Dear Prof. Rehren,
![image]( "image")
Abstract
Congratulations to the team led by you for the magnificent scientific report in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
I have also been studying metalware catalogs of Indus Writing.
I find that there is a word which describes such iron in Indian sprachbund. The word is aduru.
aduru ‘native, unsmelted metal’ (Kannada) aduru = gaṇiyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru = ore taken from the mine and not subjected to melting in a furnace (Ka. Siddhānti Subrahmaṇya śastri’s New interpretation of the Amarakośa,Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p. 330)
Dravidian etyma: Ta. ayil iron. Ma.
Best regards,
Kalyanaraman
Full text: pdf http://tinyurl.com/k6h2hozArticle in Journal of Archaeological Science xxx(2013) 1-8
5,000 years old Egyptian iron beads made from hammered meteoritic iron
Thilo Rehrena,*, Tamás Belgya b, Albert Jambonc, György Káli d, Zsolt Kasztovszky b,Zoltán Kis b, Imre Kovács e , Boglárka Maróti b, Marcos Martinón-Torres f,Gianluca Miniacif,g, Vincent C. Pigott a, Miljana Radivojevi cf, László Rosta d,László Szentmiklósi b, Zoltán Szokefalvi-Nagy }
AbstractThe earliest known iron artefacts are nine small beads securely dated to circa 3200 BC, from two burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt. We show that these beads were made from meteoritic iron, and shaped by careful hammering the metal into thin sheets before rolling them into tubes. The study demonstrates the ability of neutron and X-ray methods to determine the nature of the material even after complete corrosion of the iron metal. The iron beads were strung into a necklace together with other exotic minerals such as lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian, revealing the status of meteoritic iron as a special material on a par with precious metal and gem stones. The results confirm that already in the fourth millennium BC metalworkers had mastered the smithing of meteoritic iron, an iron-nickel alloy much harder and more brittle than the more commonly worked copper. This is of wider significance as it demonstrates that metalworkers had already nearly two millennia of experience to hot-work meteoritic iron when iron smelting was introduced. This knowledge was essential for the development of iron smelting, which produced metal in a solid state process and hence depended on this ability in order to replace copper and bronze as the main utilitarian metals.
Graphical abstract
Space Out! Photos of Ancient Artifacts Made from Meteorites
By LiveScience Staff | August 19, 2013 07:01pm ET
Egyptian Necklaces & Iron Beads
Archaeologists have uncovered ancient artifacts that were made from meteorites that fell to Earth from space. Here are some of the most famous artifacts that originated from the cosmos.
Above, ancient iron beads (center) were excavated from an Egyptian tomb in 1911. The beads were made from iron meteorites. On either side, ancient Egyptian necklaces are displayed, with other exotic materials, such as lapis lazuli and gold, strung together.
Above, ancient iron beads (center) were excavated from an Egyptian tomb in 1911. The beads were made from iron meteorites. On either side, ancient Egyptian necklaces are displayed, with other exotic materials, such as lapis lazuli and gold, strung together.
Meteorite bead
An analysis of this Gerzeh bead showed it was crafted from a space rock.
Ancient Egyptian Iron Beads
Ancient iron beads were excavated from an Egyptian tomb in 1911. The beads were crafted from iron meteorites, which fell to Earth from space.
Egytian Beads Made from Iron Meteorites
These ancient Egyptian beads were crafted from iron meteorites.
Ancient Egyptian Iron Beads Close-up
A close-up of the ancient iron beads found in a 5,000-year-old Egyptian tomb.
Meteorite Buddha
A Buddha statue dating back to the 8th to 10th centuries is carved from a rare iron meteorite.
Space Buddha
The Buddha meteorite matches those found in the Chinga meteorite field.
Experts trace Petrie Museum's Egyptian tomb beads to ancient outer space meteorites
By Culture24 Reporter | 19 August 2013
Hammered into thin sheets and rolled into tubes, a set of nine Egyptian beads at the Petrie Museum, dating from more than 5,000 years ago and strung into a necklace along with gold, gemstone and exotic materials, were presumed to have been shaped from iron ore.
But surprising new research, compiled by experts at UCL and proving that fourth century metalworkers could mould far harder and more brittle materials than their traditional medium of copper, suggests these tiny beads were made from meteorites – predating iron ore by two millennia.
“The shape of the beads was obtained by smithing and rolling, most likely involving multiple cycles of hammering – not by the traditional stone-working techniques such as carving or drilling which were used for the other beads found in the same tomb,” says Professor Thilo Rehren, the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
“The really exciting outcome of this research is that we were for the first time able to demonstrate conclusively that there are typical trace elements such as cobalt and germanium present in these beads, at levels that only occur in meteoritic iron.
“We are also excited to be able to see the internal structure of the beads, revealing how they were rolled and hammered into form.
“This is very different technology from the usual stone bead drilling, and shows quite an advanced understanding of how the metal smiths worked this rather difficult material.”
Non-invasive neutrons and gamma-rays were also used to detect nickel and phosphorous in the beads. They were excavated in a pre-dynastic cemetery near the village of el-Gerzeh, in Lower Egypt, in 1911.
“The shape of the beads was obtained by smithing and rolling, most likely involving multiple cycles of hammering – not by the traditional stone-working techniques such as carving or drilling which were used for the other beads found in the same tomb,” says Professor Thilo Rehren, the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
“The really exciting outcome of this research is that we were for the first time able to demonstrate conclusively that there are typical trace elements such as cobalt and germanium present in these beads, at levels that only occur in meteoritic iron.
“We are also excited to be able to see the internal structure of the beads, revealing how they were rolled and hammered into form.
“This is very different technology from the usual stone bead drilling, and shows quite an advanced understanding of how the metal smiths worked this rather difficult material.”
Non-invasive neutrons and gamma-rays were also used to detect nickel and phosphorous in the beads. They were excavated in a pre-dynastic cemetery near the village of el-Gerzeh, in Lower Egypt, in 1911.