Iron Age swords revealed as 'Frankenstein's monster' black market forgeries

Neutron imaging has helped reveal historical discrepancies hidden within a collection of illegally trafficked Iron Age swords. But the nine ancient Iranian weapons aren't wholesale forgeries--according to an October 8 announcement from researchers at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, they were assembled by fusing metal fragments from multiple different artifacts together to form "Frankenstein's monster" pastiches in order to boost their potential black market value. To determine each roughly 3,000-year-old sword's alterations, researchers relied on a tool not often seen in archeology. As explained in a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of Archaeological Science, a team from Cranfield University, the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, and the British Museum used neutron tomography to analyze the weapons after they were recently seized by authorities at the UK border. Instead of more common X-ray techniques, the equipment's neutron beams allow it to generate renderings of a subject's internal features even if surrounded by dense material like bronze and iron.