{"id":3990,"date":"2022-04-06T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3990"},"modified":"2022-03-22T05:34:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T05:34:50","slug":"new-study-reveals-more-details-about-king-tuts-cosmic-dagger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/new-study-reveals-more-details-about-king-tuts-cosmic-dagger\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Reveals More Details About King Tut\u2019s “Cosmic” Dagger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The storied pharaoh of ancient Egypt Tutankhamun, commonly referred to as \u201cKing Tut,\u201d was famous for owning a particularly-ornate iron dagger. This royal dagger, originally described by British archaeologist Howard Carter back in 1925, was previously studied back in 2016 and was found to be made of meteoritic iron<\/a>, with guesses as to even what specific meteorite sample the dagger\u2019s iron was extracted from. Now, some six (6) years later, more research into the dagger revealed what process was used to make it, as well as which area it was likely from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during its \u201cNew Kingdom\u201d historical period; they ruled from 1332 to 1323 BCE and were likely aged 19 when they died. (Unger, 2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The study that accompanied these remarkable findings was published in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science<\/em>, whose authors included Eissa Zidan from the Grand Egyptian Museum<\/a> and Takafumi Matsui and Ryota Moriwaki, both from the Chiba Institute of Technology<\/a> (CIT). Meanwhile, the study itself was headed by planetary scientist and primary author Tomoko Arai, who\u2019s also from CIT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To understand the manufacture and origin of the dagger, we conducted on-site non-contact, non-destructive two-dimensional chemical analysis for the dagger,” said Arai in a statement to Gizmodo<\/a>. “We noticed a cross-hatched texture present in places for […] both sides [of the dagger], suggesting Widmanst\u00e4tten structure<\/em>, typical of [an] octahedrite<\/em> iron meteorite. That was our [wow] moment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The dagger was pictured (top, middle) for the study, revealing its distinct black spots and ornate handle; this was also compared to its photo taken all the way back in 1925 (bottom). (Matsui et al, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Arai referred to a pattern identified on the dagger\u2019s metal blade, which the authors say was indicative of \u201clong nickel-iron crystals\u201d found in octahedrite iron meteorites. According to ScienceAlert<\/a>, retaining these patterns through the forging process required a relatively low-temperature forging technique; this places forging temperature estimates at around 950 \u00b0C (1,742 \u00b0F).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backing this finding was the presence of black sulfur-rich \u201cspots\u201d along the length of the blade, which were said to be hallmark features of a heated iron sulfide mineral called troilite<\/em> (FeS) that\u2019s common in meteorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Amarna letters were a series of clay tablets describing written accounts of diplomatic correspondence between Egypt and its representatives in the kingdoms of Canaan and Amurru. (Shukir\/Amin\/FRCP, 2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, further studies of a set of ancient Egyptian clay tablets called the Amarna letters<\/em> may reveal crucial insights into the dagger\u2019s geographical origins. These letters were written recordings of diplomatic correspondence and included writings of a particular dagger \u201cwith a gold hilt\u201d gifted by the King of MItanni to the pharaoh Amenhotep III, who was King Tut\u2019s grandfather. Mitanni was an ancient kingdom nestled in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“[The study] provides evidence that ancient people had achieved the conditions that we predicted scientifically,” said National Museum of Japanese HIstory professor of cultural properties science Tsutomu Saito to the Asahi Shimbun<\/a>. “This is an important finding that shows the starting point of mankind’s quest to develop iron manufacturing technology.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ FURTHER: A Crusader\u2019s Sword Was Found Off the Coast of Israel<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n