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'Nothing short of a minor miracle': 'Rusty treasure' found in the Danube is full of 2,000-year-old iron bars that could equip an entire army with weapons
Live Science • • business
Key Points:
- Archaeologists discovered over 500 ancient iron bars, the largest cache of prehistoric iron in Europe, in the Danube River near Deinham, Austria, dating back to the 3rd to 2nd centuries B.C.
- The iron bars, weighing around 1 metric ton combined, were semifinished ingots likely intended for forging into weapons or nails, sufficient to produce about 500 swords or 8,000 nails.
- The bars were found during gravel extraction, which destroyed their original context, but researchers believe they were likely lost during transport on the river, possibly from a shipwreck.
- Similar iron bars found 125 miles away in Manching, Germany, suggest the Deinham bars may have been forged in Bavaria, with ongoing elemental analysis aiming to confirm their origin.
- The find highlights the advanced iron production and transportation capabilities in the Danube region during the Late Iron Age, reflecting significant industrial and trade activity.
