King Tut meteorite dagger analyzed further

[guy]

 

A recent study proves the older theory that an iron dagger found buried in King Tut’s tomb (which dates back to the 14th century BC) was made from a meteorite. Supporting the theory of an extraterrestrial source was the fact that iron smelting isn’t thought to have been developed in Egypt until the 8th century BC. New studies confirm the theory (see video below).

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“We conducted nondestructive chemical analysis of nicely preserved Tutankhamen’s meteoritic iron dagger in February 2020 on site at the Egyptian Archeological Museum in Cairo, in order to constrain its manufacturing method and origin. Elemental mapping of Ni on the blade surface shows discontinuous banded arrangements in places with “cubic” symmetry and bandwidth of about 1 mm, suggesting the Widmanstätten pattern. The intermediate Ni content (11.8 ± 0.5 wt%) with the Widmanstätten pattern implies the source iron meteorite for the Tutankhamen dagger blade to be octahedrite.”

 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13787#:~:text=This dagger dates to the,iron smelting was later developed.

 

 

A 355-pound iron meteorite from Campo del Cielo crater field in Argentina. Iron meteorites typically contain about 10 per cent nickel and less than one per cent cobalt, like King Tut's dagger blade. (Darryl Pitt, The Macovich Collection/Associated Press)

 

Here’s a short and easy-to understand video that explains the methods and significance of the study:
 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by guy

[guy]

Another less-technical  article on the research:

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  “In 2016, a team of researchers confirmed the iron was from a meteorite and now in this new effort, the researchers have learned more about the kind of meteorite that had been used to make the blade. Their work involved firing non-destructive x-rays at the blade while using a microscope to get a closer look.

In so doing, they found it was made of expected metals such as iron, manganese and nickel. It also had other material mixed in, such as sulfur zinc and chlorine. More interesting was the cross-stitch pattern they found on one part of the blade—it has been seen before in other natural objects and has been named the Widmanstätten pattern. This finding suggested the meteorite belonged to a group called octahedrites—the largest of the known iron meteorites. The same pattern has been seen in other artifacts, such as an ancient sword found in Japan.”

 

 

This article also refers to the Armarna letters that suggest the location the meteorite was found:

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“The Amarna Letters tablets provided some hints. The tablets were inscribed approximately 3,400 years ago—about a century before King Tut was interred. In looking at the transcription, the researchers noted a section where an iron dagger was mentioned. It was given to King Tut's grandfather by the King of Mitanni, suggesting the meteorite may have landed in what is now Syria.“

The Armarna letters were an archive of clay tablets primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence  between the Egyptian administration and neighboring kingdoms. They date between c.1360-1332 BCE. (King Tut ruled from 1332-1323 BCE.)

Five Armarna letters on display at the British Museum.  

 

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-year-old-tablets-king-tut-ancient.html

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna_letters

Edited February 25, 2022 by guy