A startling discovery has been puzzling scientists at the Bern History Museum in Switzerland. An arrow dating from the Bronze Age, displayed at the institution, was meticulously analyzed by researchers, revealing an unexpected secret: its blade was made from a meteorite.
The study detailing this remarkable discovery was recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
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The tests carried out on the tip of the arrow, whose real images were not disclosed by the researchers, revealed the presence of isotopes of aluminum-26, a substance that does not occur naturally on Earth.
Furthermore, the scientists identified an alloy of iron and nickel, a common feature in meteorites, but rarely found in terrestrial materials.
The ancient weapon was originally found in the 19th century at a site called Mörigen, which, in prehistory, sheltered a community of primitive people between the years 900 a. W. and 800 a.m. W. This location corresponds today to the vicinity of Lake Bienna, Switzerland.
Weighing a mere 2.9 grams, the arrow is 39.3 millimeters long and 25 millimeters wide, with a maximum thickness of 2.6 millimeters.
Another significant finding was the presence of traces of a type of glue on the tip of the arrow, indicating that the blade had been attached to some type of shaft.
Initially, researchers associated the weapon with the Twannberg meteorite, which fell thousands of years ago in the vicinity of where the artifact was discovered, before the last ice age.
However, detailed chemical analysis revealed that the blade's composition did not match that of the meteorite's rocky body.
After further analysis, the team of scientists came to an intriguing conclusion. The arrow's blade shares a unique chemical composition with only three meteorites found in Europe: one in the Czech Republic, another in Spain and a third that fell in what is now Estonia.
Experts suggest that it is highly likely that the meteorite found in Estonia was the origin of the studied arrowhead.
This raises the hypothesis of an extensive commercial network with more than 1,500 kilometers of reach, which was active during the Bronze Age in Central Europe. This network connected these regions through the trade in rare and valuable materials, such as meteorites.
The researchers are excited about this unique finding, as it may indicate frequent use of extraterrestrial materials in ancient artifacts, especially in areas rich in iron fragments meteoritic.
With this new revelation, experts now speculate that other archaeological pieces may contain similar materials of cosmic origin.
This find inspires even more study and research, as humankind's ancient history continues to reveal surprising secrets and mysteries through archeology and modern science.
