PAPER – Arrowhead of meteoritic iron

by | 3 Oct 2023 | Publications

We have published a paper in the Journal of Archaeological Science with Beda A. Hofmann from the Naturhistorisches Museum Bern describing an arrowhead made of meteoritic iron. This artefact has a mass of 2.9 g and was found in the 19th century in the Late Bronze Age pile dwelling of Mörigen near Lake Biel (Switzerland). Its meteoritic origin was demonstrated using various imaging techniques, including X-ray micro-computed tomography.

Overview of the Mörigen arrowhead. Note adhering bright sediment material. Total length is 39.3 mm. Photograph: Thomas Schüpbach.
X-ray tomographic sections of the Mörigen arrowhead. a) shows four sagittal sections, b) shows 10 transversal sections. Brightest (=densest) areas correspond to metallic iron, brightness of iron metal is variable due to flatness of the object. The layered structure and fractures filled with iron (hydr)oxides/ sediment material resulting from oxidative volume expansion are well visible.

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Hofmann, B.A., Bolliger Schreyer, S., Biswas, S., Gerchow, L., Wiebe, D., Schumann, M., Lindemann, S., Ramírez García, D., Lanari, P., Gfeller, F., Vigo, C., Das, Debarchan, Hotz, F., von Schoeler, K., Ninomiya, K., Niikura, M., Ritjoho, N., Amato, A. (2023). An arrowhead made of meteoritic iron from the late Bronze Age settlement of Mörigen, Switzerland and its possible source. Journal of Archaeological Science, 157, 105827. Download pdf | Visit the journal webpage

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