The bead was found south of Cairo, Egypt
Photograph by Andy Tindle, Open Univeristy
Published May 31, 2013
Talk about heaven sent—a 5,000-year-old iron bead found in a grave in Gerzeh, about 43 miles south of Cairo, Egypt, has been analyzed and found to be made from a meteorite.
According to the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, the bead represents the earliest known use of iron in Egypt. "The sky was very important to the ancient Egyptians," Joyce Tyldesley, a co-author of the study, told Nature News. "Something that falls from the sky is going to be considered as a gift from the gods."
The few iron artifacts discovered previously were associated with high-status graves like that of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The Gerzeh bead was examined with optical imaging, as well as with an electron scanning microscope and a CT scanner. The nickel-rich areas in the virtual model (bottom, left) are colored blue and indicative of its meteoritic origin.
4 comments
We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice. And We sent down iron, wherein is great military might and benefits for the people, and so that Allah may make evident those who support Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.
57:26 quran
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