This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Meteorites provided a rare but ready source of iron for ancient Bronze Age cultures before smelting became common. A new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, sheds light on how the ancient Minoan and Mycenaean elite used this extraordinary metal and when its popularity declined.
Previous archaeological studies have identified meteoritic iron in Bronze Age objects from Egypt, the Near East, Europe and Asia. One of the more recent findings was a dagger made from meteorite iron discovered in Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb, dating to around the 14th century BCE. The use of meteoritic iron particularly stands out during the Bronze Age because of the lack of iron smelting at the time.
The authors of the new study write, "The exploitation of meteoritic iron in order to fashion utilitarian, ornamental, cult or magical objects is attested on every continent from prehistory to the modern era. The Inuit people from northern Greenland made knives and scrapers from the Cape York meteorites. In pre-Columbian America, some meteorites were ritually buried or carved to make jewels.
In Egypt, a meteoritic iron talisman provided lasting protection for a herd of camels against bad luck." However, it was unclear whether Bronze Age Greeks used meteoritic iron. Testing had previously been limited on iron finds in Greece because the methods used could damage rare museum specimens. It was also unclear when the ancient Greeks began smelting iron.
Newer handheld instruments using X-ray methods can now measure metal chemistry without damaging fragile materials, allowing them to be tested onsite rather than transported to labs. The researchers took advantage of this ability and examined 91 Bronze Age and Early Iron Age iron objects from 33 archaeological sites held in 19 museums. Since meteoritic iron contains high amounts of nickel, the team checked the objects' nickel content to determine whether they were meteoritic in nature.
Of the 91 objects, they found 13 that had nickel content high enough to have come from meteorites. The team says that 10 of these were very likely made from meteoritic iron, while three were only possibly meteoritic and need additional testing. Although the objects tested included tools, weapons, jewelry and other ornamental items, only finger rings were made of meteoritic iron.
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