Piercing an Ancient Tale

Piercing an Ancient Tale, published by Time magazine in 2003, is news reporting on a metallurgical examination conducted by researcher Robert Feather, which found a spearhead consistent with manufacture in the seventh century and an embedded iron pin consistent with the first century. Its authority is that of contemporary news coverage of a named researcher's specific technical finding, useful for establishing that the examination took place and what it reported. It is not itself the underlying technical study, and a claim resting on the metallurgical method or its certainty benefits from the original examination report rather than this secondary account of it.