🌋 A 2021 study redated the Laacher See eruption in Germany’s Eifel to 13,077 years ago (11,078 BC), 126 years earlier than the previous estimate. The VEI 6 eruption involved about 6 km³ of magma and produced roughly 20 km³ of tephra, with a plume estimated to have reached 30–40 km. Tephra spread across Europe and is recorded in Greenland ice cores; eruptive debris also dammed the Rhine. Archaeological sites preserve tools, animal remains and detailed plant and track impressions. The video argues that Federmesser survivors founded the Bromme and Perstunian cultures with reduced toolmaking skills and lost bow-and-arrow technology, but that sequence remains a hypothesis rather than an established archaeological conclusion.
Laacher See eruption redated to 13,077 years ago (11,078 BC), 126 years earlier
Site mentioned
📍 Laacher See
Key facts
- A 2021 study dated the Laacher See eruption to 13,077 years ago (11,078 BC), 126 years earlier than the previous estimate.
- The volcano is in the Eifel region of western Germany, part of the East Eifel volcanic field.
- Commonly cited estimates put the erupted magma at about 6 km³ and the total tephra at roughly 20 km³. The eruption was VEI 6, with a plume estimated to have reached approximately 30–40 km.
- Laacher See tephra has been found widely across Europe, and ash from the eruption is recorded in Greenland ice cores.
- Eruptive debris dammed the Rhine, creating a temporary lake and downstream flooding.
- Climate simulations indicate multi-year cooling and altered atmospheric circulation, but do not establish one fixed period of disruption lasting up to two decades.
- Archaeological and geological sites around Laacher See preserve tools, charred animal remains, plant impressions and animal tracks.
- The video argues that the eruption devastated Federmesser groups and that the Bromme and Perstunian cultures arose from survivors with reduced toolmaking skills and lost bow-and-arrow technology. This is an interpretation advanced by the video, not an established archaeological conclusion.
Sources
Evolution and environmental impacts of the eruption of ...oceanrep.geomar.de
Laacher See Volcano (LSV), 40 km south of Bonn, explosively erupted ca. 6.3 km3 of chemically strongly zoned phonolite magma probably during ...
Laacher Seeen.wikipedia.org
The lake was formed by a Plinian eruption approximately 13,000 years BP with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6, similar to the Pinatubo eruption of 1991.
Eruption of the Laacher See volcano redatedsciencedaily.com
Accordingly, the eruption of the Laacher See volcano occurred 13,077 years ago and thus 126 years earlier than previously assumed. This sheds ...
Impact Laacher See eruption on NE Germanypimdeklerk-palynology.eu
The eruption of the Laacher See volcano certainly caused temperatures to decrease, this decrease was too small and too short to greatly affect vegetation and ...
Devastating volcanic eruption did not cause the sudden- ...phys.org
The results suggest that the volcanic eruption must have taken place 130 years earlier than previously assumed.
Researchers find eruption date of Laacher See volcano is ...phys.org
The date of the German volcanic eruption published by Reinig et al., in 2021 is about 130 years older than the previously accepted age. The ...
Simulation of ash clouds after a Laacher See-type eruption - CPcp.copernicus.org
by U Niemeier · 2021 · Cited by 25 — To better understand the impact of a Laacher See-type eruption on NH circulation and climate, we have simulated the evolution of its fine ash ...
Expanding the Tephrochronological Record in the Alps ...agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
by V Meier · 2025 · Cited by 3 — We present the first documented occurrence of the Laacher See tephra (LST) in the Eastern Alps, identified in lake Plansee, Austria.
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.