ARCHAEOLOGISTS have finally solved a mystery surrounding a dagger that belonged to King Tutankhamun 3,400 years ago.
A fresh analysis of the weapon discovered in the pharaoh’s tomb in 1922 reveals that it was forged from a meteorite outside of Egypt.
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The discovery backs a previous theory that the decorative shiv was gifted to King Tut’s grandfather from abroad.
The artefact’s origins and the way it was manufactured remain one of the great mysteries surrounding Tut’s grave goods.
It’s unusual in that it was made using a metal that the Egyptians would not begin to smelt for another 500 years: Iron.
In 2016, scientists determined that the chemical makeup of the 13-inch blade show that it was expertly crafted from an iron meteorite.
Now an analysis from a team at the Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan has revealed that the object was likely made outside of Egypt.
Researchers described their investigation earlier this month in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.
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They performed X-ray analyses of the dagger, which is housed in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.
The results showed that its gold hilt appears to have been crafted using an adhesive material known as lime plaster.
Lime plaster wasn’t used in Egypt until much later but was employed by crafters in other parts of the world at the time.
The analyses indicated that the artefact was made using a low-temperature technique heated to less than 950C (1,742F).
The researchers say this “hints at its foreign origin, possibly from Mitanni, Anatolia”.
That would line up with Ancient Egyptian records that claim an iron dagger with a gold hilt was gifted from the king of Mitanni to Amenhotep III, the grandfather of Tutankhamen.
It’s feasible that the Boy King inherited the dagger as it was passed down through the family.
Who was King Tutankhamun?
King Tutankhamun is the most famous of Egypt’s ancient pharaohs.
He ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago from 1332 to 1323 BC.
Tut is known as the “boy king” as he was just 10 years old when he took the throne.
When he became the king he married his half-sister Ankhesenpaaten. They had two daughters together but both were stillborn.
Tut died aged just 19 under mysterious circumstances.
Some believe that King Tut was assassinated but most believe that his death was an accident.
The pharaoh is also famous for the supposed curse that haunts his tomb.
After the tomb’s discovery in 1922, archaeologists, and even their family members, died from horrible illnesses or in strange accidents – and some say the deaths weren’t a coincidence.
The artefact dates back to the 14th century BC and was found in the wrapping surrounding the right thigh of King Tut’s mummy.
It features a decorated gold handle with a rounded knob of rock crystal.
It was encased in a gold sheath that was decorated with a pattern of lilies, feathers and a jackal’s head.
Another separate gold blade was found under King Tut’s wrapping on the abdomen.
Iron objects were rare and considered more valuable than gold during the Bronze Age and were mostly decorative.
This may have been because Egyptians found iron difficult to work with as the metal requires very high heat to forge.
Tutankhamun, a pharaoh of the 18th Egyptian dynasty, ruled Egypt from 1332 to 1323 B.C.
He is most famous for his age – experts believe the boy was nine when he took the reigns of the world’s most powerful empire.
His death aged just 19 has puzzled experts for decades. Some believe he died of a broken leg or other accident, while others suspect he was assassinated.
Tut’s tomb was famously unearthed in the East Valley of the Kings near Cario by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.
The find was unusual in that the site had never been visited by looters, leaving the lavish treasures inside undisturbed for 3,300 years.
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