Iron Age Artifacts Made From A Meteorite Were Found In A Cemetery In Poland
In southern Poland, iron objects made from a single meteorite were uncovered by archaeologists. The artifacts were discovered during excavations at two early Iron Age cemeteries, Częstochowa-Raków and Częstochowa-Mirów. The cemeteries belonged to the Lusatian culture and were dated to 750 to 600 B.C.E.
In total, there were 26 iron artifacts, including bracelets, necklaces, ankle rings, knives, and spearheads. The project was driven by the question of when iron smelting originated.
“The point of my research is to find out who, when, and where the iron smelting was discovered. To that end, we need to analyze archaeological irons and check whether they are meteoritic or smelted,” said Dr. Albert Jambon, the leader of the study.
The researchers used different analytical techniques, such as portable X-ray fluorescence analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray microtomography, to determine the chemical composition of the artifacts.
They learned that four of the objects—three bracelets and a pin—were at least partially made of meteoric iron. The bracelets came from the Częstochowa-Raków cemetery, while the pin was from Częstochowa-Mirów.
Although the discovery seemed rather small, it makes up one of the largest collections of meteoric iron products ever found in the world.
Based on the nickel levels in the iron, the researchers suggested that the iron artifacts were crafted from an ataxite meteorite, an extremely rare meteorite known for its high nickel content.
Since the meteorite was so rare, the iron must have been sourced locally, instead of from the Alps or the Balkans like other common iron.
It is more likely that someone saw the meteorite fall rather than a lucky find because there is a better chance of recovering workable pieces.
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During the Iron Age, not even meteoric iron was very valuable. Meteoric iron artifacts have been uncovered in the graves of males and females with children, as well as in cremations.
The grave goods were placed in seemingly random graves, so there appeared to be no restriction on who could be buried with meteoric iron.
In addition, none of the graves contained any gold, silver, gems, or foreign items, which supports the theory that meteoric iron was not reserved for elites.
“During the Bronze Age, the price of iron was about 10 times that of gold; in the early Iron Age, it sank drastically to less than copper,” said Dr. Jambon.
Furthermore, the analysis revealed faint banding patterns of the metal, making these iron artifacts the oldest known examples of patterned iron, a millennium before the invention of materials like Damascus steel.
Overall, the findings demonstrate that these ancient people were more skilled at metalworking and began the practice much earlier than previously thought.
The details of the full study were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
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