Tollense Valley | Europe’s First Battle (Bronze Age History Documentary)

The Battle of the Tollense Valley took place in Bronze Age Germany BC. Was this Europe’s first battle? Archeological discoveries in the Tollense Valley in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Northeast Germany suggest this was the site of a conflict in the 13th century BC. (Closest dates might be 1230 - 1240 BC) This was the European Middle Bronze Age. As well as weapons and other artefacts, thousands of bones representing at least 140 individuals have been found here and most are men of fighting age. Some bones show injuries received at the point of death. There might have been between 3000 and 7000 participants which if true is a truly enormous prehistoric battle. So was this a great pitched battle? An ambush? A series of small skirmishes? Despite all the evidence, piecing together exactly who these people were, how many there were, where they came from and what happened here… is not so simple. *If you enjoy my videos please consider supporting the channel* Patreon ➜ PayPal ➜ Ko-fi ➜ *My Books* Godborn: Gods of Bronze 1 ➜ All my books on Amazon ➜ *My Links* Website Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: *Video Sources* Warriors and Weapons in Bronze Age Europe - Anthony Harding ➜ Warfare in Bronze Age Society - Christian Horn & Kristian Kristiansen ➜ Die Welt der Himmelsscheibe von Nebra - Harald Meller ➜ An early Bronze Age causeway in the Tollense Valley - Jantzen (2014) Bronze Age tin rings from the Tollense valley - Krüger (2012) Low Prevalence of Lactase Persistence in Bronze Age Europe - Burger (2020) Flint arrowhead embedded in a human humerus from the Bronze Age site in the Tollense valley - Flohr (2015) Instrumental investigation of oxygen isotopes in human dental enamel from the Bronze Age battlefield site at Tollense - Price (2019) Perimortem Lesions on Human Bones from the Bronze Age Battlefield in the Tollense - Brinker (2018) A Bronze Age battlefield? Weapons and trauma in the Tollense Valley - Jantzen (2010) Tollense Battle Ancient DNA, they had hunter gatherer roots by Genos Historia ➜ The above links include affiliate links which means we will earn a small commission from your purchases at no additional cost to you which is a way to support the channel. Note: There is DNA evidence that some of these people had high proportion of Western Hunter Gatherer DNA. I have a post about this on Patreon linked in the comments. *Video Chapters* 00:00 Prepare for Battle 02:32 The Tollense Valley Battlefield 06:26 Bronze Age Europe 08:18 Bronze Age Warrior Aristocracy 10:01 Material Evidence 13:14 Isotope Analysis 14:08 DNA Evidence 15:35 What Actually Happened? 16:48 Alternative Theories