The study in the journal Antiquity established the metallurgical match by comparing mining remains from Las Minillas with a database of more than 300 northern European artefacts. Excavations between 2020 and 2023 showed that ancient miners used fire-setting and stone hammers to carve trenches over eight metres deep into the Spanish landscape. Radiocarbon analysis confirmed the mine operated between roughly 1350 and 750 BC, overlapping directly with the age of several Scandinavian items. While these findings demonstrate widespread metal distribution, the specific routes used to transport the copper north remain unknown.
Key points
Chemical trace elements and lead isotope ratios directly tie south-western Iberian copper…: Chemical trace elements and lead isotope ratios directly tie south-western Iberian copper to northern European metalwork.
Southern Iberia served as an essential metal supplier while traditional sources in Wales…: Southern Iberia served as an essential metal supplier while traditional sources in Wales and the Austrian Alps declined.
Researchers have yet to determine the precise trade routes that transported the Iberian c…: Researchers have yet to determine the precise trade routes that transported the Iberian copper into prehistoric Scandinavia.
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A mine in south-western Spain is offering new clues about how copper travelled across Bronze Age Europe, potentially linking miners in the Iberian Peninsula with communities in Scandinavia thousands of kilometres away. Around 1300 BC, people were extracting copper ore at Las Minillas, using stone tools to work deposits deep underground. Centuries later, bronze objects found in Scandinavia would preserve chemical signatures consistent with the metals produced at this Spanish site, offering evidence of connections that may have crossed much of Europe.
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study published on October 26, 2026, in the archaeological journal Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press, examines the mining evidence and compares the site's ores and metal remains with more than 300 Late Bronze Age bronze objects from Scandinavia. Researchers identified 11 objects whose chemical composition and lead isotope ratios were consistent with Las Minillas. The findings suggest that southern Iberia may have played a more important role in Europe's prehistoric copper supply than previously recognised, although the precise routes and mechanisms of exchange remain uncertain.
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