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The Mysterious Origins of King Tutankhamen's Space Rock Dagger Just Got Clearer
DAVID NIELD
23 FEBRUARY 2022
You may already know the legend of King Tutankhamen's space dagger – an iron weapon forged from the rock of meteorites, and entombed with the ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
Now a new study has revealed more details about this most fascinating and mysterious of artifacts.
A thorough chemical analysis involving high-resolution photography and X-rays has revealed the type of meteorite that the dagger was most likely forged from, as well as the process used to make it.
What's more, it seems that the object wasn't made in Egypt at all, but was rather presented as a gift to King Tut or one of his ancestors.
Perhaps most significant is the discovery of a so-called Widmanstätten pattern on the dagger, indicative of the long nickel-iron crystals found in octahedrite iron meteorites, the most common type of iron meteorites.
More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-mysterious-origins-of-king-tutankhamen-s-space-rock-dagger-just-got-clearer
