The article is a summary of the discovery and development of iron in the Near East to about 1200 B.C. The occurrence of native iron, mostly meteoric, is discussed. The author puts forth the possibility that chisels made of high-nickel meteoric iron might have been used by the Egyptians to work hard stone. He also argues that the most likely occasion for the discovery of iron was in the use of ochres in ceramic furnaces, which provide the reducing atmosphere needed. The discovery of metallic iron, however, had little actual effect until it was worked over charcoal with hammer and tongs to add carbon, as iron is sotter than bronze. -- AATA