Crystal can be made into extraordinary weapons.
Spanish scientists have discovered an extraordinary array of crystal weapons in a megalithic tomb in the southwest of the country, including an extremely fine crystal dagger that is 5,000 years old.
Researchers from the University of Granada, the University of Seville and the Spanish Higher Studies Council have joined forces to carry out archaeological excavations in an ancient tomb in Valencina, in the Seville metropolitan area of southwestern Spain, considered the most important and largest site of the Iberian Bronze Age, according to comprehensive media reports.
It is a huge structure made of large slabs of rock that contains a 39-meter-long tomb passage that leads to a main chamber with a diameter of more than 4.5 meters and a secondary chamber. Archaeologists found a remarkable array of crystal weapons buried in eight locations in the 43.5-meter-long megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos.
The researchers believe that the manufacture of crystal daggers must have been based on the accumulation of empirical knowledge and skills that came from the production of flint daggers. The researchers noted that shaping such items from crystal required a higher level of skill.
In addition to the crystal weapons, the tomb contains the remains of 25 people, including several women and one man, believed to have died from poisoning. The remains are scattered throughout the site, in addition to grave goods including ivory, jewelry and clay pots. Archaeologists also found an ostrich egg in the tomb.
Researchers speculate that crystal artifacts from this period may have been worn by high-ranking individuals and had more symbolic importance, as the elite hoped to gain “mystical powers” of Life, magic and a connection to their ancestors. Researchers say the fact that the crystal dagger was found far from a crystal mine suggests that it once belonged to a high-ranking elite who paid a high price to procure and shape the material.
Archaeologists worked at the site from 2007 to 2010 and first published their findings in 2015, detailing their research into the crystal weapons. For these incredible crystal weapons, archaeological scientists estimate that they date back to at least 3,000 B.C., or up to 5,000 years ago.
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