Scientists have conducted a fresh analysis of the Treasure of Villena, a collection of 59 gold-plated objects discovered in Spain in 1963, and found that two of the items contained meteoric iron. This dimension of iron is typically found in early-universe protoplanetary disk remnants found in meteorites made of iron and nickel. According to the team’s estimates, a gold-coated cap and bracelet in the collection contain material from a meteor that impacted Earth one million years ago. The study explains that meteorite iron is found in certain types of stony meteorites, which are primarily composed of silicates—a salt made of silicon and oxygen. The researchers noted that these materials, being from outer space, are composed of an iron-nickel alloy with a variable nickel composition greater than five percent by weight. They also contain other minor and trace chemical elements, with cobalt being one of the most significant. The use of fallen meteorites to craft objects was a common practice thousands of years ago, as a similar artifact was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. The Treasure of Villena, believed to have been discovered on the Iberian Peninsula, offers insight into the transition from using stone to bronze. However, it is believed that the hoard likely belonged to an entire community rather than a single royal family. The collection, made up of 90 percent 23.5-carat gold, includes eleven bowls, three bottles, and 28 bracelets. The artifacts were unearthed by archaeologist José Maria Soler in December 1963, during excavations of a dry river bed called the ‘Rambla del Panadero,’ approximately seven miles from Villena. They have been housed at the city’s Museum of Archaeology since then, allowing for the new analysis that uncovered the presence of alien metals. The team of Spanish and Saudi Arabian scientists was able to detect traces of iron-nickel alloy in each of the pieces by measuring the molecules in them. Researchers found a cap and bracelet that contained meteoric iron, with the former containing 5.5 percent of the material and the latter just 2.8 percent. Study senior author Ignacio Montero Ruiz, a researcher at Spain’s Institute of History, explained that the iron technology used is completely different from the copper-based metallurgy and the noble metals (gold and silver) that were prevalent at the time. He suggests that people who began working with meteoritic iron and later with terrestrial iron would have had to innovate and develop new technology. However, the levels of nickel in terrestrial iron are typically low or very low, and often undetectable in analysis. In 2016, a similar analysis of a dagger found in the tomb of Tutankhamun revealed that the blade was made from iron from a meteorite. The dagger, which is considered one of the most remarkable items retrieved from Tutankhamun’s tomb due to its fine metalwork, has a finely embossed gold handle with a crystal pommel and a sheath decorated with a floral motif, feather patterns, and a jackal’s head.
