

Neue Erkenntnisse zum Schifffahrtskanal Karls des Großen’, in K. Special Issue Fossa Carolina (Munich, 1993) and R. Leininger (eds), Der Karlsgraben – Ergebnisse neuer Erkundungen. The earlier archaeological research is summed up in R. Bauliche Konzepte, herrschaftliche und religiöse Einflüsse, RGZM Tagungen 22 (Mainz, 2015), pp. Neue Befunde zu Verlauf, wasserbaulichem Konzept und Verlandung des Karlsgrabens’, in T. They also allow for a re-reading of different versions of the Carolingian Annals.įor the results of the excavation in 2013 cf. Archaeological excavations in 20 have shed new light on Charlemagne’s canal. Beck, Der Karlsgraben: eine historische, topographische und kritische Abhandlung (Nürnberg, 1911). The most important and comprehensive early work is F. Gonzalez Salinero (eds), Academica Libertas: Essais en l’honneur du professeur Javier Arce – Ensayos en honor del profesor Javier Arce (Turnhout, 2020), pp. Nelson, ‘Charlemagne’s fossatum magnum: Another Look’, in D. Hack, ‘Der Bau des Karlsgrabens nach den Schriftquellen’, in P. The best starting points for historical research on the canal are now A.T. ĭespite comparatively detailed information in the Carolingian Annals as well as a lot of (geo-)archaeological work, fundamental questions such as the chronology and the setting of the canal are still in discussion. Remains of the canal in the village of Graben (Photo L. Zielhofer, ‘Fossa Carolina / Karlsgraben’, in Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, published, Classical inspiration may have been behind the idea that to use this kind of watertight revetment was feasible. der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Archäologie des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit 29 (2016), pp. Werther, ‘Großbaustelle Karlsgraben: Eine Chaîne opératoire für den Umgang mit der Ressource Holz in der Karolingerzeit’, Mitt. The banks of the navigable fairway, which had a clear diameter of c.5.2–5.6 m, were stabilized by wooden timbering which had been hammered down into the sandy subsurface. Ettel, ‘Charlemagne’s Summit Canal: An Early Medieval Hydro-engineering Project for Passing the Central European Watershed’, PLoS One 9.9 (2014), Therefore, it is a connection canal with an advanced hydrological concept. The altitude difference between the Altmühl River and the watershed lies at c.13 m and drillings indicate that the canal was constructed as a stepped chain of ponds with a summit level. The Former Topography at Charlemagne's Canal Construction Site’, PloS One (2018),, pp. Zielhofer, ‘Shaping Pre-modern Digital Terrain Models. The s-shaped canal course has been carefully surveyed in order to minimize earthmoving. Schneider, ‘Der Karlsgraben im Fokus der Geophysik’, in Ettel et al. Survey of the Missing Southern Canal Connection of the Fossa Carolina (SW Germany)’, Quaternary International 473 (2017). Ettel, ‘A Multidisciplinary Approach in Wetland Geoarchaeology. The total length of the ditch with clear proof for digging is about 3 km.Ī. Forschungen am Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseum 11 (Mainz, 2014), pp. Das Kanalprojekt Karls des Großen zwischen Rhein und Donau. Werther, ‘Das rezente Erscheinungsbild des Karlsgrabens’, in P. The archaeological remains of Charlemagne’s canal are still visible between the rivers Altmühl and Rezat south of the modern town of Nuremberg (Bavaria) (Fig.
#Opus domini priority series#
Blair (ed.), Waterways and Canal-Building in Medieval England, Medieval History and Archaeology Series (Oxford, 2007), pp.

Bond, ‘Canal Construction in the Early Middle Ages: An Introductory Review’, in J. Archaeology + History + Geosciences, RGZM Tagungen 34 (Mainz, 2018), pp. Warnke (eds), Harbours as Objects of Interdisciplinary Research. Ettel, ‘ Fossata Magna – a Canal Contribution to Harbour Construction in the 1st Millennium ad’, in C.

92: ‘Rex autumnali tempore de Reganesburg iter navigio faciens, usque ad fossatum magnum inter Alcmana et Radantia pervenit.’ This fossatum magnum is the only pre-modern attempt to bridge the main European watershed except for a never realized project for a connection between the rivers Moselle and Sâone in ad 55/56 (Fig. Under ad 793 the Annales regni Francorum say that King Charles ‘in autumn-time made a journey from Regensburg with boats to the great ditch between the rivers Altmühl and Rednitz’.ġ 1 Annales regni Francorum, s.a.
