King Tut's Dagger Shows Traces Of 'Extraterrestrial' Origins

Egyptian and Italian researchers confirm that the iron dagger discovered in the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's mummy was created from meteoric material. This suggests extra-terrestrial origins, according to scientists.

The theory was confirmed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The dagger is made of iron and nickel, with some traces of cobalt, like other iron-based meteorites.

"The nickel and cobalt ratio in the dagger blade is consistent with that of iron meteorites that have preserved the primitive chondritic ratio during planetary differentiation in the early solar system," said Daniela Comelli of the Polytechnic University of Milan and lead researcher of the study.

The dagger also showed small beads from Gerzeh, Egypt, looking as if they were created from meteoric metal. It suggests that people from King Tut's time appreciated space rocks that can be used in ceremonial objects.

"The study confirms that ancient Egyptians attributed great value to meteoritic iron for the production of precious objects, and the high manufacturing quality of Tutankhamun's dagger blade is evidence of significant mastery of ironworking already in Tutankhamun's time," the team said.

"In this context, the high manufacturing quality of Tutankhamun's dagger blade is evidence of early successful iron smithing in the 14th C. BCE," the paper reads.

An interesting phrase used by ancients was "iron of the sky," which shows that they understood the source of the metal.

"The introduction of the new composite term suggests that the ancient Egyptians, in the wake of other ancient people of the Mediterranean area, were aware that these rare chunks of iron fell from the sky already in the 13th C. BCE, anticipating Western culture by more than two millennia," the paper reads.

It was in 1925 that the extraterrestrial dagger, as well as King Tut's mummy, was found. It was just three years after the pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered.

Apart from an iron blade, it also showed a decorated gold sheath and handle capped with a crystal.

The findings were published in the May 20 issue of the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.