Steel tools were employed in Europe centuries before they became widespread during the Roman Republic era.

 by Tibi Puiu

 Edited and reviewed by Zoe Gordon

Photos: Rafael Ferreiro Mählmann (A), Bastian Asmus (B), Ralph Araque Gonzalez (C-E)

Steel tools were believed to have only become widespread in Europe during the Roman Empire, but a recent study challenges this assumption. The study shows that steel tools were already in use in Europe around 2,900 years ago, during the Final Bronze Age.

The study was conducted by an international and interdisciplinary team headed by Dr. Ralph Araque Gonzalez from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Freiburg. The researchers conducted geochemical analyses on ancient Iberian stelaes -- upright monuments typically inscribed with information in the form of text, images, or a combination of the two -- and found these were made of silicated quartz sandstone.

 

The implications were immediately resounding.

“Just like quartzite, this is an extremely hard rock that cannot be worked with bronze or stone tools, but only with tempered steel,” says Araque Gonzalez.