A chemical study released online in January 2024 suggests that two iron objects in Spain’s Treasure of Villena were made from meteoritic metal. Researchers Salvador Rovira-Llorens, Martina Renzi and Ignacio Montero-Ruiz concluded that the objects were probably fashioned from iron delivered to Earth by meteorites, although further analysis would improve confidence in that interpretation.
The finding concerns an open bracelet and a hollow hemisphere covered with gold. It could help explain the presence of iron in a hoard associated with the Bronze Age, before the widespread production of iron from terrestrial ores in the region. The analysis supports a possible origin for the metal without directly establishing when the objects were made.
Chemical evidence beneath the corrosion
The researchers reported taking small samples from the corroded surfaces of both artifacts for mass spectrometry analysis. Sampling began in 2007, and a second sample was taken from the bracelet in 2013, years before the study appeared.
Nickel was an important indicator. Iron meteorites generally contain more nickel than iron produced by smelting terrestrial ores. The team examined nickel alongside iron, cobalt and other elements to assess whether the objects’ composition fitted a meteoritic origin.
The authors found that the chemical relationships were consistent with meteoritic iron. They compared the proportions of nickel relative to iron and cobalt with measurements from meteorites and other ancient iron objects.
However, corrosion complicates those comparisons. The researchers noted that weathering can deplete elements in the surface layers, meaning the samples do not necessarily preserve the original metal’s composition. That limits how confidently the surviving corrosion can characterize the material beneath it.
The team proposed additional non-invasive analysis to strengthen the findings. Portable X-ray fluorescence was among the options discussed, allowing repeated surface measurements without removing further samples. Other options included computed tomography and laboratory techniques intended to examine the artifacts without taking additional material.
A Bronze Age dating question
Museum records describe the treasure’s discovery in December 1963 by archaeologist José María Soler and his collaborators near Villena, in Alicante. The objects were found inside a ceramic vessel concealed in a dry watercourse. Gold vessels and ornaments dominate the collection, which also includes silver, amber and the two iron pieces.
The gold-covered hemisphere has been interpreted as a fitting for a ceremonial staff or a sword handle. Its precise function remains uncertain. Its iron core is decorated with a thin, patterned gold sheet, while the bracelet is an open ring. Both objects have suffered substantial surface corrosion.
The researchers discussed a possible Late Bronze Age date, around 1400–1200 BCE, based on archaeological connections with the nearby Cabezo Redondo hoard. Identifying meteoritic iron would make the two objects compatible with that earlier chronology, since their makers would not have needed to extract iron from ore.
The authors described the pair as the first objects in the Iberian Peninsula attributable to meteoritic iron on the available evidence. Their conclusion remains qualified by the need for further testing, particularly because both objects have heavily altered surfaces.
