Using the example of pottery imported into the Channel ports of southern England, an approach to examining the role of pottery in the emergence and mediation of coastal communities is proposed here. Building on recent scholarship, it is argued that it is no longer tenable to see pottery as a carrier of identity, or as part of a ‘cultural package’, with meaning emerging with identity as people interact with pottery within and without port environments. The study proposes that imported pottery found meaning in different ways, depending on the context of acquisition and use. Hence it mediated different forms of community and identity. The article ends with a consideration of the wider implications of this approach for ongoing studies of material culture, trade, and urban identities in medieval Europe.

中文翻译：

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中世纪（十二至十四世纪）欧洲的陶瓷与沿海社区：英格兰海峡港口的身份协商

以进口到英格兰南部海峡港口的陶器为例，本文提出了一种研究陶器在沿海社区出现和调解中的作用的方法。在最近的学术研究的基础上，有人认为，将陶器视为身份的载体或“文化包”的一部分，随着人们在港口环境内外与陶器的互动，其意义随着身份的出现而出现，这一点不再站得住脚。该研究提出，进口陶器以不同的方式发现意义，具体取决于获取和使用的背景。因此，它调解了不同形式的社区和身份。文章最后考虑了这种方法对中世纪欧洲物质文化、贸易和城市身份的持续研究的更广泛影响。