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For the first time, an imaging method has been used to investigate Iron Age bronze Iranian swords, revealing significant modern modifications that prove the weapons have been altered to increase their commercial value in the illicit antiquities market.

Early Iron Age Iranian bladed weaponry is crucial in understanding the metalworking technologies in one of the world's heartlands of metallurgical innovation, the ancient Near East. Illicit alteration and forgery of ancient objects complicates efforts to trace the evolution of metalworking techniques at the dawn of the Iron Age, 3,000 years ago.

Reliable identification of these alterations is essential not only for reconstructing ancient technological innovation, it also helps to uncover—and ultimately combat—the hidden practices of the illicit antiquities trade.

First application of bronze Iranian weaponry from the Iron Age

Conducted by a team from Cranfield University, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source and the British Museum, the research used neutron tomography to see the internal structure of the objects and detect the use of glue and other modern tools and materials.

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