Bronze Age trade routes: Seddin exposed as an international center!

Bronze Age trade routes: Seddin exposed as an international center!

In Seddin, a tranquil town in the Prignitz district, the past could be more alive than you thought. Archaeological excavations have uncovered the floor plan of a possible Bronze Age assembly hall, suggesting lively exchanges and gatherings in this region. The archaeologist from the University of Hamburg and her team examined human skeletal remains from various grave sites in order to find out more about the people who once lived here. According to Deutschlandfunk, the chemical composition of the bones was analyzed, especially the strontium isotopes, which reveal a lot about the origin and lifestyle of the skeletons found.

The analysis revealed that most of the skeletons examined had a chemical signature that differed from the environment. This suggests that people came from far away, namely from southern Scandinavia, central Europe and as far as Italy. This suggests that Seddin was a major international trade meeting point between 900 and 700 BC. In addition, Bronze Age objects from distant areas have also been found in the region, which supports the hypothesis of extensive trade relationships.

New research results on mobility in the Bronze Age

The research, published on September 11, 2025, shows that many of the Bronze Age burials in Seddin were not from the region. These findings come from the first bioarchaeological study of human skeletal remains in Seddin. According to idw-online, an international team, including researchers from the University of Gothenburg, analyzed cremated remains from five Late Bronze Age burial sites. It turned out that the chemical composition of the examined skeletons was predominantly non-local.

The strontium isotopes used in this research are crucial for tracking human mobility. They enter the human body through food and are deposited in the bones, with different ratios varying depending on the geographical location. This makes it possible to draw conclusions about the origins of those buried. What is particularly interesting is that the analysis also looked at the inner ear bones, which are formed during childhood and thus provide information about the early life environment.

An important cultural and historical heritage

Seddin is considered the location of the “King's Tomb”, which is considered the most important grave complex of the 9th century BC in northern Central Europe. These interdisciplinary investigations of the royal tomb have been ongoing since 2000. The findings are exciting and expand the image of Seddin as a place that not only functioned as a trading center, but also as a cultural center. The results of these extensive studies have been published in the specialist journal PLOS One under the title "A Late Bronze Age foreign elite? Investigating mobility patterns at Seddin, Germany".

In summary, it can be said that Seddin is much more than just a quiet place in Brandenburg. It is a treasure trove of history that gives us valuable insights into the lives and mobility of people in the Bronze Age. Strontium isotope analysis, which is now widely used, has proven to be extremely useful in clarifying questions about migration history. As Wikipedia illustrates, this method is now not only used to investigate migrations in the past, but also to determine the origin of food. Seddin could therefore open the next big chapter in the history of archaeology.