Material Used To Build King Tut's Dagger Is Celestial: Researchers

The material used to build King Tut's dagger is not from this world, according to a team of Italian and Egyptian researchers. King Tut's dagger is placed next to the mummy of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun.

The joint team of researchers used a technique called "X-ray fluorescence spectrometry" to figure out the material used to build King Tut's dagger. According to the researchers, the unrusted iron blade used in the dagger can from a meteorite.

The authors further said that their study have uncovered several pre-Iron Age artifacts, the origin of which dates back to a meteorite. These artifacts have been recovered from the excavation performed at the important burials in Egypt, including that of Kind Tutankhamun.

Smelted iron was a rare occurrence in ancient Egypt. This is the reason why researchers have always been confused about the origin of the weapon that also possesses a gold blade. It was first recovered in 1925 within the burial wrapping of the king.

In the latest researchers, the team discovered that the nickel, iron and cobalt found in dagger's composition came from a meteorite found within 2,000 kilometers around the Red Sea coast in Egypt. This suggests that the Egyptians might have used extraterrestrial material for the construction of the dagger.

In fact, the researchers say that the Egyptians were aware of using extraterrestrial material for the construction of the king's dagger. That is, by the 13th century, people were already aware of the fact that chunks of iron fell from the sky occasionally. The research team further believes that ancient Egyptians used to produce ceremonial objects and fine ornaments using this iron.

The analysis of the weapon further suggests that the ancient Egyptians were masters at working with iron during Tutankhamun's time. The complete details of the study have been published in the journal of Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences.