What things did the Bronze Age warriors take on the battlefield?

Human history is literally saturatedcruelty, because almost a century could not do without bloody wars. Archaeologists from time to time find places of large-scale battles and one of them is located on the valley of the German river Tollensee, which is located 160 kilometers north of Berlin. Excavations in this place have been conducted since the distant 1996, and since then, scientists have found many fragments of weapons made of wood and metal, as well as more than 12,000 human bones. In 2016, divers from the bottom of the river got something truly interesting - the personal belongings of one of the soldiers. The discovery was reported in the journal Science.

Bronze Age Warriors Illustration

According to study leader ThomasTerberger, finding personal belongings of a warrior of a thousand years ago is a huge fortune for archaeologists. Apparently, initially things were stored in a bag or a small chest, which, over time, decomposed and completely disappeared. Among the personal belongings of the warrior, archaeologists have counted 31 items. From the bottom of the river, from the thickness of perennial mud, scientists got a knife, an awl, a chisel and other bronze products.

Bronze items found by archaeologists

Bronze Age Items

Previously, the same bronze objects were found insouthern central Europe, in the graves of warriors of high rank. According to scientists, this find is an excellent proof that some soldiers had to travel thousands of kilometers before large-scale battles. This path was clearly extremely difficult and required solidarity and a high level of social organization from the soldiers, because in those days there were no reliable means of communication and well-laid roads.

Excavations in the valley of the German river Tollensee

Initially, archaeologists were quite difficultdetermine the age of artifacts. However, then, hundreds of meters from the place where the warrior’s personal belongings were discovered, archaeologists managed to unearth arrowheads and human bones. They were located on the same level of dirt as bronze objects, which suggests that they were walled underground under the same period of time. After examining the bones and other findings under a microscope and x-ray, the researchers found that all of these objects date back to around 1300 BC.

Recall that, earlier, archaeologists found a shaman’s bag with very unusual things.

According to scientists, in those daysthere was money, but people were already trading among themselves. Probably, for this, the found fragments from bronze were used. They could well break into small pieces with the help of a chisel found at the bottom of the German river and be used as the first likeness of money. In general, thanks to the excavations, scientists became aware of two facts about life in the Bronze Age. Firstly, the warriors of those times were extremely mobile and could travel hundreds of kilometers. Secondly, already in those days the first currency began to appear.

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How cruel are people?

People from ancient times were differentcruelty to each other. One of the first crimes investigated by scientists is the murder of a certain senior person who lived in Scotland. His skeleton was discovered in one of the Scottish caves, with traces of severe injuries from blows on his head. In addition, his jaw was broken and his teeth were broken. There is no doubt that his death is the work of others, very cruel people. However, the motives for this murder to scientists are still unknown. They only managed to restore the portrait of the victim - you can see it in our special material.