In Switzerland, found an ancient weapon made of "extraterrestrial" iron (4 photos)

Geologists have made an unusual discovery in Switzerland - it turned out that a 3,000-year-old arrowhead they discovered earlier, made of "alien" iron. The discovery surprised them greatly.





Scientists at the University of Bern made this unusual discovery Bronze Age in the commune of Meurigen, Switzerland. It would seem that before us just an ancient arrowhead. However, the whole thing is in the composition of iron, from which it was made. Scientists have determined that the tip of the 3000-year-old prescription has in its composition aluminum-26 - a radioactive isotope aluminum, which does not occur on Earth at all, but is formed in supernovae. So where did the ancient people get this iron from? How determined experts, from a meteorite that fell to Earth.



Around the time the tip was made, to Earth three meteorites fell with the same combination of metals: one in the Czech Republic, another in Spain and a third in Estonia. The team believes that it is likely for the manufacture of this tip used the latest, Estonian meteorite - it fell not so far from the place where the artifact was found. Experts suggested that it was brought from Estonia along trade routes, which were used to sell other weapons and amber.





The length of the tip itself is 39.3 millimeters, weight - 2.9 grams. It was originally found in the 19th century, and then placed in Bernese Historical Museum. Only recently it was decided to explore it with using modern technologies. To check the composition of the team used a variety of techniques, including electron microscopy, x-rays, and analysis of high-energy radiation. Managed to do this an unusual discovery that surprised the entire team of scientists.