Abstract: A dense, hard body having good fracture toughness, hardness and a high capacity to absorb impacts which is also useful as lightweight armor. The body is an eutectic of either (a) two carbides selected from boron carbide (B4C), silicon carbide (SiC), titanium carbide (TiC), tantalum carbide (TaC), tungsten carbide (WC), zirconium carbide (ZrC) and hafnium carbide (HfC); or (b) one of the above carbides and at least one boride of an element of group IVa, Va or VIa of the Periodic Table. The molten eutectic, e.g. a ternary composition of B4C, SiC and TiB2, may be generally directionally cooled so its lamellar microstructure is oriented relative to a large surface of the body.