, they were characterised by their peripheral locations, usually on the shore at the edge of a kingdom, their lack of infrastructure (containing no churches) and their short-lived nature.

By 1000, the emporia had been replaced by the revival of European towns.

Examples include Dorestad, Quentovic, Gipeswic, Hamwic, and Lundenwic (for which see Anglo-Saxon London) at the North Sea, as well as Haithabu, Jumne and Truso on the Baltic Sea.

Their role in the economic history of Western Europe remains debated[how?].

Their most famous exponent has been the British archaeologist Richard Hodges.