#bronze age gold

[thesilicontribesman]

Recreation of the Bronze Age Bush Barrow Burial, Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Britain’s richest Bronze Age burial in around 1950 BCE

[assassin1513]

🤎◾️⚜️◾️🤎Immortals of Stars🤎◾️⚜️◾️🤎

[comic-covers]

(1973)

[kekwcomics]

BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY #41 (Gold Key, 1972).

Art: George Wilson

[demigod-shenanigans]

Reyna, upon learning about some shenanigans Piper and Leo got into: Piper, what were you thinking?

Piper: *glaring at Jason and Leo* Okay, which one of you told my girlfriend about this?

Leo: *sweats*

Leo: I’m sorry! She scares me!

[cutiepieautistic]

Source

[blueiscoool]

Meteorite Iron Discovered in 3,000-year-Old Bronze Age Gold Hoard

New research reveals that two Bronze Age artifacts from the Treasure of Villena contain iron from a meteor that hit a million years ago.

In the ’60s, researchers discovered a trove of Bronze Age treasure in Villena, Spain. While most of the stunning bottles, bowls and bracelets are made of gold and silver, new research has revealed that some of them were forged from another material: iron from a meteor that struck Earth a million years ago.

According to a recent study published in the journal Trabajos de Prehistoria, researchers conducted tests on two of the artifacts—a bracelet and a hollow decorative sphere—made between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E.

The trove’s materials have long mystified researchers. After finding it on the Iberian Peninsula in 1963, archaeologist José María Soler García noted the presence of a “dark leaden metal” among the gold, per El País’ Vicente G. Olaya. The metal was “shiny in some areas, and covered with a ferrous-looking oxide that is mostly cracked.”

To determine the iron’s origins, researchers used mass spectrometry, a technique that measures a molecule’s mass-to-charge ratio. As Live Science’s Jennifer Nalewicki reports, this analysis revealed that the iron’s nickel composition resembles that of meteoritic iron. These items are the first artifacts made of meteoritic iron ever found in the Iberian Peninsula.

“Iron was as valuable as gold or silver, and in this case [it was] used for ornaments or decorative purposes,” study co-author Ignacio Montero Ruiz, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of History, tells Smithsonian magazine.

The presence of such an “unusual raw material” suggests it was made by highly skilled metalworkers capable of “[developing] new technologies,” adds Montero Ruiz.

But iron is also quite different from more common materials such as copper, gold or silver. As Montero Ruiz says to Live Science, “People who started to work with meteoritic iron and later with terrestrial iron must [have had to] innovate.”

The study’s other co-authors are Salvador Rovira-Llorens of the National Archaeological Museum and Martina Renzi of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority. The trove is held by Villena’s Archaeological Museum, which says on its website that the 66 items are considered the “most important prehistoric treasure in Europe.” Still, the artifacts’ origins remain a mystery.

Montero Ruiz tells Smithsonian magazine that objects made from meteoritic iron are rare, and most known examples from this period are connected to eastern Mediterranean cultures. The treasure’s creators “probably had access to a fallen meteorite in the area that allowed them to discover the properties of this material and how to shape it,” he says.

Last year, research revealed that an arrowhead found in Switzerland was made from meteoritic iron. That artifact, however, dates to between 900 and 800 B.C.E.

Researchers also don’t know who owned the Villena treasure, though they think it would have belonged to a community rather than a single individual.

“These two pieces of iron had enormous value. For this reason, they were considered worthy of becoming part of this spectacular ensemble,” says Montero Ruiz, per El País. “Who manufactured them and where this material was obtained are still questions that remain to be answered.”

By Sonja Anderson.

[chernobog13]

Featuring the chilling tale "The Monster Bird That Pooped Down My Chimney!"

[thatshowthingstarted]

Tutankhamun's meteoric iron dagger,

Also known as Tutankhamun's iron dagger and King Tut's dagger, is an iron-bladed dagger from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun (reigned c. 1334–1325 BC). 

As the blade Composition and homogeneity closely correlate with meteorite composition and homogeneity, the material for the blade is determined to have originated by way of a meteoritic landing. 

Since the 1960s, the high nickel content in the blade has been accepted as indicative of meteoric origin. A more recent study published in June 2016 derived from x-ray fluorescence spectrometer analysis show that the blade's composition is mostly iron (Fe) and 11% nickel (Ni) and 0.6% cobalt (Co). This means its composition is placed within the median of a group of 76 previously discovered iron meteorites. 

The nickel content in the bulk metal of most iron meteorites ranges from 5% to 35%, whereas it never exceeds 4% in historical iron artifacts from terrestrial ores produced before the 19th century.

Also, the nickel to cobalt ratio of this blade is comparable to that of iron meteorite materials.[2]

At the time of King Tutankhamun's mummification in approximately 1323 BC (the Bronze Age), iron smelting and manufacture were rare. Iron objects were used for only artistic, ornamental, ritual, gift giving, and ceremonial purposes as well as for pigmentation. Hence, iron during this age was more valuable or precious than gold.

The dagger is currently displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 

[iamthepulta]

aw, balls. I put off my take home final until this week because I've been out of sorts, and I was going to take today to relax and gather myself, but I forgot the deadline and the deadline is today.

