Ancient treasure discovered in Spain
A 3,000-year-old golden treasure found in Spain contains jewelry made from metals of unearthly origin, scientists say. A new analysis of Villena's treasure has revealed some features of «alien metals.» Researchers discovered two objects, a headdress and a bracelet, containing such metals.
New analysis of ancient treasures discovered in Spain reveals that some artifacts were made from "alien metals" 3000 years ago.
According to the Daily Mail, scientists conducted a new analysis of Villena's treasure, consisting of 59 gold-plated objects found in 1963, and found that two objects contained meteorite iron.
Meteorite iron – These are the remains of a protoplanetary disk from the early universe, found in meteorites made of iron and nickel, explains the Daily Mail.
The gold-plated headdress and bracelet contained extraterrestrial material from a meteorite that the team estimates crashed into Earth a million years ago.
The study explained that meteoritic iron is found in certain types of stony meteorites, which are composed primarily of silicates – salt, consisting of silicon and oxygen.
"Because they came from outer space, they are composed of an iron-nickel alloy with a variable nickel content of more than five percent by weight, – write the researchers. – They also contain other minor and trace chemical elements, cobalt being one of the most important.»
Using fallen meteorites to make objects was a common practice thousands of years ago, as a similar artifact was found in Tutankhamun's tomb.
The Villena hoard was discovered on the Iberian Peninsula, providing a glimpse into when humans made the transition from stone to bronze . However, the treasure most likely belonged to an entire community, rather than just one royal family, writes the Daily Mail.
About 90 percent of the collection was made of 23.5 carat gold and includes eleven bowls, three bottles and 28 bracelets.
The artifacts were discovered by archaeologist José Maria Soler in December 1963, when he and his team were excavating a dry riverbed called the Rambla del Panadero. – about seven miles from Villena. The treasures have since been housed in the city's archaeological museum, allowing new analysis to be carried out that revealed alien metals.
A team of scientists from Spain and Saudi Arabia measured the molecules in each of the fragments, allowing them to find traces of an iron-nickel alloy. Researchers discovered a headdress and a bracelet that included meteorite iron, – in the first it made up 5.5 percent of the material, and in the second – only 2.8 percent.
The study's senior author, Ignacio Montero Ruiz, a researcher at the Institute of Spanish History, told Live Science: «Iron technology is completely different from copper and precious metal metallurgy (gold and silver). So the people who started working with meteorite iron and then terrestrial iron had to innovate and develop new technologies. However, nickel levels in terrestrial iron are typically low or very low and are often undetectable in analysis.»
In 2016, researchers from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Politecnico di Milano, and the University of Pisa unveiled a dagger that intricately decorated and encased in a golden scabbard, with a blade made from iron mined from the meteorite.
The team used a similar technique to study the composition of the metal, matching it with a meteorite named Kharga, which was found in 2000 on the plateau Maras Matruh in Egypt, 150 miles west of Alexandria.
The dagger is considered one of the most outstanding objects that were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun, thanks to the fine workmanship of the metal. It was found in the sarcophagus of a young pharaoh. The hilt features fine gold embossing and a crystal pommel, while the scabbard features a floral motif, feather designs and a jackal's head.
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