There is still much doubt about who was fighting, how they organized themselves, and what exactly led them to take up arms, but archaeologists do know something about the battle fought around 1250 BC in the Tollense valley, in what is now the state of Mecklenburg. -Western Pomerania, Northern Germany: One of the oldest major wars in Europe. But mostly. After all, more than 3,000 years ago, hundreds of warriors fought to the death on the banks of the Tollense River in what is now a quiet area by the river.

The struggle still continues to fascinate (and baffle) experts.

solve the mystery. It is not new that the Tollense valley in northern Germany was the scene of a major battle in the 13th century BC. For more than fifteen years, researchers have been examining the remains at the site and along the Tollense River, where they found the bones of approximately 150 people, mainly young men, and weapon fragments from the Bronze Age.

These clues allowed archaeologists to talk about the “oldest battlefield in Europe”. At least if we talk about major wars. Now a research team from the Georg August University in Göttingen has pulled the thread of history to show just how important (and violent) the fight that took place in the Tollense valley more than 3,000 years ago was. others come from southern regions.

Archaeological excavations in the Tollense Valley.

What do the arrows say. To better understand what happened in the Tollense valley in the 13th century BC, archaeologists from Göttingen focused on a small detail, just a few centimeters long: arrows recovered in the German region in recent years. To be more precise, they focused on the material and design of 54 bronze tips and 10 flint tips.

At first glance, the arrows may seem insignificant compared to the approximately 12,000 bone fragments found in and around the river. But this is only in appearance. After examining them in detail and comparing them with 4,700 other shells found in Central Europe, experts discovered that the arrows revealed a fascinating detail of the battle. Their results were expressed in a recently published article. antiquity.

So what did they find? The Tollense war had a “trans-regional” character. The Göttingen team is not the first to examine arrows found on the battlefield in detail, but they did carry out a comprehensive analysis and comparison with other remains. And his conclusion is clear: While heart-shaped flint arrowheads are “typical” of the Northern Bronze Age of the region, things change when we talk about bronze pieces.

Among the metal points there are also patterns found in some graves in the region, but others clearly indicate a “non-local” origin and present shapes more typical of those produced in modern Bavaria and Moravia. What does this mean? As is becoming increasingly evident, more than 3,000 years ago it was not just local groups that were in conflict in the valley. Among the combatants were warriors from south central Europe.

Skull fragment with embedded bronze arrowhead.

In the purest Sherlock Holmes style. The Battle of Tollense was fought more than 3,000 years ago, but its investigation is so similar to the investigations detectives pursue to identify their suspects that archaeologists involved in the study joked about the analogy. “Arrowheads are a kind of ‘smoking gun,'” says Leif Inselmann, lead author of the study. “Like the murder weapon in mystery novels, they give us clues about the criminal, the warriors of the Tollense valley, and their origins.”

clear doubts. It could be argued that the presence of arrows from a particular location does not necessarily imply the presence of warriors from the same location. After all, didn’t those arrows reach the shores of Tollense thanks to the merchants? What if a local warrior bought them and used them during the war? Experts rule out this possibility for a very simple reason.

The arrows with flat or rhombic bases, single-sided barbs and pointed tips that attracted their attention were not seen in the graves in the region. For archaeologists, the implication is clear: local people did not have access to them through trade with the south. The reason they reached the banks of the Tollense River was because some of the warriors were not from the area.

Barbed arrowhead. Researchers found samples in the Tollense valley.

So… Where did they come from?. “Some types of arrowheads, especially barbed ones, come mostly from a region between modern-day Bavaria and Moravia in the Czech Republic,” adds Inselmann. “Some of the warriors clearly came from southern Central Europe.” Experts remind in their article that the fragments point to south-central Europe, which has been suggested for other bronze remains found in the valley.

Since examining the site, archaeologists have found thousands of bone fragments from dozens of victims; Some of these shed light specifically on what was happening on the battlefield; for example, a fragment of a skull pierced from behind by a bronze arrowhead; but they didn’t have such luck with the helmets or metal armor of the time. They found remains of horses and swords, although experts believe the bows were “an important weapon”.

Europe’s oldest war? The battle in the Tollense valley is important for several reasons. First, where, when and how did it happen? Experts believe a significant contingent of “hundreds to several thousand” warriors fought in the conflict. There is also increasing evidence that although the majority are from the region, there are also people from the south, allowing them to point to the “trans-regional” nature of the conflict.

With these words we often refer to the “oldest battlefield in Europe”. This is how Göttingen’s team’s explanation of their latest findings puts it. However, this is a controversial topic and there is open debate about it. There are those who argue that the first major European war occurred much more recently, 5,000 years ago in Rioja Alavesa. According to some researchers, this is indicated by the remains of 338 people found in the San Juan area before the Portam Latinam in Laguardia. If so, it could topple the German war.

Knowing the Bronze Age. What is undeniable is that the battle in the Tollense valley helped us to better understand the Bronze Age, a period considered in the not too distant past, when the University of Göttingen was referred to as a “peaceful period” with an interesting copper and tin trade in Europe. is that it helps. .

“The history of the Tollense conflict dates back to a time of great change, which raises questions about the organization of such violent conflicts.9 Were the Bronze Age warriors organized as a tribal coalition, as the retinue or mercenaries of a charismatic leader, a form of “”battle “A lord or even the army of a primitive kingdom?” muses Inselmann.

Pictures | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Leif Inselmann, Stefan Sauer, Volker Minkus)

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To reach this conclusion, experts conducted almost detective work, comparing their samples with nearly 4,700 arrowheads found in Central Europe.