From Outer Space to an Egyptian Tomb

Researchers have a real knack for digging up ancient history, sometimes literally. They love to unearth old bodies and claim all their buried treasures in the name of science. This is exactly what happened back in the 1920s when archaeologists made one of the biggest discoveries of all time: the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

Yes, it’s known as the “cursed tomb,” and we’ll get into that fascinating bit later. But as you’d expect, the researchers wasted no time in collecting all the priceless artifacts. Among the treasures were two daggers carefully tucked away within the folds of the young pharaoh’s mummified body. One was made of gold, but the other… well, the other was made of something completely extraordinary.

The Blade That’s More Valuable Than Gold

The 34-centimeter-long dagger is stunning. It features a decorative gold handle topped with a knob made of crystal. The blade itself is encased in gold sheeting, but the core metal is what truly captured the scientific world’s attention: iron.

Why is a simple iron blade so captivating? Because this was the Bronze Age. Iron was incredibly scarce and was actually considered far more valuable than gold. For years, scientists speculated that this dagger, along with other rare iron objects found in ancient Egypt, must have been crafted from meteorites. This theory was supported by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that described materials they called “metal from the sky.”

The problem was proving it. Most confirmation methods involve taking a small sample of the blade, which is destructive. Destroying a piece of a priceless artifact, especially one from a famously cursed tomb, is a non-starter.

The Breakthrough

Luckily, science has found a non-destructive way forward. Recently, scientists from Italy and Egypt used a technique called X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Basically, they shoot X-rays at the target material and analyze the resulting emissions.

Their findings, published in the Journal of Meteorites and Planetary Science, were amazing. The blade is composed of iron, nickel, and cobalt. This unique blend not only points strongly to a meteoric origin but is nearly identical to a meteor found about 150 miles west of Alexandria.

According to the report’s authors, this confirms that the ancient Egyptians, like other cultures in the Mediterranean, knew that these rare chunks of iron were literally falling from the sky as early as the 13th century B.C.E. This shows an understanding that predates Western culture by more than two millennia! They suggest that ancient Egyptians gave this meteoric iron great value, reserving it for fine ceremonial or ornamental objects.

Back to the Curse

Ever since its discovery in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter and his sponsor, George Herbert, the 3,300-year-old tomb has been a source of endless fascination and mystery.

Speaking of George Herbert, the sponsor, he died about a year after the discovery. What happened? He got a mosquito bite, shaved over it, the bite became infected, and he died. Other members of the excavation team followed: one died of arsenic poisoning, a radiologist who X-rayed the mummy died of a mysterious illness, and the list goes on, about 10 people in all.

I’m not saying it’s the mummy… but it’s the mummy.

Seriously, though, did they die from an actual curse? I’m not sure, and I’m genuinely curious to know what you think. Personally, I would never, ever mess with the dead, especially anything potentially cursed, because I take that stuff seriously. I don’t know what sorcery or rituals the deceased may have practiced in life, and I don’t want to find out the hard way.

Archaeologists often dismiss the ancient curse warnings left on tombs (messages like, “If you disturb this, you’ll die a horrible death”) as just a way to deter grave robbers. They say it’s just a fake warning. But what if it’s not?

King Tut’s dagger, a piece of metal from the sky, is kind of like an ancient lightsaber, right? It was crafted from material that, metaphorically, came from a galaxy far, far away.

So, here’s my question for you:

If you came across a tomb filled with incredible, priceless treasures, but it had a clear warning on the entrance, saying that if you disturb it, you’ll be stung by a thousand bees and suffer a horrible death, would you still excavate the tomb?