An imperial throne?

This stone fragment was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century during construction work in Mainz city center. In addition to its unusual shape, it is remarkable that it is made of very high-quality limestone and carefully decorated with various tendril motifs on the narrow sides. Similar to the thrones in Aachen and Goslar, it is therefore identified as the left side panel of a throne and dated to the second half of the 8th century.

We do not know where the throne stood in Mainz or who sat on it. However, this unusual find shows how important Mainz was in the Carolingian period (ca. 750-900). It is unclear whether Mainz was also the emperor's base with an imperial palace, as the stone could have reached Mainz by other means. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that it belongs to a secular ruler, as a comparable quality has only been found on the imperial throne in Aachen.