Chemical tests suggest 3,000-year-old Spanish treasure contains meteoritic iron

Two iron objects found in a Spanish treasure discovered in 1963 may have been made from metal that arrived on Earth from space. The objects, a hollow hemisphere and an open bracelet, form part of the Villena Treasure, a major collection of Bronze Age goldwork found in Alicante, in southeastern Spain.

Their iron-like appearance had raised questions about the treasure’s age, as terrestrial iron production began later than the period in which the collection may have been buried.The findings were published in a research paper in Trabajos de Prehistoria, titled ‘Meteoritic iron in the Villena Treasure?’, which examined the chemical composition of both objects. The results are compatible with a Late Bronze Age date, before widespread terrestrial iron production began.What makes two iron objects in Spain's Bronze Age treasure unusualThe Villena Treasure was discovered by José M.ª Soler at Rambla del Panadero in late 1963 and is held at the Villena Museum in Alicante.

It is one of the most important collections of Bronze Age goldwork in the Iberian Peninsula.