7 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Colossal Nordic Bronze Age Hall Unearthed in Germany May Be the Legendary King Hinz Meeting Hall

A colossal hall from the Bronze Age was discovered during excavations near the “royal grave” of Seddin (Prignitz district) northwest of Berlin, Germany. A colossal Bronze Age building remains thought to be the fabled meeting hall of King Hinz, a legendary figure purported to be interred in a golden coffin.

Since the spring, the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and archaeologists from the University of Göttingen have been carrying out large-scale excavations around the legendary royal grave of Seddin.

The “King’s Grave” near Seddin near Groß Pankow is considered the most important grave complex of the 9th century BC in northern Central Europe. It was discovered in 1899 during stone extraction work.

As the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation announced on Wednesday in Wünsdorf, it is the largest building of its kind from the Nordic Bronze Age (approx. 2200-800 BC). It was said that the meeting hall of the legendary “King Hinz” was probably excavated with the 31 by 10 meter (102 by 33 feet) floor plan.

According to state archaeologist Franz Schopper, it is a “really big, spectacular find”.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Dr. Immo Heske,

“Houses in prehistory were usually built in such a way that they were six to seven, sometimes eight meters wide. We’re at ten meters here, that’s what’s unusual,” explains Dr. Immo Heske, a leading archaeologist at the University of Göttingen.

The walls of the building consisted of wooden planks and wattle and daub with clay plaster. The roof was covered with thatch or straw. Due to the estimated building height of seven meters, it is assumed that there were additional floors for living and storage. There was a fireplace centrally located inside the western half of the building. A miniature vessel was recovered on the northern long wall, which is interpreted as a ritual sacrifice.

The experts also found two outer walls of the hall made of piled-up field stones in the Prignitz soil. A completely atypical construction method for Northern Europe in the Bronze Age.

Remains of the fireplace in the King's Hall. Photo: Prignitz district
Remains of the fireplace in the King’s Hall. Photo: Prignitz district

 For Immo Heske it is clear: the builder or user of the house was inspired by his travels: “If we think about the European networks, you can imagine that on his travels south he may have seen how to work with stone built it.”

The archaeologist Immo Heske dates the building to between the 10th and 9th centuries BC. Due to its enormous size, it was probably a ruler’s seat. In the period from 1800 to 800 BC there were only two other buildings of this type between Denmark and southern Germany, said Heske.

The experts are therefore certain: no simple farmer lived in the large assembly hall, which was used for receptions and other celebrations. Rather, there is much that points to the legendary King Hinz in Prignitz, who is said to have been buried just a few meters away – also in the 9th century BC – in the royal grave just a few meters away.

On the left is the current ceramic find, on the right is the comparable piece from the Perleberg Museum. Photo: Prignitz district
On the left is the current ceramic find, on the right is the comparable piece from the Perleberg Museum. Photo: Prignitz district

“It is very conceivable that the king lived here and held his meetings and consultations,” explains Brandenburg state archaeologist Franz Schoppe. But it could also have been a predecessor of King Hinz. One thing is clear: the house also dates back to the period between the 10th and 9th centuries BC and it stood for a good 80 years.

With the find there is now another piece of the puzzle about life in the Bronze Age, says Brandenburg’s State Secretary for Science Tobias Dünow: “Here we have the opportunity – like hardly anywhere else in Europe – to gain an insight into the way of life, the culture, the building of houses and to get the burial culture in the Bronze Age.”

The finds and house outlines will be secured and documented by the end of the week. The excavation site will then be closed again. However, the research is not yet complete.

The excavation site could be reopened in the next few decades so that new technology or special DNA tests can be used to get to the bottom of history and learn more about the lives of the people around the royal tomb of Seddin. And the archaeologists from the University of Göttingen and the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation will also be carrying out extensive excavations around the royal grave over the next two years as part of the funding project.

Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation

Cover Photo: Prignitz district

Related Articles

Unusual Potter’s Signature or Graffito found during excavation of a Roman tile kiln in England

2 August 2023

2 August 2023

Cotswold Archeology and a team of volunteers have found an unusual potter’s signature or graffito in Minety, a village in...

The 8,000-year-old Aslantepe in Turkey has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List

26 July 2021

26 July 2021

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Monday that a rich, 30-meter-high archaeological mound going back 8,000 years in southern Turkey has...

A 1700-year-old Roman water tunnel dug into the mountain was discovered in Adıyaman province in southeastern Türkiye

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

It was revealed that in the Besni district of Adıyaman province, located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, the...

6,000-year-old island settlement found off the Croatian coast

24 June 2021

24 June 2021

Archaeologist Mate Parica, a professor at the University of Zadar, noticed something unusual while examining satellite images of Croatia‘s coastline....

Assyrian seal found in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians

18 November 2024

18 November 2024

An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient...

Luxurious 2,200-year-old King Tomb Discovered in China

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a luxurious 2,200-year-old tomb in eastern China, the largest, highest-ranking, and most structurally complex ever unearthed, which...

Turkey discovers 11 new major hills near famed Gobeklitepe “Potbelly Hill”

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Turkey reported on Sunday the discovery of 11 new hills in the vicinity of the renowned ancient site of Gobeklitepe...

7,600-year-old child skeleton and a silver ring found in Türkiye’s Domuztepe Mound

12 September 2024

12 September 2024

A child skeleton and a silver ring presumed to be used for babies dating back to 7,600 years ago were...

New fibula types discovered at prehistoric Kopilo graves in Bosnia

26 August 2022

26 August 2022

An archaeological dig at Kopilo, a hill settlement founded around 1300 BC about 70 miles west of Sarajevo, has discovered...

Mine-clearance divers discovered an ancient shipwreck dating from the 3rd century BC

25 June 2023

25 June 2023

As a result of collaborative training exercises between Croatian and Italian naval mine-clearance divers, one of the earliest fully preserved...

Neanderthal Fingerprint on 50,000-Year-Old Pebble Could Be Europe’s Oldest Portable Artwork

29 May 2025

29 May 2025

New analysis reveals that a pebble marked with ochre and a fingerprint could be the earliest known example of transportable...

In Bergama, the City of Greek Gods, the People Kept the Cult of Cybele Alive

25 August 2021

25 August 2021

The figurines of Cybele, the goddess of the fertility of Anatolia, and the presence of sanctuaries unearthed in the Ancient...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

2000-year-old quarry discovered in Jerusalem that could be the source of Second temple stones

5 September 2021

5 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old quarry in Har Hotzvim, now an industrial park in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority said...

42,000-year-old Shell Jewellery Workshop Discovered – The Oldest in Western Europe

27 September 2025

27 September 2025

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Saint-Césaire, Charente-Maritime, uncovering what is now considered the oldest shell jewellery workshop in...