Scientists Find Mineral From Beyond Earth That Is More Expensive Than Gold

At first glance, the Treasure of Villena looks like a story about gold. Discovered in Spain in 1963, the Bronze Age hoard contains dozens of remarkable objects, most of them shining with the kind of wealth that normally defines an ancient treasure. But the most mysterious pieces were not the brightest ones.

Hidden among the gold were two corroded objects that looked almost unimpressive: a bracelet and a hollow hemisphere decorated with gold. Scientists now believe these pieces were made from meteoritic iron, meaning the metal did not come from underground ore, but from a meteorite that fell from space. That possibility makes the dullest items in the hoard perhaps the most extraordinary.