Tollense field school - Part 1
Weblog
In 1996, a voluntary archaeologist found a bone of a man’s upper arm with a flint arrowhead embedded in it in the Tollense valley. During succeeding years, bones of over one hundred individuals have been found in this location. On many of these bones, old and new traces of trauma were visible: healed and recent wounds, caved in skulls, etcetera. Furthermore, swords, spearheads and arrowheads were found. The site summons up an image of a violent fight between men, some older, most of them in the prime of their life. The battle at the Tollense valley took place in 1300 BC, the Bronze age.
Back then, this valley was a vast swamp with a small river in the middle, as it still is today. Several research projects were conducted in this valley, but the last few years these were suspended since the stakeholders could not agree upon a research strategy. However, now it is time to follow through and to form this strategy. Without a doubt, this is a spectacular site stretching for 4 kilometres, and on which many finds have been made so far. These consist of bronze objects and wooden constructions alongside human remains and weaponry. However, the site is being seriously threatened.
This is why not only archaeology plays an important part in this project, but also the research into these threats and possible measures for protection. For example, we do know that for many years the peat of the former swamp has been settling.
Furthermore, since the 1970s, half of the protective upper layer above the ground layer of findings has disappeared. The effects of climate change even worsen this situation.
International collaboration during the Field school Tollense Valley
In August 2022, new research will finally be conducted in the Tollense Valley, this time with a dual goal: research and management. The research is led by State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in collaboration with Leiden University, the University of Rostock and the University of Göttingen. Students from these universities gather knowledge during this collaboration above and under water, by excavating three locations (two on land, one underwater) and through collecting data about the various threats. With this data, a strategy for conservation and research for the coming years will be set up. The fieldschool itself will be organized during the coming years. The RCE participates in this field school to support capacity-building of a younger generation maritime archaeologists and to facilitate international knowledge exchange.
This is the first field school to be carried out within an ERASMUS-collaboration between the universities of Rostock, Leiden and Göttingen. The goal is to further build on and strengthen a European collaboration with a focus on research of climate effects on archaeological sites.
In this series of weblogs, students and partners tell about their experiences. Student Robin Jonker tells about the first two days of the field school. The introduction about the Tollense valley was written by Martijn Manders, maritime archaeologist at the RCE and professor at Leiden University.
The first days at the Tollense Field school
Alongside the river Tollense, located in northeast Germany, there have been many finds regarding the Bronze age. From 1 through 12 August, students from the universities of Göttingen, Leiden and Rostock are conducting research at three sites in the Tollense valley.
The students from Leiden University will be mostly responsible for an archaeological site that is located in the river. In the first days, the focus of this underwater site consisted of documenting a dugout or logboat that was found and researching a location where human bones were found.
During the first day, the students became acquainted with the site. They visited the site and listened to a lecture by a volunteer who has been working in the river Tollense for multiple years. The excavation did not start until the second day. However, during this first day, plans for the excavation for the morning after were made. The plan mostly focused around getting the students comfortable with the diving equipment.
The second day of the field school was the first real field day. However, it quickly became clear that the water levels were really low. So when the dugout was investigated, the students would use snorkel equipment instead of scuba. The dugout is partly situated on the river bank and so the first task was to get rid of the plants that were growing around it. When this was accomplished, videos were made that can hopefully be used to create a 3D model.
The other focus of the underwater site involves human bones. In this area, a skull was located 1,5 meter underneath the surface level. This meant the divers were using scuba equipment this time. When the skull was found and marked, videos were made, again for a 3D model. This way, the context of the skull could be documented before lifting, which happened as the last action of the day. when it was successfully lifted and safely transported.