††Iron is a hard, grey brittle metal. It is the most common and important of all the metals, but is only found naturally in large quantities with other substances as iron ores. Iron was known in Egypt about 3000 BC, and was produced in Thailand by about 1600 BC and in Europe about 1000 BC. The Iron Age, the stage in the development of human technology when weapons and tools were made from iron, began in about 1000 BC in the Middle East, Greece and India. In Britain the Iron Age dates from about 700 BC until the Roman invasion of AD 43, although Iron Age culture lingered beyond this date in some areas, such as Cornwall.
