It is one of the greatest upheavals in European history, yet it is not mentioned in any history books. In defence of historians, this forgotten invasion took place “before history”, around 5,000 years ago – writing had just appeared in Mesopotamia – when a nomadic people, the Yamnaya, left their steppes north of the Black Sea, straddling present-day Ukraine and Russia, and marched westward. There were only a few hundred of them, yet within twenty generations, they could be found all over Europe, from the Baltic to the British Isles.

Who were this ghost people? Under what conditions did they migrate to Europe and then to Asia?

To reconstruct such a distant event, which took place at the dawn of civilisation, before writing existed, scientists must combine a multitude of disciplines. We follow the exclusive results of the international and interdisciplinary research programme called ‘The Yamnaya Impact on Prehistoric Europe’ (YMPACT), led by German archaeologist Volker Heyd.

Director: Nathalie Laville

Write: Nathalie Laville

Producer: O2B Films

Co-producer: Other Films (Hongrie)

Broadcaster: France 5

In production

Running time : 90 minutes