A 2019 Danube discovery by gravel workers near Deinham, Austria, is Europe’s largest known mass find of Iron Age bars: at least 500 bars totaling over a ton, dated to the 3rd or 2nd century B.C. Researchers say the cargo was likely lost in a shipwreck.
Archaeologists recovered 193 complete bars and hundreds of fragments. Lead researcher Peter Trebsche said the iron could have been used to forge about 500 swords weighing 1.5–2 kg each.
No boat remains were found, and gravel extraction disturbed the site’s original archaeological context; researchers nevertheless consider a shipwreck highly likely based on the cache’s size and location. The bars may have been made in Bavaria, but their origin and destination are unknown. Researchers hope trace-element analysis can help identify where the iron came from.
