Medieval Bicycle from Château Gaillard.
Château-Gaillard is a medieval fortress, located in Normandy in Andely.
It was on the territory of this castle that this discovery was made! In May 2008, archaeologists from the University of Bristol, conducting excavations on the territory of the Chateau Gaillard, made the find. At a depth of two and a half meters, a complex of iron objects was found that made up what they thought was the protective armor of a warrior.
The location of the fragments of iron armor seemed unusual in this find to scientists. From above, they resembled the outlines of a bicycle.
also found in the excavation, the French type of denarius minted by Philip II Augustus (1180-1223)

"The wheels of this miracle bike are worthy of special attention. To reduce shaking during movement, horsehair was wound around the metal rims, then wrapped in a circle with ribbons of rough leather, and only after that massive iron spokes with an engraved pattern were mounted in the wheel, and outside the rim was sheathed with metal plates that could move relative to each other during the rolling process. The wheels were reliably protected by “wing covers” made from parts of cuirasses and plate gloves."