A few months ago, a study highlighted the presence of meteoritic iron in objects exhumed in Spain in the early 1960s. However, it turns out that the treasure in question is more than 3,000 years old and is therefore older as the advent of the Iron Age in the region.
Two objects studied in depth
The Treasure of Villena is a set of precious objects discovered in 1963 by archaeologist José María Soler García, in the province of Alicante (Spain). Around sixty objects make up this treasure (bracelets, bottles, brooches and others), most of which are made of gold and some others are made of iron and silver.
Published in the journal Trabajos de Prehistoria in December 2023, a study carried out by Iberian historians has highlighted two objects in particular : a tarnished bracelet and a hollow hemisphere decorated with gold (see photos below). The fact is that these two objects were made from a material that was still quite rare for the time. The researchers carried out analyzes which revealed that it was meteoritic iron (i.e. coming from space), a much rarer metal.
The dating carried out on the two objects made it possible to determine that they date back to a period which is located between 1500 and 1200 BC. AD, in other words well before the advent of the Iron Age in the area corresponding to current Spain. This period corresponds more to the Late Bronze Agealso explaining the rarity of the metal found during these analyses.
Very early knowledge of iron
In order to differentiate iron of meteoritic origin from terrestrial iron, the authors of the study carried out mass spectrometry analyzes. Initially, the goal was to determine the nickel content of the objects. In fact, nickel is more present in metal of meteoritic origin. These analyzes then revealed the presence of the latter in the bracelet and the hollow hemisphere, despite a advanced corrosion state.
This discovery therefore suggests that the artisans of the time had a in-depth knowledge of iron, a metal that required higher temperatures to work. Furthermore, this knowledge was really advanced, because meteoritic iron is more brittle, due to its composition. It therefore requires a higher melting temperature, but also slower cooling.
Finally, you should know that the presence of meteoritic iron was not only discovered in the Villena Treasure. Indeed, this material is also present in several objects from the Shang dynasty (China) or in the dagger of Tutankhamun (Egypt).
