X-rays help unlock secrets of King Tut’s iron dagger, made from a meteorite

The dagger that was recovered from King Tut's tomb was made of iron, a material that was rarely used during Egypt's 18th dynasty. A recent paper published in the journal meteorites and planetary science sheds more light on how that iron dagger came to be, as well as how it came into Tut's possession.

The treasures that were recovered from Tutankhamen's tomb were not considered to be important in the grand scheme of things. The famous gold burial mask, a solid gold coffin, thrones, archery bows, trumpets, and various pieces of furniture were among those treasures.

During the 1960s and 1970s, these became part of a global touring exhibition, which received worldwide press coverage.

A cane was found in the tomb and it was revealed in 2005 that the young king had a foot abnormality. He had a cleft palate and a case of Scoliosis. The facial reconstruction of the boy king was done by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and National Geographic. The cause of death is not known, but it has been speculated that he died of a malarial infection, a nasty fall, or a combination of the two. The murder was ruled out because of the trauma to the head.

Among the more than 5,000 artifacts recovered from Tut's tomb were 19 objects made of iron, including the dagger with its golden hilt, a miniature headrest, and a set of blades that may have been used for the opening of the mouth.

The mummy had precious stones strung across her neck and waist. Scientists analyzed one of the beads and found that it was very similar to a meteorite. The iron was made into beads after being worked into thin sheets. The use of iron is thought to have indicated high status in Egypt.

Scientists believe the iron for the blade of the dagger came from a meteorite. In 2016 the blade was subjected to X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to analyze it's composition. The composition of the blade is similar to that of iron meteorites, with 11 percent nickel and 0.6 percent cobalt. The nickel content of artifacts made from iron is never higher than 4%.

The type of meteorite that supplied the iron was not addressed in the 2016 study. The earliest known example of Egyptian use of metallic iron was around 3400 BC, before Egypt became a single state ruled by a pharaoh around 3000 BC. Cold working, hot working, and low-temperature heating and subsequent forging are some of the options for the dagger's manufacture.

There is an open question about the origin of the dagger. The dagger was made well and was unlike the other iron artifacts found in Tut's tomb. There is evidence of a foreign origin in diplomatic correspondence written in Akkadian from the Egyptian royal archives. A list of gifts sent to Amenhotep III by the king of Mitanni was mentioned in the letters. There is a dagger with a blade of iron and a gold hilt.