2 November 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Analyses of a 2,900-year-old iron chisel from Portugal revealed surprisingly high-quality steel

Steel tools were believed to have only become widespread in Europe during the Roman Empire, but a recent study shows that steel tools were already in use in Europe around 2,900 years ago, during the  Final Bronze Age.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Freiburg, sheds new light on the early history of steel production in Europe. A study by an international and interdisciplinary team headed by Freiburg archaeologist Dr. Ralph Araque Gonzalez from the Faculty of Humanities has proven that steel tools were already in use in Europe around 2900 years ago.

Using geochemical analyses, the researchers were able to prove that stone stelae on the Iberian peninsula that date back to the Final Bronze Age feature complex engravings that could only have been done using tempered steel.

Ancient Iberian stelae, upright monuments typically inscribed with information in the form of text, images, or a combination of the two, were found to be made of silicated quartz sandstone after the researchers conducted geochemical analyses.

Photos: Rafael Ferreiro Mählmann (A), Bastian Asmus (B), Ralph Araque Gonzalez (C-E)
Photos: Rafael Ferreiro Mählmann (A), Bastian Asmus (B), Ralph Araque Gonzalez (C-E)

“Just like quartzite, this is an extremely hard rock that cannot be worked with bronze or stone tools, but only with tempered steel,” said Araque Gonzalez.

The researchers examined an iron chisel from the Final Bronze Age that was also discovered in Rocha do Vigio, Portugal, to confirm their suspicion that these monuments were etched with steel tools. To work with the tough silicated quartz sandstone, they learned that the chisel was made of heterogeneous but remarkably carbon-rich steel.

 The result was also confirmed experimentally by undertaking trials with chisels made of various materials: only the chisel made of tempered steel was suitably capable of engraving the stone.

One of the stelae analyzed by the researchers has a human figure as the central motif. Strangely, the depicted face shows a happy expression when illuminated from above (left) and an unhappy expression when the light comes from below (right). Credit: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.

Until recently it was assumed that it was not possible to produce suitable quality steel in the Early Iron Age and certainly not in the Final Bronze Age, and that it only came to be widespread in Europe under the Roman Empire. “The chisel from Rocha do Vigio and the context where it was found show that iron metallurgy including the production and tempering of steel were probably indigenous developments of decentralized small communities in Iberia, and not due to the influence of later colonization processes.

This also has consequences for the archaeological assessment of iron metallurgy and quartzite sculptures in other regions of the world,” explains Araque Gonzalez.

The study ‘Stone-working and the earliest steel in Iberia: Scientific analyses and experimental replications of final bronze age stelae and tools’ has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105742

Related Articles

Evidence of Brain Surgery performed 3,000 years ago discovered in the ancient city of Tel Megiddo

27 February 2023

27 February 2023

Researchers have discovered a rare instance of delicate cranial surgery, possibly the earliest of its kind in the Middle East,...

New Discoveries on the İsland of Skokholm

29 March 2021

29 March 2021

New discoveries dating back 9000 years have been found in Skokholm, located in the Celtic Sea two miles off the...

11,000-Year-Old LSU Campus Mounds Are Oldest Known Human-Made Structures In North America

23 August 2022

23 August 2022

According to new research published in the American Journal of Science, two six-meter (20-foot) high mounds on the campus of...

Excavations in and around Yazıkaya, one of the monumental works of the Phrygians, start again after 71 years.

23 July 2022

23 July 2022

Archaeological excavations at Midas Castle in Yazılıkaya Midas Valley in the Han district of Eskişehir, located in northwest Turkey, will...

Research Team Identifies Oldest Bone Spear Point In The Americas

3 February 2023

3 February 2023

A team of researchers has identified the Manis bone projectile point as the oldest weapon made of bone ever found...

Oldest Fortresses in the World Discovered in Siberia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin together with an international team have uncovered fortified prehistoric settlements in a remote region of...

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20...

Freshwater and marine shells used as ornaments 30,000 years ago discovered in Spain

7 June 2023

7 June 2023

In Malaga’s Cueva de Ardales, up to 13 freshwater and marine shells that were carefully transformed by humans between 25,000...

3D virtual reconstruction of the Celtic city gate

2 May 2022

2 May 2022

A new 3D virtual reconstruction of the Celtic gate has been made in Staffelberg, in the German state of Bavaria....

Tomb of a Roman doctor buried with unique surgical tools unearthed in Hungary

28 April 2023

28 April 2023

Hungarian archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman doctor 1st-century man buried with high-quality surgical tools near the city of...

Archaeologists Discovered Medieval Silver Communion Set and 70 Silver Coins in Hungary

16 June 2024

16 June 2024

A 14th-century silver communion set (chalice and wafer holder) and a treasure trove of 70 silver coins were discovered in...

A Monument complex and inscription belonging to Ilteris Kutlug Kagan, the founder of the Eastern Göktürk Khanate, were found

24 August 2022

24 August 2022

A Turkish inscription of İlteriş Kutlug Kağan was found during the joint scientific archaeological expedition of the International Turkic Academy...

A Roman bridge from the Republican era was discovered on Via Tiburtina

27 February 2022

27 February 2022

The remains of a rare Republican-era bridge have been discovered on the 12th kilometer of the Via Tiburtina, the ancient...

A 500-year-old mural linked to an Aztec god was found under layers of paint in Mexican Church

15 October 2022

15 October 2022

A mural of an Aztec rabbit God of alcohol is not something anyone expects to see inside a church, but...

Persian plateau unveiled as crucial hub for early human migration out of Africa, study suggests

29 March 2024

29 March 2024

60,000 to 70,000 years ago, our species Homo sapiens walked out of Africa and began to find new homes around...