[thesilicontribesman]

Bronze Age Shale Button With Gold Cover, Wilsford, Barrow G8, Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Shale button or pendant encased in sheet gold, decorated with four bands of incised lines. The heavy wear on the holes at the base suggest it was either sewn to clothing or worn around the neck as a pendant.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Gold Lion Figurine from Georgia (South Caucasus), c. 2300-2000 BCE: Georgia contains one of the oldest prehistoric gold mines in the world, dating back to about 3400 BCE; researchers also believe that the Greek legend of the "Golden Fleece" was inspired by the goldsmithing traditions found in Georgia

The peoples of Georgia (the country, not the state) have been extracting and processing gold for many thousands of years. Georgia is even home to the oldest known gold mine in the world -- a site known as Sakdrisi, where there is evidence of gold mining operations dating back to about 3400 BCE (roughly 5400 years ago).

Sadly, the prehistoric gold mine at Sakdrisi was damaged (and largely destroyed) in 2014, after a Russian mining company (RMG Gold) was given permission to resume its own mining venture on the site. The full extent of that damage has yet to be determined.

The Tsnori Lion: this figurine dates back to the Bronze Age in Eastern Georgia; it is one of the many artifacts that have come to represent the history of goldsmithing in this part of the Caucasus

The goldsmithing traditions of Georgia also continued to flourish during antiquity, and the ancient Kingdom of Colchis (in what is now Western Georgia) was renowned for both its wealth of gold and its skilled goldsmiths. To the Greeks, Colchis was also known as the homeland of the fabled Golden Fleece -- the treasure sought by Jason and the Argonauts during their mythical voyage into the Caucasus, as described in the Greek Argonautica.

It's believed that the legend of the Golden Fleece may have had at least some basis in reality. Ethnological and historical accounts indicate that the peoples of Colchis/Georgia traditionally used sheepskins to sift for gold in the rivers of the Caucasus; during that process, the fleece would slowly become encrusted with tiny particles of "gold sand," until it eventually took on the appearance of a "golden fleece." Additional research has confirmed that the rich alluvial deposits found within the region certainly would have been sufficient to have produced this "golden fleece" effect.

Researchers believe that those customs may have given rise to the Greek legends about the Colchians and their Golden Fleece -- legends that ultimately evolved into the story of the Argonautica.

The unique goldsmithing traditions of Georgia played an important role in the cultural/political development of the South Caucasus, and those traditions are reflected in the wealth of golden artifacts that have been found throughout Georgia (and elsewhere).

The Location of Modern-Day Georgia: as this map illustrates, Georgia is nestled right at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with the Black Sea located on one side and the Caspian not far from the other; it is bordered by Russia to the North and Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to the South

Sources & More Info:

Quaternary International: A modern field investigation of the mythical “gold sands” of the ancient Colchis Kingdom and “Golden Fleece” phenomena

Archaeo Sciences: Bronze Age Gold in Southern Georgia

Britannica: Archaeologists uncover traces of Bronze Age gold workshops in a cemetery near Tbilisi, Georgia

BBC: Artefacts from the world's oldest gold mine

UW Jackson School of International Studies: Georgian environment, heritage at risk as RMG Gold exploits Sakdrisi

UTA Department of Slavic & Eurasian Studies: Ancient Georgia - crossroads of Europe and Asia

Atinati: The Golden Kingdom of Colchis

The Past: Georgia's Treasures: from the Land of the Golden Fleece

National Geographic (Georgian): Golden Lion from Kakheti

Smithsonian: Why this Ancient Civilization Fell Out of Love with Gold for 700 Years

National Geographic's "Out of Eden Walk:" Treasures of the Caucasus

Democracy & Freedom Watch: What was lost when a mining company destroyed the ancient Sakdrisi site?

[comic-covers]

(1973)

[kekwcomics]

UFO and OUTER SPACE #21 (Gold Key, 1979)

Art: Chuck Liese

[rubysevens]

the more i think abt it the more i think the far right idea of ireland historically being this “pure” island separated from the world around it before its colonisation is just an inversion of british ideas abt ireland which cast it as this backwards place only connected to the world through british influence. and instead of rejecting that framework and investigating the ways in which ancient ireland did play a role in the broader world before colonisation, the irish far right decided that england was completely right about ireland, with the only difference being that they see this mythical isolation as the ideal to be returned to.

edit: i cant believe i have to make this clearer but this post is criticising the irish far right for their hateful and ahistorical beliefs. migration is not colonialism nor is it the cause of irelands problems. it is a morally neutral act.

[blueiscoool]

Massive Bronze Age Gold Torc Stolen From Ely Museum

Curators are "devastated" after gold objects dating back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age were stolen from a museum.

A gold torc and a gold bracelet were stolen during a break-in at Ely Museum on Tuesday.

The museum acquired the torc, valued at £220,000, in 2017 using grants and donations and it said the loss was a "huge blow".

Cambridgeshire Police said it was looking for two suspects on e-scooters who were believed to be involved in the burglary.

'Cannot be replaced'

Elie Hughes, a museum curator, said: "We are devastated by the loss to the museum and to the local heritage of the region.

"It is a huge blow after the incredible support from the community in acquiring the torc in 2017.

"As a culturally significant object, it cannot be replaced. Our priority now is working with the police to locate the stolen objects."

Both items were found in East Cambridgeshire by metal detectorists.

The torc, found in a ploughed field, is regarded as the best found in England in more than a century as it is larger than many other examples and made of 730g (1lb 10oz) of almost pure gold.

Det Insp Kiri Mazur said: "The theft of these items is despicable and we are focused on identifying the offenders, tracing the items, and returning them to their rightful place.

"We are working closely with staff at Ely Museum to follow all lines of inquiry.

“I am very keen to hear from anyone who may be able to provide information or saw two people on e-scooters who were in the vicinity the museum, car park and pedestrian walkways at the back of the museum, the council offices and the Grange Car Park, between 12am and 2am [on Tuesday].”

By Harriet Heywood.