The famous Egyptian pharaoh known as King Tut or King Tuntankhamun is one of the most iconic pharaohs in history, as the discovery of his tomb in 1922 left archaeologists and scientists in awe, due to its pristine and well preserved condition, after more than 3,000 years. Some artifacts and treasures were also left inside his burial site which also includes a dagger however, in this new study, findings show that this is not just a regular dagger.

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In this new study, scientists have determined that King Tut's dagger is made from meteorite, as archaeologist Howard Carter led a new excavation along with researchers from the Polytechnic University of Milan, the University of Pisa in Italy and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, inside King Tut's tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

Researchers say that meteoric iron was used in the past however, this has been debated due to its controversial origins and results but in this new study, this dagger that was recovered from 1925 is confirmed to possess meteorites, based on ancient beliefs that iron was mixed with meteorite materials for weapons.

The dagger remained in pristine conditions for more than 3,000 years in the most remarkable condition, untarnished and without any traces or evidence of rust, which is also discovered by the same archaeologist who discovered the tomb itself.

In this new expedition, researchers used a technique that involves X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to confirm this meteoric origin. During the 1970s, researchers already suggested how this dagger could possibly be made from meteorites due to its high nickel content. However, researchers intensively analyzed and examined this dagger once more by using portable, non-invasive X-ray methods which has determined that this dagger is made from iron materials from a meteorite of alien origins.

The results revealed that the blade's high nickel content is mixed with a minor amount of cobalt with a nickel and cobalt ratio of ~20, which strongly suggests evidence of extraterrestrial origin.

Apart from this alien content, archaeologists are also baffled with the mastery of how the dagger was made, indicating some meticulous craftsmanship during this time, that reveals how ancient Egyptians possess advanced techniques in iron work.

Carter also reveals that ancient people from the Mediterranean region were already aware about these extremely rare chunks of iron that are falling from the sky during 13th century BCE which makes them ahead in technology by 2,000 years compared with western culture.

This new study is published in the journal of Meteorics and Planetary Science. 

TagsKing Tut, king tutankhamun, tomb king tut, Egypt, dagger king tut, dagger metorite king tut, meteorite dagger