Today, if you want to seem fancy, you drape yourself in gold and diamonds. Back in ancient Iron Age societies, Mediterranean elites covered themselves in jewelry made from meteorites. There’s no better way to signal that you’re above everyone than by wearing jewelry that literally came from above us all.
According to a new study in the Journal of Archaeological Science, ancient Minoan and Mycenaean elites in Greece may have worn rings of iron forged from meteorites. Researchers analyzed 91 iron objects from 33 archaeological sites and found 13 had unusually high levels of nickel, which is strongly associated with meteorites. About 10 of those rings likely came from meteoritic iron.
The rings weren’t handed out to citizens all willy-nilly. They were status symbols that combined meteorite iron with gold, silver, or bronze. A lot of them came from the tombs of the elite, and some may have been signet rings used to display seals. One was found still on the finger of a person buried in a Minoan necropolis.
Greek Elites May Have Gotten Their Space Metal From Egypt
Another hint that these meteorite rings were only for ancient wealthy Greeks is that Greece itself is not an abundant source of meteorites. Egypt’s deserts, however, are great for preserving meteorites. Researchers say that the space metal may have been imported from Egypt, which, of course, imported it from space.
All of this was made possible before iron smelting became widespread later on in the Bronze Age. Meteorites were a naturally occurring source of iron that came along at a time when making it from ore wasn’t easy.
Like all fashion trends, they come and go, even meteorite jewelry worn by Iron Age Greek elites. The trend seems to have died out around 1200 BC, around when the late Bronze Age world was in full collapse. Why is up for debate. Maybe the supply dried up, or maybe the civilizations dried up first. Or maybe they just got bored with the look? Who knows. But for a while there, it was fashionable to support jewelry made from iron that visited Earth from the vast, unknowable reaches of space.
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