The Surprising And Iconic Bronze Age Egtved Girl: Teenage Remains Tell A Story Of Trade And Travel 

One of the best-known Danish Bronze-Age burials, the well preserved Egtved Girl was found in a barrow in 1921. Her woolen clothing, hair, and nails were perfectly preserved, but all her bones were missing.

Scientists studying the ancient teenager’s remains have now made the surprising discovery that the Egtved Girl traveled great distances before her death, and wasn’t from Denmark at all.

A study has been published in the journal Nature detailing the results of modern tests done by scientists. Strontium isotope analysis on Egtved Girl’s molar, hair, and fingernails, combined with examination of her distinctive woolen clothing, have revealed she was born and raised hundreds of miles from her burial site in Egtved, in modern Denmark.

 Findings now show she likely came from The Black Forest of South West Germany, and she traveled between the two locations via ship frequently in the last two years of her life.

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Bronze Age Thracian Stork May Be Oldest Children's Toy In Europe 

Local residents in the area of Zlatograd, Bulgaria, have uncovered an ancient bronze artifact that archaeologists have described as “the oldest children’s toy in Europe”. The supposed toy consists of a moveable stork’s head, with eyes made from semi-precious stones, on a tripod stand.

According to the website Archaeology in Bulgaria, the alleged toy dates back to around 1500-1200BC, a time when the Thracians, an ethno-cultural group of Indo-European tribes, were inhabiting the Balkan Peninsula. It was found, along with other archaeological artifacts, by locals near the town of Yagnevo, Zlatograd in the Rhodope Mountains, an area in which a number of Thracian sanctuaries and rock tombs have been discovered.

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