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The findings come from a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science<\/em> and reported by Krystal Kasal for Phys.org. Researchers used non-destructive X-ray technology to examine 91 Bronze Age and Early Iron Age iron objects from 33 archaeological sites held in 19 museums.<\/p>\n Because meteoritic iron contains unusually high levels of nickel, the researchers analysed the objects for traces of the element. They identified 13 objects with nickel concentrations high enough to indicate a meteoritic origin.<\/p>\n The researchers classified 10 of the objects as very likely made from meteoritic iron, while three require further testing to confirm their origins.<\/p>\n The objects included tools, weapons, jewellery and other ornamental items. However, only finger rings showed evidence of meteoritic iron.<\/p>\n Most of the rings came from tombs containing other valuable objects and featured combinations of iron, gold, silver or bronze. The researchers therefore suggest that the rings may have represented power and elite status.<\/p>\n Several rings came from richly furnished tholos and chamber tombs associated with Mycenaean centres such as Mycenae, Vapheio and Kakovatos.<\/p>\n The researchers also highlighted the Anemospilia ring, which they found on the finger of a man whom archaeologists have interpreted as a high-ranking priest. Its context further supports the possibility that meteoritic iron objects carried social or ceremonial significance.<\/p>\n Meteorite iron may have travelled to Greece<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Meteorites containing iron are rarely preserved in Greece because the country\u2019s climate can accelerate the deterioration of exposed iron. The researchers therefore suggest that the meteoritic iron used in the rings may have entered Greece as an imported raw material, potentially from Egypt or other more arid regions where iron meteorites survive more readily.<\/p>\n However, the study does not establish the original source of the meteorites, and the researchers stress that there is no direct evidence identifying where the meteorites came from.<\/p>\n A fashion that disappeared with iron smelting<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The researchers found that all but one of the 13 rings with evidence of meteoritic iron date to the Late Bronze Age. Rings from later periods did not show similarly high nickel concentrations and therefore were unlikely to have used meteoritic iron.<\/p>\n The findings suggest that the use of meteorite iron for rings flourished during the Late Bronze Age before declining and disappearing around the time of the collapse of the Mycenaean palace system.<\/p>\n The change appears to coincide with the growing use of smelted iron.<\/p>\n The researchers identified 78 objects as having a confirmed smelted-iron origin. They traced the earliest undisputed examples to the 14th\u201313th centuries BCE, including a pendant from Dendra and a ring from Skoura.<\/p>\n These two objects provide evidence that ancient Greeks used both smelted and meteoritic iron during the same period.<\/p>\n The researchers conclude that smelted iron began to spread more widely after the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces, particularly during the 12th and 11th centuries BCE, somewhat later than in the Near East.<\/p>\n The study therefore points to a transition in ancient Greek metalworking: before iron smelting became widespread, rare meteoritic iron could provide an extraordinary material for objects associated with wealth, status and possibly religious authority.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n