Gipeswic

Gipeswic. An Anglo-Saxon Port and Town. Welcome to Ipswich, founded over 1,000 years ago by the Kings of East Anglia., Modern Ipswich was built over the top of an Anglo-Saxon town called Gipeswic, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in England., In the 7th century, Ipswich started life as a trading colony when it was an arrival point for merchants from the Continent on their way to trade with the local aristocracy at settlements like Rendlesham., In the early 8th century, it became the first town in the East Anglian Kingdom and it rapidly grew to cover 50 hectares - the area of 70 football pitches. Much of the street system of the 8th-century town has survived in the present day town centre., The 8th-century Town , The 8th-century town was an international port craft production centre and market. Wine and millstones were imported from the Rhineland and wool and cloth were exported to mainland Europe. Craft production included bone, antler. metal and leather working textile manufacture, and a unique form of pottery., Craft Production , Pottery was mass-produced in Ipswich and distributed throughout eastern England. It was unique and is now known as Ipswich ware. Archaeologists have also found one of the largest and finest collections of antler and bone objects yet recovered from this country in Ipswich., Viking Occupation , Ipswich continued to thrive during the Danish (Viking) occupation in the late 9th century and remained in the top ten most important towns in England until the Norman conquest. By the middle of the 12th century, Ipswich had competition from other towns in Suffolk and East Anglia.