The Iron Age began after the Bronze Age. This was about three and a half thousand years ago. At this time, people learned how to get iron from rocks by heating them strongly.

Iron is harder than bronze and people began to use it to make knives, axes swords and sickles. They also made hammers and tongs so that pieces of hot iron could be held and beaten it into shape. One item which was made from iron was the horseshoe.

Iron did not replace bronze completely in the Iron Age; it simply meant that some items could be made better. People had already learned how to melt bronze and pour it into casts during the Bronze Age. Bronze continued to be used because, unlike iron, it did not rust.