‘447 – A Frankish warrior on his way to the afterlife’

From 5 to 24 August, the unique archaeological summer exhibition ‘447 – A Frankish warrior on his way to the afterlife’ will take place in the kING Kultur- und Kongresshalle Ingelheim under the patronage of the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of the Interior, Michael Ebling. Ingelheimer Kultur und Marketing GmbH (IkUM) and the Kaiserpfalz Ingelheim Archaeological Research Centre will present the spectacular finds from a Frankish warrior’s grave that remained untouched for 1400 years and was discovered in Ingelheim in 2023. The exhibition aims to give visitors a vivid impression of what Ingelheim might have looked like during the man’s lifetime in the 7th century.
The discovery of grave no. 447 in 2023 was a minor sensation: in the middle of two graves that had already been looted in the Middle Ages, researchers came across a completely untouched burial. The grave robbers had apparently overlooked it, so that the Frankish warrior could be recovered after almost 1400 years – with all his grave goods and lots of valuable information about the fashion and customs of society in early medieval Ingelheim.
The press release about the ‘Frankish warrior armed to the teeth’ literally went around the world at the time and was even reported in newspapers in the USA. This was also due to the impressive arsenal of weapons that the man from grave 447 had been given on his way to the afterlife.
In August 2025, the warrior will be on public display in Ingelheim for the first time, so that anyone interested can catch a glimpse of it. The exhibition will take place in an unusual location: The kING – otherwise a venue for cultural and congress events – is opening its doors for this exclusive archaeological summer exhibition for a period of three weeks. The multimedia presentation in the Great Hall will take visitors back to the time of the early medieval civilisation with its terraced graves. Scientific analyses of the bones and teeth reveal an astonishing amount about this man who lived in Ingelheim in the 7th century. Thanks to intensive archaeological research over the last 30 years, an astonishing amount is also known about his life. Thanks to the latest technology, visitors can experience an impressive reconstruction of the Frankish warrior.
The exhibition is open daily from 5 to 24 August at the kING Kultur- und Kongresshalle, Fridtjof-Nansen-Platz 5, 55218 Ingelheim. Admission costs 5 euros for adults (reduced 3 euros). Children and young people up to the age of 14 are admitted free of charge, but must be accompanied by an adult. Admission is also free for school classes. Special, age-appropriate school tours are offered for school classes from Year 5 upwards.
The exhibition ‘447 – A Frankish warrior on his way to the afterlife’ is organised by Ingelheimer Kultur und Marketing GmbH (IkUM) in cooperation with the Kaiserpfalz Archaeological Research Centre of the city of Ingelheim. The exhibition is supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory and MitMachAusstellung e.V. as co-operation partners.

‘447 – A Frankish warrior on his way to the afterlife’
05 – 24 August 2025
kING Culture and Congress Hall
Fridtjof-Nansen-Platz 5, 55218 Ingelheim

Opening hours
Mon – Thu 12.00 – 19.00 hrs
Fri 12.00 – 22.00 hrs
Sat 10.00 – 22.00 hrs
Sun 10.00 – 19.00 hrs

All information about the exhibition, bookable and public guided tours and the supporting programme can be found at
King | 447 – A Frankish warrior on his way to the afterlife