Researchers have discovered meteoritic iron objects in a hoard dating back to the Bronze Age, suggesting advanced metalworking technologies in Spain 3,000 years ago, Science Alert writes, citing Trabajos de Prehistoria.
A Bronze Age treasure, discovered in 1963 and known as the “Villena Treasure”, is creating controversy. Researchers have identified two objects that are not of Earth iron, but of meteoritic iron. The hoard in question includes a rusted bracelet and a hollow inside hemisphere decorated with gold.
The discovery suggests that metalworking technologies in the Iberian area were much more advanced than previously thought, long before iron became widely used in the Peninsula.
The first pieces of meteoritic iron discovered in the Iberian Peninsula
The objects, which have been dated between 1500 and 1200 BC, could be the first pieces of meteoritic iron discovered in the Iberian Peninsula, thus confirming the connection with the late Bronze Age period.
The tests showed a much higher concentration of nickel than in iron from the soil, meaning the objects were made of material from outer space.
Source: www.descopera.ro
