Researchers have uncovered evidence suggesting that ancient warriors utilised asteroids as weapons in battle. The discovery centres around a 3,000-year-old arrowhead unearthed in Switzerland, which was found to be crafted from meteorite material, proving that extraterrestrial weaponry existed in the ancient world.
"A single object made of meteoritic iron has been identified," the authors reported in the study, soon to be published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
While previous instances of tools made from space rocks have been found, they remain exceptionally uncommon. According to archaeological experts, this meteor-based arrowhead is only the third ever discovered in Central and Western Europe.
The Bronze Age relic was one of several arrowheads discovered by archaeologists at the Mörigen archaeological site near Lake of Biel during the 19th century.
Initially, the origins of the weapon remained a mystery as it was displayed at the Bern historical museum in Switzerland. The research team employed a range of advanced techniques, including electron microscopes, X-rays, and high-energy radiation, to confirm its meteorological makeup as an iron-nickel-aluminium alloy.
By cross-referencing the data with known space-rock samples, they confirmed its extraterrestrial origin.
Scientists deduced that the iron in the arrowhead likely came from the Kaalijarv meteorite, which fell to Earth in modern-day Estonia around 1500 BCE. This meteor splintered into debris fragments, which ancient craftsmen then utilized to forge weapons of war and other artifacts during the Bronze Age, predating the invention of iron smelting.
Before the advent of the Iron Age, meteoric iron was extensively utilised by ancient cultures to craft jewellery, weaponry, and figurines across the globe.
The recent discovery in Switzerland, along with two other alien metal items found in modern-day Poland, suggests a sophisticated trade network that spanned across Europe during that epoch.
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