A MASSIVE BRONZE-AGE SLAUGHTER occurred more than 3200 years ago in Northern Germany near a bridge across the Tollense River. Based on several years of excavation, archaeologists estimate that as many as 5000 combatants fought a vicious battle where more than 1000 may have been killed. Since 25% of the skeletons show signs of healed trauma from earlier fights, many of the men were likely trained and experienced warriors. This, and the fact that so many warriors had been gathered, fed, equipped, organized, and led into battle, suggests that the socio-political development in North-Central Europe was considerably more advanced – and warlike – than previously thought.
Below is my March, 2019 post on the subject:
About 3200 years ago, or roughly the same time that the Greeks were besieging Troy and the Israelites were taking Canaan, thousands of unknown warriors met along the Tollense River in northern Germany. No one knows why this battle was fought or which groups fought it. So far the remains of more than 100 men (many with bashed skulls or flint and bronze arrowheads) have been excavated from just a small part of the battle field – maybe 5%. Most historians thought a battle of this magnitude was impossible for backwater Northern Europe at this time. I wonder if the men thought that they were fighting the war to end all wars? And now their names and the cause of the battle are completely forgotten.