2023-08-02 13:34:27
A Bronze Age arrowhead found in Mörigen, on the shores of Lake Biel, was made using iron from a meteorite, according to a Bernese study. But surprise, the metal does not come from the Montagne de Douanne meteorite.
The point in question, which is 39 millimeters long and weighs 2.9 grams, is kept at the Bern Historical Museum. It was found in the 19th century during excavations on a pile dwelling dating from 900-800 BC, the Natural History Museum of Bern, which conducted the research, said on Wednesday.
Such metal objects from meteorites and dating from before the beginning of the Iron Age (800 BC) are very rare: there are 55 for all of Eurasia and the African continent. The scientists therefore wanted to know if the arrowhead came from the dispersion zone of the Montagne de Douanne meteorite, located a few kilometers away.
In order to avoid damaging the precious artefact, the scientists used state-of-the-art techniques, in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute, the University of Bern and German colleagues. The analyzes showed beyond a shadow of a doubt the meteorite origin of the metal, according to this work published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Estonian meteorite
To the researchers’ surprise, the arrowhead was not made from one of the approximately 2,000 fragments of the iron meteorite that fell on the Montagne de Douanne 170,000 years ago. It contains a rate of nickel almost twice as high.
According to the authors, the most probable origin in view of the composition of the metal is the Kaalijarv meteorite, which fell around 1500 BC in Estonia and which produced several craters up to 100 meters in diameter. This tends to indicate that a trade in these fragments had developed.
It could therefore be that other objects kept in the collections of European museums are also of Estonian provenance, conclude the scientists, who suggest analyzes in this direction. Mörigen’s arrowhead will be shown from February 1, 2024 to April 21, 2025 as part of the exhibition “Place au bronze!” at the Bern Historical Museum.
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