Archaeologists in Poland uncovered 26 iron objects made from a single meteorite. The artifacts, discovered during excavations at two early Iron Age cemeteries—Częstochowa-Raków and Częstochowa-Mirów—included bracelets, ankle rings, knives, spearheads, and necklaces.
A recent study found that meteoric iron was present in these Early Iron Age ornaments, indicating that it was deliberately used to create patterns on iron jewelry a millennium before the invention of materials such as wootz and Damascus steel. The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Researchers discovered that these artifacts used iron from both smelted ore and meteorites, with the smelted iron likely obtained through trade, possibly from southwestern ores in the Alps or Balkans, but crafted locally. They found that four of the 26 pieces, including three bracelets, an ankle ring, and a pin, were made from meteoritic iron, likely from a single meteoritic source.
Despite the modest number of finds, the discovery of these specimens is important, as they make up one of the biggest collections of meteoritic iron products ever found worldwide, reported Euro Weekly News. This positions southern Poland as one of the most meteoritic iron-saturated archaeological sites globally, on par with ancient Egyptian archaeological sites.
The cemeteries are dated to the Hallstatt C to C/D period, approximately 750–600 BCE, and over the years, a 500 m² area has been excavated, revealing 85 burials, reported Wion. The Częstochowa-Raków and Częstochowa-Mirów cemeteries belonged to the Lusatian Culture, and the Częstochowa Museum has a permanent exhibition presenting this culture.
Scientists used portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF) analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray microtomography in their analysis of the items. This helped them determine the artifacts' elemental distribution and material composition.
They studied nickel levels in the iron to determine that the artifacts had been made from a type of very rare extraterrestrial rock with a high nickel content called meteoritic ataxite, reported Wion. An ataxite meteorite is an extremely rare iron meteorite known for its high nickel content.
"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 meteoric iron found in the artifacts was mixed with smelted iron, confirming that local inhabitants possessed skills in processing meteoritic iron during that era.
"We suggest that meteoritic iron was deliberately used to produce a specific pattern for iron jewelry, a thousand years before the supposed invention of Indian wootz steel and Damascus steel," wrote the researchers.
The findings have led historians to hypothesize that these ancient people were more skilled at working with metal than previously thought. The results also indicate that ancient inhabitants in southern Poland knew how to work with iron much earlier than previously believed.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.