Over 5,000-year-old rare and amazing crystal dagger uncovered in Spain

In their latest venture, researchers who had previously excavated megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos, have unearthed a 5,000-year-old crystal dagger. The translucent weapon, they say is the “most technically sophisticated weapon” ever to be found in Prehistoric Iberia, located in Southwestern Spain and required immense skill to carve. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Granada, the University of Seville and the Spanish Higher Research Council and has been published in Quaternary International.

(Credits: Miguel Angel Blanco de la Rubia)

About the discovery

Carved out of rock crystal, the dagger is predicted to be 5,000 years old. It is nearly 8.5 inches long and was found along with 10 arrowheads, four blades and a core for making weapons. All the discoveries were made of rock crystals. As the dagger was found far from crystal caves, researchers have predicted that it must have been made by a person who had paid a hefty amount for the same. Therefore, they associated it with the elite. The prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula begins with the arrival of the first hominins 1.2 million years ago and ends with the arrival of the Phoenicians, when the territory enters the domains of written history.

(Credits: Miguel Angel Blanco de la Rubia)

 

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"The association of the dagger blade to a handle made of ivory, also a non-local raw material that must have been of great value, strongly suggests the high-ranking status of the people making use of such objects,” wrote the researchers adding that the dagger probably represents “ funerary paraphernalia only accessible to the elite of this time period.”

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