In 1963, a hoard of treasure was discovered in Spain. It was called the Treasure of Villena. The hoard contained a total of 59 objects all made from various metals like iron and amber including precious metals like gold and silver. Recently, a report was published that said that the items in the treasure may have been crafted by an extraterrestrial metal! Yes! You read that right! Here are all of the important details that you would want to know about this recent report.
Treasure Of Villena May Be Made From Extraterrestrial Metal
Treasures made of alien material! The Villena Treasure, discovered in 1963 on the Iberian Peninsula, consists of 59 gold-plated objects. Recent analysis has revealed that two items in the collection contain remnants of an ‘extraterrestrial’ substance known as meteoric iron,… pic.twitter.com/ZyUxfQahsJ
— 360 on History | Science, History, Nature (@360onHistory) February 17, 2024
According to an article which was recently published by WION, the researchers who discovered this treasure noticed quite a few curious features about some iron items. The report was by Live Science and the researchers said that they seemed to be carved from some dark leaden metal.
…which is found in iron and nickel meteorites from the early universe. The ‘extraterrestrial’ material was detected in a gold-coated cap and bracelet from the treasure, with the cap containing 5.5% meteoric iron and the bracelet containing 2.8%. Scientists have approximated… pic.twitter.com/0ww1tpqOtC
— 360 on History | Science, History, Nature (@360onHistory) February 17, 2024
The researchers also said that certain parts of the items were shiny whereas the others were coated with a ferrous-looking oxide. This oxide was also mostly cracked.
…that this material originated from a meteor that fell on Earth approximately one million years ago. Images: Villena Museum#Archaeology #Extraterrestrial #VillenaTreasure #history #meteorites pic.twitter.com/KAZtaJ7fMR
— 360 on History | Science, History, Nature (@360onHistory) February 17, 2024
A recent study revealed that two of the items in the hoard seem to have been made from iron whose origin can be traced back to a meteorite which fell on Earth around a million years ago. They studied the two objects, one was a C-shaped bracelet and the other was a hollow sphere with a gold sheet.
More About This Hoard Of Treasure Found 60 Years Ago
Treasure of Villena, Bronze Age Spain, 1000 BC. pic.twitter.com/iouB7APO1Q
— Archaeo – Histories (@archeohistories) March 26, 2021
The study has revealed that these two items were created somewhere between 1400 and 1200 BCE. Not much else is known about their origin. It is not known who created these pieces and where they originated.
This 3,000-yr-old #gold treasure found in #Spain contains jewelry made with metals from ‘beyond planet Earth’, scientists say
A new analysis of the Treasure of Villena reveals some feature ‘alien metals’
Scientists found two objects, a cap and bracelet, contained the metals pic.twitter.com/siQZ03HCvu— Hans Solo (@thandojo) February 11, 2024
It is important to note, however, that these two have now become the first as well as the oldest known meteoritic iron found in the Iberian peninsula. One of the researchers cited in the WION article stated that since the composition of the material is quite similar, it is likely that the two pieces came from the same meteorite.
Also Read: From 3000-YO Pyramid To 2nd-Century Copper Coins; 7 New Archaeological Discoveries Made Recently
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Cover Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
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