Over a hundred years ago , archaeologists get the picture up these nine blackened , corrode lumps of Lucy Stone from a pre - dynastic Egyptian cemetery . But it was n’t until now that we realized just how quondam they are — and that they came from outer space .
Originally hollow back in 1911 near el - Gerzeh , the beads came from a meteorite that was actually an alloy of iron and nickel mixed with other element like atomic number 27 and phosphorus — these last two are what serve archaeologist find out its extraterrestrial origin . Because even though the beads are now extremely corroded , a squad lead by Professor Thilo Rehren , theatre director of the UCL branch in Qatar and an expert on the archaeology of metal working , were able-bodied to utilize a non - destructive test called prompt - da Gamma neutron activation analysis to determine both where they come from and how they were made .
By bathing the iron in low - energy beams of neutrons , the existent elements in the alloy absorbed would absorb some of the neutrons and reply by give off gamma rays . And it ’s the level of these da Gamma light beam that can offer evidence of otherworldly origins ; the Vasco da Gamma beam ’ energy themselves reveal the type of element , and the tip of these energies reveals the concentration of a particular chemical element . In note traces of nickel , phosphorous , cobalt , and germanium in the beads , the inquiry squad was able to say with near sure thing that the beads had to have come from a meteorite .
What ’s more , the presence of these elements ( although nickel in particular ) makes this space - bred iron far hard than the stuff you ’d find laying around Earth . So Egyptian blacksmith really had their study cut out for them — and it shows . Thanks to hug drug - ray scanners , researchers were able to see that the meteorite drop had to be heated and hammered over , and over , and over again until they were satisfactorily shaped for the Scheol .
Which means that while it ’s certainly exciting to find that the iron bead Egyptians were decorate their deceased with were actually from blank , this uncovering is also massive for what it instruct us about preceding life right here on Earth . As Rehren toldThe Telegraph :
The really exciting outcome of this enquiry is that we were for the first fourth dimension able-bodied to march once and for all that there are typical shadow elements such as cobalt and germanium present in these beads , at levels that only occur in meteoritical atomic number 26 . We are also excited to be able to see the interior structure of the astragal , let out how they were wrap and hammered into form . This is very unlike engineering from the usual Edward Durell Stone bead drilling , and show quite an sophisticated understanding of how the metallic element smiths make this rather difficult textile .
Currently , the beads reside in thePetrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology — a far watchword from their old life float around the cold-blooded , lonely depths of space . [ The GuardianviaThe Telegraph , NIST Center for Neutron Research ]
Images : UCL Petrie Museum / Rob Eagle
ArchaeologymeteoritesSpace
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