In about 1300BC, the major civilisations of the eastern Mediterranean made a cultural and technological leap forward when they began using bronze much more widely for weapons, tools and jewellery. While a form of the metal had previously been used in smaller quantities by the Mycenaeans and Egyptians among others, bronze was now abundant – but how?

Most bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, but while the former was widely available in antiquity, tin is a rare element, with no large sources within thousands of kilometres. This left one big question, referred to by archaeologists as the “tin problem”. Where were the bronze age societies of the Mediterranean getting the tin for their bronze?

A British-led group of archaeologists believe they have solved the mystery. By scientifically analysing ore and artefacts from across Europe, they have established that tin from the abundant deposits in Cornwall and Devon was being widely traded in the Mediterranean more than 3,000 years ago – and may have played a key part in the advances of sophisticated kingdoms and states more than 4,000km away.

While the trade at the time was not exclusively in Cornish tin, “we believe it was the richest, the most easily accessible and the main source”, said Alan Williams, an honorary fellow of archaeology at Durham University.

Source: The Guardian

Image: Valery Egorov/Getty/iStockphoto