A dagger found inside the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun has been found to be made from meteoritic rock.
The ornate weapon was one of two found when Howard Carter excavated the tomb in 1925, and it was subject to much debate because of how intricate and rare the metalwork was.
Now, using a non-invasive, "portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry" technique, a team of Italian and Egyptian researchers was able to analyse the composition of the metal.
They said the analysis "strongly supports its meteoritic origin" because of the high levels of nickel, iron and cobalt present in the blade. The combination of these metals "strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin".
The dagger was also compared to meteorites from the same region, with similar levels of the metals found.
"Our study confirms ancient Egyptians attributed great value to meteoritic iron for the production of precious objects," the researchers wrote.
The Egyptians were aware that "these rare chunks of iron fell from the sky", the team said, and subsequently accorded them great worth.
The team also added that the level of ironworking demonstrated by the blade suggests that the Egyptians had a "high level" of skills.
"The high manufacturing quality of Tutankhamun's dagger blade suggests a significant mastery of ironworking in Tutankhamun's time," they wrote.
The analysis has been published in Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
