THE discovery of the tomb of ancient Egypt's King Tutankhamun and its contents have been the subject of much interest and its mysteries the subject of much debate since it was uncovered in the Valley of the Kings in November 1922.
One of these points of interest is a claim that a dagger found strapped to the right thigh of King Tut's mummy was actually made from iron that came from outer space.
Is this true?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Yes, it is true – and for those who believe in the concept of "ancient aliens", the dagger or the materials used to make it did not come from little green men bringing it as a gift when visiting Earth!
Recent scientific studies using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry have revealed that Tutankhamun's dagger is composed of iron with almost 11% nickel and traces of cobalt.
This chemical composition is a characteristic of extraterrestrial iron found in many meteorites that have impacted Earth for billions of years.
In comparison, iron from terrestrial ores found on Earth typically contains less than 1% nickel or cobalt.
In 2022, a team of researchers from Japan concluded that the finely crafted dagger was likely made outside Egypt, with their best guess being Mitanni in Anatolia. A low-temperature technique (less than 950°C) was used in its production. Additionally, the gold hilt of the dagger is made from lime plaster, which wasn't used in Egypt during that time.
According to ancient Egyptian records, the King of Mitanni gifted an iron dagger with a gold hilt to Amenhotep III, the grandfather of Tutankhamun.
It is possible that King Tut inherited the dagger as it was passed down through the family.
Sources:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13787
https://www.livescience.com/61214-king-tut-dagger-outer-space.html
