Recent archaeological excavations in the municipality of Gentbrugge, just southeast of Ghent (northern Belgium) and located along the river Scheldt, brought to light two Early Medieval sites. The recovered evidence shows that the first site (“Gentbrugge-Het Kamp”) clearly focused on livestock breeding (cattle, pig, horse), while the other site (“Gentbrugge-Aard”) focused on a range of craft activities (cereal processing, processing of animal products, lime-burning). Furthermore, a small number of finds suggests a military presence on Gentbrugge-Aard, possibly to be narrowed down to cavalry. Both sites date to the later 8th-first half of the 9th century. This is the time when the Frankish realm developed a more cohesive defensive strategy against the Viking threat. In AD 811, Charlemagne visited Ghent to inspect the construction of a fleet there. Based on written evidence, it is accepted that the Ghentian abbeys of St. Peter and St. Bavo, whose lay abbot at the time was Einhard, had to provide supplies and possibly also equip soldiers to defend the coast. Interestingly, both sites at Gentbrugge seem to have been (largely) abandoned around AD 850 or during the second half of the 9th century. This coincides with attested Viking presence in form of winter camps at Ghent, at AD 851, 879-880, and 881. Focusing on these two archaeological sites, this paper will present the archaeological and historical evidence concerning 9th-century Ghent and Gentbrugge, in order to advance the hypothesis that the specialised production sites could be part of Carolingian military efforts, which were disrupted by Viking presence in the area during the second half of the 9th century.