Ancient Artifacts from Meteorite Iron Reveal Secrets of Early Metallurgy

Known as the Treasure of Villena, this horde of brilliant golden treasure from prehistoric Spain reveals ancient metalworking secrets.

Amid a dazzling collection of 66 mostly golden artifacts, the two most important ones are not the most eye-catching. But this open iron bracelet and gold-decorated iron hemisphere are more than they seem.

In a recent paper, researchers at Spain’s National Archeological Museum discovered that the objects were forged from meteoric iron.

Bronze Age or Iron Age?

The Treasure of Villena, discovered in the Valencia region of Spain in 1963 by Jose Maria Soler, is considered one of the most important collections of prehistoric treasure in Europe. Yet for 60 years, researchers have struggled to accurately date the collection. Estimates spanned nearly a thousand years, from 1500 to 800 BC.

The sticking point was two worked pieces of iron, the hemisphere and the bracelet. While the gold objects that made up the bulk of the collection were dated to between 1500 and 1200 BC, smelted terrestrial iron objects weren’t produced on the Iberian peninsula until around 850 BC.

Metal from the sky

But what if these objects weren’t made of terrestrial iron? It wasn’t as unbelievable as it might seem. In fact, the oldest known iron artifacts, a set of 5,000-year-old beads from northern Egypt, also came from meteoric iron.

Iron is almost always found in the form of iron ore, which needs to be treated to extract the iron. Without the invention of this process, called smelting, Bronze Age peoples couldn’t use the iron they found. But they could harvest iron from meteorites to make weapons, tools, and decorative objects. Meteoric iron is easily distinguished from terrestrial iron: It has more nickel and less carbon.

Researchers tested the Villena iron objects by carefully taking small samples so they would not damage the precious artifacts. What they found seemed to confirm their suspicions. These ancient treasures came from a fallen meteorite.

Due to the corroded condition of the artifacts, the results aren’t completely certain, but further tests should confirm their initial analysis. If so, these objects are the first examples of meteoritic iron working on the Iberian peninsula. It would also affirm that the Treasure of Villena belongs to the Bronze Age, suggesting a date of around 1400 to 1200 BC.