The Tollense Valley in northeastern Germany is home to the oldest battlefield in the world: this archaeological site contains the remains of some 150 individuals, dating back to the 13th century BC.
Now analysis of arrowheads found at the site shows the weapons were not produced in the region, suggesting the conflict involved people from elsewhere in Europe. The team’s research is published today in ancient times.
“The arrow is a ‘smoking gun,'” the study’s lead author Leif Inselmann, a researcher at Freie Universität Berlin, said in a research note. ancient times release. “Like murder weapons in a mystery novel, they provide us with clues about the culprits, the warriors who fought in the Torrens Valley and where they came from.”
The site was first proposed as a battlefield in 2011, but the parties involved in the conflict remain unclear. Based on the number of remains left at the site, some researchers estimate more than 2,000 people were involved in the battle, according to the release. Now, recent teams have determined that at least some of the combatants are not native to northern Germany.
Inselman collected nearly 5,000 arrowheads from across Central Europe and discovered different types of arrowheads on the battlefield. The arrowheads were made of flint and bronze. While flint arrowheads are typical of the region, bronze arrowheads are a combination of native and non-native types. Many arrowheads are found in the Torrens region, but others (i.e., those with straight or diamond-shaped bases) are often associated with regions further south, such as Bavaria and Moravia.
No foreign arrowheads have been found in tombs in the Torrens area, suggesting that arrowheads from elsewhere did not simply enter the area through trade. The barbs appear to have been brought to Torrance for the purpose of conflict. A set of remains at the site makes this clear: a human skull with a bronze arrowhead.
“The conflict in the Torrance Valley dates back to a period of significant change,” Inselman said. “This raises questions about the organization of such violent conflicts. Were Bronze Age warriors organized as tribal confederations or as followers or mercenaries of charismatic leaders (a kind of ‘warlords’), even in early The army of the kingdom?
Although the arrows do not identify the parties involved in the conflict, they indicate that the large-scale violence involves (temporarily) groups from further afield than previously known. As the team points out in their paper, no helmets and breastplates typical of the period were found in archaeological excavations at the site, so more excavations may be needed to reveal more about Torrance’s ancient warriors, many of whom The remains remain on the site.
