Charlemagne and his entourage were constantly moving about. And needed boats and horses.

It has been estimated that Charlemagne and his entourage travelled at least 4884 km in 162 days between 800 and 801. An impressive feat! No wonder, his capitularies show signs of his constant preoccupation with getting the old Roman roads cleaned and repaired and new bridges erected. Nor is it a wonder that he tried to dig a channel between the Rhine and the Donau.

Boats

We don’t possess any fragments of the larger river-boats, which must have paraded up and down the large rivers, but from the Vita of St. Ansgar (AD 824) by Rimbert we possess a description of how the Archbishop in Cologne presented the saint with a river-boat on which there was two cosy cabins on board in order to help him and his companions on their way to Scandinavia. (The story also tells that the Viking, Harold, in whose entourage they were traveling, annexed one of the cabins!) We do however possess precious relics in the form of humble barges. One was found at Kalkar-Niedermörhmter in 1993. It has since been dated to +/- 805. The boat was found to have been carrying chalkstones (building material). It might carry at least 4.5 tons.

The saddle

Another precious find from 2000 is the unique saddle from ‘Gräberfeld Rullstorf, which archaeologists were able to rescue, study and later reconstruct. This was found in a grave from the 8^th century. After careful conservation archaeologists succeeded in reconstructing it demonstrating its use. The frame had been constructed out of maple wood, while the seat itself was made of oxen leather. The seat had been covered with deerskin. The barges and the saddle are exhibited in Aachen 2014. The reconstruction of the saddle has been made by the company Rieser, while the barges have been reconstructed here 

READ MORE:

Auf dem Weg nach Walhall : die Pferde der Altsachsen, Begleiter in Leben und Tod Wilhelm Gebers and I. Becker; Industrie-Museum Lohne ; Hannover: Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, 2004. About the Saxon Horses found at Rulsstors