The Battle of the Tollense Valley took place in Bronze Age Germany c.1250 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.