Meteorite Rings Signal Space Iron for Bronze Age Elites in Minoan-Mycenaean Greece

Researchers analyzed 91 Bronze Age iron objects from Greece and found 13 with meteoritic iron (nickel-rich), mostly ornate rings used by Minoan and Mycenaean elites; 78 items were made from smelted iron dating to as early as 1400 BCE, including two pieces older than 1200 BCE. The meteoritic iron was likely imported from Egypt and served as a prestige symbol in funerary contexts, with the meteoritic-ring fashion fading by around 1200 BCE.