Grisly find suggests northern Europe was more organized (and violent) 3,000 years ago than previously thought
About 3200 years ago, two armies clashed at a river crossing near the Baltic Sea. The confrontation can’t be found in any history books—the written word didn’t become common in these parts for another 2000 years—but this was no skirmish between local clans. Thousands of warriors came together in a brutal struggle, perhaps fought on a single day, using weapons crafted from wood, flint, and bronze, a metal that was then the height of military technology.
The flint arrowhead embedded in this upper arm bone first alerted archaeologists to the ancient violence in the Tollense Valley.
A bronze arrow penetrated this skull, reaching the brain.
This skull unearthed in the Tollense Valley shows clear evidence of blunt force trauma, perhaps from a club.
