The term 'emporia' is applied to trading settlements which emerged in north-western Europe in the sixth to seventh centuries, and persisted into the ninth century. Also known in English as 'wics', the emporia are characterised by their peripheral locations, usually on the shore at the edge of a kingdom, their lack of infrastructure (typically they contained no churches) and their short-lived nature, since by the year 1000, the emporia had been replaced by the revival of European towns. Examples of emporia include Dorestad

Dorestad

In the Early Middle Ages, Dorestad was the largest settlement of northwestern Europe. It was a large, flourishing trading place, three kilometers long, situated where the rivers Rhine and Lek diverge southeast of Utrecht in the Netherlands near the modern town of Wijk bij Duurstede...

, Quentovic, Gipeswic, Hamwic, and Lundenwic (for which see Anglo-Saxon London

Anglo-Saxon London

This article deals with the history of London during the Anglo-Saxon period, from the ending of the Roman period in the 5th century to the Norman invasion in 1066.-Lundenwic:...

. Their role in the economic history of western Europe remains debated. Their most famous exponent has been the British archaeologist Richard Hodges.