New research has demonstrated that the majority of people buried in monumental mounds in northwestern Brandenburg, Germany, around Seddin, were not locals but individuals believed to have originated from distant parts of Europe. The findings are the first bioarchaeological examination of human remains in the area and provide evidence for Seddin as an international hub during the Late Bronze Age, between around 900 and 700 BCE.

Entrance to the megalithic tomb known as the “King’s Grave” in Seddin, Prignitz. Credit: Ulf Heinsohn / CC BY-SA 4.0

Archaeologists have long known that the Seddin area was the center of extensive networks linking communities across Europe from the 11th to the 8th centuries BCE. Scandinavian, Central European, and even northern Italian artifacts have been unearthed there, but until now it was unclear whether such extensive contacts involved the actual movement of people.

To discover this, international researchers analyzed cremated remains from five burial sites, among them the renowned Wickbold I mound. They focused on the petrous portion of the inner ear bone, which retains childhood strontium isotope signatures even after exposure to cremation. Strontium isotopes are a sort of geological fingerprint that capture diet and water consumption during childhood and allow scientists to determine whether an individual grew up locally.

Scientists also collected environmental samples—water, plants, and soils—to create a baseline for local strontium composition. After consideration, the most reliable predictors of the conditions in the region during the Bronze Age were found to be recent water and some archaeological soil samples, while modern soils and plants were discovered to have been altered by natural and human processes.

Overview for the burial mounds Königsgrab and Wickbold I. Credit: A. B. Frank et al., PloS One (2025) / CC BY-SA 4.0

The results were startling: of the 22 individuals, only two exhibited isotope signatures conforming to the local standard. The rest all had non-local signatures, meaning they had grown up outside the region before being buried at Seddin. Some of the isotope signatures reflect points of origin in southern Scandinavia, Bohemia, northern Italy, and even Bornholm, a Danish island. This strontium content, comparable to that in the Harz Mountains and Erzgebirge, also supports the hypothesis of diverse points of origin.

These findings indicate that the Seddin elite were embedded in large networks of mobility. Monumental burial mounds and grave goods indicate both local and foreign influences, with non-local or stylistically inspired objects accompanying the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. The mix of local practices and foreign materials and individuals attests to the complexity of cultural interaction at this time.

Drone pH๏τo of the area excavated in 2017–2018 showing the exposed remains of stone rings and pavements. Credit: A. B. Frank et al., PloS One (2025) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Although the research uncovers the elite’s high mobility, researchers caution that the evidence is still limited. The majority of the remains examined belonged to wealthier graves, meaning the results likely overrepresent the elite population of society. A wider study of additional contexts is required to fully grasp how widespread mobility was among the general population of the Prignitz region.

Yet the research presents compelling evidence that Seddin was not just a local burial ground but a continental focal point of interaction. The movement of people, and not only objects, shaped the community, emphasizing the prominence of mobility and cultural exchange in the Bronze Age.

More information: Frank, A. B., May, J., Sabatini, S., Schopper, F., Frei, R., Kaul, F., … Frei, K. M. (2025). A Late Bronze Age foreign elite? Investigating mobility patterns at Seddin, Germany. PloS One, 20(9), e0330390. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0330390