History of Europe

Tollensetal - A Bronze Age battlefield

Up to 4,000 people fought on the oldest known battlefield in Europe 3,300 years ago. The battle in the Tollense valley near Neubrandenburg is still a mystery.

Crushed skulls, bones pierced by arrowheads, remains of weapons:these and other finds bear witness to the oldest known battle in Europe. Hundreds of people died around 3,300 years ago on a Bronze Age battlefield in the Tollense Valley near Neubrandenburg - arrows, swords, daggers, lances and wooden clubs killed them.

State archaeologist Detlef Jantzen examines a skull from 1300 BC in the Archaeological State Office in Wiligrad (MV). in which a bronze arrowhead is stuck.

In 1996, the first bones were discovered on the small river Tollense, and archaeologists have been systematically investigating the area since 2007. Since then, they have found around 13,000 fragments in the ground and in the river over a length of three kilometers. In addition to bones and weapons, they also found gold jewelry - an internationally significant discovery. Nowhere else in Europe is a comparable old battlefield known. Around the same time, Egypt's Pharaoh Ramses was fighting the Hittites.

4,000 fighters and hundreds killed

According to the standards of the time, it must have been a huge dispute in the Tollense valley. Up to 4,000 people were involved - around 1,300 BC, i.e. at a time when only about three to five people lived in the region per square kilometer. 750 to 1,000 people lost their lives in the battle - mostly young men between the ages of 20 and 40.

Dead came from different regions

A bridge crossed the River Tollense as early as 4,000 years ago - possibly an important trade route.

It is unclear who exactly fought here:were they farmers or experienced fighters? Researchers found evidence that a group of archers let arrows rain down on the opponents. It is possible that some of the men were mounted, because bones from horses were also found. What is certain is that the dead were people of different regional origins. This is proven by human bone finds and tooth analyses.

Battle for an important trade route?

What sparked the conflict is also unclear. Researchers suspect that a group of people from more southern areas may have wanted to cross the river on their way north. At one point, a dam apparently led across the swampy terrain and some kind of bridge across the river. Archaeologists have been able to identify remains of such a construction that is over 4,000 years old. It is therefore possible that this was a strategically important junction - and thus in the battle a conflict that revolved around supremacy there.