![\"Thirty](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/thirty-years-war-camp-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Metal hoop depot from the military camp. Credit: FA. AST \u2013 Archaeological Service Tschuch<\/p>\nThe Thirty Years\u2019 War (1618\u20131648) devastated much of Europe, particularly the German states, where populations were reduced by over half. The war started as a religious conflict between Catholic and Protestant states but grew into a broader political conflict between great powers such as Sweden, France, Spain, and the Habsburg Empire.<\/p>\n
The excavation, conducted by the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) between May 2022 and March 2023, discovered that Wallenstein\u2019s massive camp stretched further south than historians previously thought. \u201cThe first surprise was that the excavations ended up in the middle of Wallenstein\u2019s camp,\u201d said Dr. Stefanie Berg, head of the Department of Archaeological Heritage of the BLfD. \u201cThe exact course of the southern fortification lines had been unknown based on historical maps. Now we know that Wallenstein\u2019s camp extended further to the south than had been assumed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The camp was home to about 50,000 troops, 15,000 horses, and 30,000 civilians in the persons of merchants, entertainers, and soldiers\u2019 relatives who followed the army. Archaeologists unearthed an assorted array of everyday items which bring to life a vibrant account of life within the wartime settlement: buttons, buckles, scissors, knives, glass beads, ceramic fragments, silver wire, a thimble, a spindle whorl for yarn spinning, and remnants of sewing kits.<\/p>\n
Numerous coins were found, such as Kreuzer coins featuring the portrait of Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria and Emperor Ferdinand III, helping to date the site firmly. Other discoveries were molten crown glass panes and remnants of lead musket balls \u2014 which suggest that glass was perhaps brought in specifically in order to harvest the lead for ammunition \u2014 and caches of metal components, which might have been reserved in order to keep them out of enemy hands or to be reused.<\/p>\n One of the most enigmatic discoveries was an individual grave on the edge of the camp, the only fully excavated single grave found within the site. The body, assumed to be that of a young woman, had been interred on her side \u2014 an unusual position for Christian burial at the time. She was outfitted with luxurious silk clothing interwoven with gold and silver thread, and buried with individual items like a bronze ring, garment hooks, and a tin-lead alloy chain.<\/p>\n<\/a>Scissors, knives, and other everyday items tell of life in the camp. Credit: FA. AST \u2013 Archaeological Service Tschuch<\/p>\n