A recent study by Dr. Albert Jambon and his colleagues, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, revealed the presence of meteoric iron in Early Iron Age ornaments in Poland.
According to Dr. Jambon, the study was prompted by the desire to know the origin of iron smelting. “The point of my research is to find out who, when, and where the iron smelting was discovered. To that end, we need to analyze archaeological irons and check whether they are meteoritic or smelted.”
To do this, two Early Iron Age cemeteries and their iron artifacts, Częstochowa-Raków and Częstochowa-Mirów, both located in southern Poland, were analyzed.
The two cemeteries, each roughly 6 km apart, belonged to the Lusatian Culture and were dated to the Hallstatt C to C/D period, ca. 750–600 BCE.
In all, 26 iron artifacts, including bracelets, ankle rings, knives, spearheads, and necklaces, were recovered from the various graves.
Using a series of different analytical techniques, including portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF) analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray microtomography, the researchers were able to determine the artifacts’ elemental distribution and material composition. Additionally, X-ray microtomography allowed researchers to determine the internal structure of each sample.
Dr. Jambon and his colleagues determined that four of the artifacts were at least partially composed of meteoric iron. These included three bracelets (one of which was used as an ankle ring) and a pin. The bracelets had come from Częstochowa-Raków cemetery, while the pin was recovered from Częstochowa-Mirów.
Despite seemingly constituting a rather small find, the meteoric iron artifacts from Częstochowa-Raków make the site one of the most saturated meteoric iron archaeological sites worldwide, on par with some sites in Egypt.
Based on the nickel levels in the iron, they suggested that the iron artifacts had been made from an ataxite meteorite, an extremely rare iron meteorite with a high nickel content.
Due to the meteorite’s rarity, the team proposed that the iron had to have been sourced locally, in direct contrast to other terrestrial iron, which was usually sourced from the Alps or the Balkans.
“We can conclude that there is a high likelihood that there was a witnessed fall rather than a lucky find. Iron meteorites may be large (hundreds of kg), but this may actually be a problem. Large pieces are not workable, and you need to separate small pieces (less than one kg), which is hardly possible with the tools of the Iron Age (see, e.g., the pieces of iron worked by the Inuits),” Dr. Jambon explains.
“In France, in 1830, a piece of meteoritic iron (about 600 kg) was recognized in front of the church in Caille. There were attempts to take pieces in order to make tools, but the local people gave up, and not a single object of meteoritic iron was recovered.”
“If you go hunting after a fall, you may find many small pieces until they are covered by the vegetation. [A] one kg piece will make a hole in the ground about 20 cm deep. If it rains, which may happen in Europe, such small pieces will never be recovered. Recovering workable pieces is more likely after a witnessed fall.”
Interestingly, iron, even meteoric iron, was not a high-value item, even during the Iron Age. This fact was further corroborated by the context in which the meteoric iron artifacts had been found, namely in the graves of males and females (with children), at inhumations, and in cremations.
This randomness of graves indicates there seemingly was no age, sex, or social restriction to who could be buried with meteoric iron. Additionally, none of the graves had goods such as gold, silver, gems, or foreign imports, further substantiating that meteoric iron was likely not seen as particularly prestigious.
“During the Bronze Age, the price of iron was about ten times that of gold; in the early Iron Age, it sank drastically to less than copper,” explains Dr. Jambon.
Interestingly, the SEM and CT analyses revealed further details. While it was known that the meteoric iron had been mixed with slag iron, the analysis revealed faint banding patterns on the metal. Due to the high nickel content of meteoric iron, it would look white when smelted in comparison to terrestrial slag iron, which looked black.
It is possible this mixing of iron sources was done on purpose to produce patterned metals. If true, this would make these iron artifacts the oldest known version of patterned iron, long before the invention of Damascus steel.
More information: Albert Jambon et al, Heavenly metal for the commoners: Meteoritic irons from the Early Iron Age cemeteries in Częstochowa (Poland), Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.104982
Journal information: Journal of Archaeological Science
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