Scientists have not been able to determine the composition of the material from which made the dagger of Tutankhamun.
The dagger found in the tomb near the mummy of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, was made of iron of meteoric origin, scientists have found.
Ancient weapons with a decorated Golden handle and a Golden sheath with a floral pattern on one side and an ornament of feathers on the other is currently exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
This is one of the objects discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, during the excavation of Tutankhamen’s tomb, which was buried more than 3.3 thousand years ago.
The attention of scientists then drew the blade that is not affected rust. Such products are rarely encountered in Ancient Egypt.
Italian and Egyptian researchers using x-rays unable to ascertain the composition of the steel without damaging the blade.
“High Nickel content indicates the metal of meteoric origin,” says the main author of the study Daniela Comelli.
The researchers clarify that the presence of iron in the composition, together with Nickel and cobalt may indicate extraterrestrial origin.
Scientists have studied the chemical composition of the meteors detected within a radius of two thousand kilometers from the Egyptian coast of the red sea, and found that one of them has a content of Nickel and cobalt corresponds to the composition of the steel of the dagger of Tutankhamun. This meteorite fell in 240 km West of Alexandria.
The ancient Egyptians attached special importance to the iron of meteoric origin, using it for the production of decorative or ceremonial items, the researchers say.
See also: Scientists have found an unexpected fact about the tomb of Tutankhamun
“Already in the 13th century BC they knew that these rare pieces of iron falling from the sky, ahead of Western culture for more than two millennia”, the study says.
