Where did the bronze come from?

The curved swords were very valuable, partly because a good deal of bronze had to be used to make them. Bronze is a mixture of metals – an alloy of copper and tin. It is not possible to mine these metals in the Danish landscape. So in the Bronze Age people were dependent on imports from abroad if they wanted bronze. The supplies could for example come from the Atlantic coast or the eastern Alpine area. There were natural copper deposits in these areas that could be used to make bronze. We must suppose that the costly metal came to Denmark via a well-developed exchange network.