Thousands of ancient bones from warriors killed in battle 2,000 years ago found in Denmark

Many had injuries on right side, suggesting fighters may have been holding shields

Four pelvic bones laced onto an alder branch found at the archaeological site of Alken Enge, Jutland (AFP PHOTO / Aarhus University at Alken Enge / Peter Jensen)

The bones of thousands of men and boys who were killed in a battle 2,000 years ago have been found in Denmark, researchers have said.

Experts are trying to piece together exactly what happened at Alken Enge, on the country's Jutland peninsula.

But without local written records there is little evidence to determine the exact details.

The organised nature of the remains points to a ritual clearing of a battlefield.

Many of the bones had injuries on their right side, suggesting that fighters may have been holding shields.

The remains of at least 82 people were found, including four pelvic bones strung on a stick, according to the report published on the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

More than 2,300 human bones were contained in peat and lake sediments over 185 acres (75 hectares) and radiocarbon-dating put them between 2 BC and 54 AD.

"The bones are extremely well preserved," co-author Mette Lovschal, of the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at Aarhus University, told the Agence France Presse.

"And you can see stuff that you can normally not see in them, like the gnaw marks of animals and you can see the cut marks from sharp weapons. That is highly unusual."

Some of the bones came from people as young as 13, while others were from those as old at 60.

It is possible the remains are from Roman soldiers, who were expanding through the continent at the time.

"What they do in the succeeding decades is have these military raids in Germania, basically to punish the barbarians for this huge defeat," said Ms Lovschal. "What we actually think we are seeing here could be the remains of one of those punitive campaigns."