An iron pick, approximately 50 centimeters long was excavated from a fortified enclosure at Mt. Adir (Northern Galilee) in 1976. The remains of an oak handle were found in the socket. The pick itself was remarkably well preserved, covered with a one millimeter thick layer of rust. Metallographic analysis revealed details of the composition and structure of the metal, which the authors believe to have been carburized, quenched, and then tempered. Despite its appearance and technological precocity, the authors feel the pick can be securely dated by its context to 12th century BC.