Produced by: Tarun Mishra
Credit: Salvador Rovira-Llorens
Researchers have found that an ancient civilization utilized meteoric iron, a material from celestial bodies, to forge artifacts over 3,000 years ago.
The discovery comes from the Treasure of Villena, a collection of 66 golden objects found in Spain in 1963. Two corroded objects, a bracelet and a hollow hemisphere, have been identified as potentially extraterrestrial.
Credit: El Museo de Villena
Recent studies indicate these objects were likely made from meteoric iron rather than terrestrial iron ore, providing evidence of advanced metallurgical knowledge.
Mass spectrometry analysis revealed high levels of nickel in the artifacts, a key indicator of meteoric iron, supporting the theory of their extraterrestrial origin.
credit: Andreas Forsberg and Anders Zetterqvist
Dating the collection has been complex due to these two objects. While the Iron Age in the Iberian Peninsula started around 850 BCE, the gold artifacts date back to 1500-1200 BCE.
Iron from meteors was highly valued and used to craft elite objects in ancient cultures before the development of iron smelting technology.
credit: World History Encyclopedia
Researchers plan to apply more advanced, non-invasive techniques to obtain detailed compositional data and confirm their hypothesis about the artifacts' origins.
The findings underscore the sophisticated metallurgical capabilities of Iberian Bronze Age societies, who not only mastered earthly metals but also utilized materials from space to create enduring treasures.
credit: World History Encyclopedia