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Author Topic: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe  (Read 4228 times)

Offline Timbor

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Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« on: March 26, 2016, 04:00:49 AM »
Ok, more food for thought or gaming ideas, but this article was really cool:

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/slaughter-bridge-uncovering-colossal-bronze-age-battle

Basically, there is a site in Germany in which they have unearthed evidence of a pitched battle in the Bronze Age, when northern Europe was largely considered an unimportant backwater.

Would be a fun period to see on a gaming table!  Worth the read just to imagine that.  I thought there was an "Ancients News" thread like in the medieval board, but could not find one to post this in...  ;)
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Offline Sunjester

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2016, 07:55:01 AM »
Thanks for posting this, very interesting. It would be a cool period to game, but I don't know where you would get suitable figures! ???

Offline Mosstrooper

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2016, 08:41:50 AM »
Foundry do a range of Northern European Bronze Age figures

Offline Mad Doc Morris

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2016, 10:06:14 AM »
Don't go by the pictures in that article; those chaps look crudely Neolithic (at best). Foundry's indeed your best bet for recreating said period in wargames.

Besides, Northern Europe was by no means "an unimportant backwater" back then. Even if some of the more recent finds at Bernstorf are doubtful, archaeology has long established the existence of trade routes, in particular across the Baltic Sea area, providing amber and metalwork for a Mediterranean market. There were walled cities (if made of more readily available wood), supra-regional religious centres, and by migration or cultural transfer people from Northern Europe had a considerable influence on Archaic Greek culture. It's a fascinating if sadly neglected period.

Offline soldat

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2016, 12:59:28 PM »
Yeah I saw this article and my first thought was new war game.  Sounds like an era that needs research and a shoddy movie to drum up interest.

Offline Sunjester

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2016, 01:42:59 PM »
Don't go by the pictures in that article; those chaps look crudely Neolithic (at best). Foundry's indeed your best bet for recreating said period in wargames.

My thought on seeing those pictures was "Why must they do that?" Untrimmed animal skins for clothing. Reasonably sophisticated weaving existed in Europe from the mid-Neolithic at least and by the Bronze Age would have been pretty universal. Certainly furs and animal skins would have been used as supplementary clothing, particularly for cold weather, but good quality fabric would have been the norm. Either wool or vegitable fibres like flax and nettle.

Offline Emir of Askaristan

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2016, 02:43:58 PM »
Excellent post. Thanks for sharing that Timbor

There's a load online about the "Nordic" Bronze Age. Weapons and textiles have been found which are way more sophisticated than the Stone Age drawing shown here

http://www.crumbleholme.plus.com/Beakerfolk/cloth/beakerfolkcloth.htm

Wikipedia is a good start, just follow your nose. For figures it has to be Foundry

Offline mikeygees

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2016, 03:15:17 PM »
Excellent link. Thank you.

Offline commissarmoody

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2016, 02:32:19 PM »
Very cool
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Offline fantail

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2016, 08:46:31 PM »
Thanks for the link, very interesting. Monolith/Graven Images do a range of 40mm Bronze age Europeans. It is a shame that they had to stop excavating due to lack of money when Adam Sandler is given $88 million to make terrible films like Pixels.
Andrew

Offline Ragnar

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2016, 12:16:03 AM »
Very interesting read, thanks for the link.
Gods, monsters and men,
Will die together in the end.

Offline Lt. Hazel

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Re: Mass battles in Bronze Age Europe
« Reply #11 on: April 02, 2016, 10:15:44 AM »
Very intresting!

 

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