[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Bronze is actually harder then simple iron and more dense. Carbonized iron is slightly stronger the bronze if it was done right but much heavier.

The advantage of iron is that iron ore is very abundant. There is flipping iron ore everywhere. Bronze was better but you needed tin to mix with your copper. Tin is relatively rare and (AFAWK) was only mined two places in great abundance, in Briton and around the Black Sea.

[dangerdoc]

Thanks.