Early Iron Age ornaments unearthed in Poland have been found to contain iron from meteorites, suggesting the ancient inhabitants of the region were adept at working the metal much earlier than thought.
“We suggest that the meteoritic iron was deliberately used to produce a specific pattern on iron jewellery – a millennium before the supposed invention of wootz and Damascus steel,” researchers wrote.
The research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, found that about 26 specimens of ornaments, including three bracelets, an ankle ring, and a pin unearthed at an ancient Polish cemetery contained meteoritic iron.
They also suggest meteoritic iron was likely no longer of the same symbolic value as it had in the Bronze Age before the discovery of iron smelting.
Researchers found that four of the 26 artefacts, including three bracelets and a pin, were made of meteoric iron, likely from a single meteorite source.
