By contrast, the nickel content of artifacts made from terrestrial iron ore is never higher than 4 percent. The blade turns out to be mostly iron, with 11 percent nickel and 0.6 percent cobalt-a composition that is indeed comparable to that of iron meteorites. This was confirmed in 2016, when the blade was subjected to X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (a nondestructive testing method) to analyze its composition. Archaeologists believe the use of iron was a means of indicating high status during this period in Egypt.Īs for the dagger, its high nickel content led scientists to believe the iron for its blade likely came from a meteorite. The iron was likely worked into small thin sheets before being fashioned into beads. Scientists analyzed one of the beads in 2013 and found that its microstructure and composition were very similar to that of an iron meteorite. There were also metallic beads and other precious stones strung across the mummy's waist and neck. These became part of a global touring exhibition, which received worldwide press coverage during the 1960s and 1970s in particular. The mummy even inspired a couple of songs: Steve Martin's hit " King Tut" (which debuted on Saturday Night Live in 1978) and the lesser-known " Dead Egyptian Blues," by the late folk rock singer Michael Peter Smith (which contains the immortal line, "Your sarcophagus is glowing, but your esophagus is showing").Īmong the more than 5,000 artifacts recovered from Tut's tomb were 19 objects made of iron, including the dagger with its golden hilt, a miniature headrest, an amulet, and a set of blades that may have been used for the " opening of the mouth" ceremony (performed so that the deceased could eat and drink in the afterlife). Those treasures included the famous gold burial mask (pictured above), a solid gold coffin, thrones, archery bows, trumpets, a lotus chalice, and various pieces of furniture. Tutankhamen was the son of Akhenaten and ascended to the throne when he was just 8 or 9 years old. He wasn't considered an especially important pharaoh in the grand scheme of things, but the treasures that were recovered from his tomb in the 1920s are what led to his fame. That iron likely came from a meteorite, and a recent paper published in the journal Meteorites and Planetary Science sheds further light on precisely how that iron dagger was forged, as well as how it came into Tut's possession. Among the many items recovered from King Tut's tomb was a dagger made of iron, which is a material that was rarely used during Egypt's 18th dynasty.
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