NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — One of the most amazing artifacts discovered in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun is his dagger. But what makes this dagger special? The answer to this question lies in its origin.
Examination of this ancient artifact using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry revealed that the composition of this dagger is consistent with iron meteorites. The discovery casts new light on technological capabilities and knowledge exchange in ancient Egypt.
Further analysis suggests that the dagger may have been given as a gift by the Mitanni king Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun’s grandfather, before passing it on as an inheritance. However, I wonder if the ancient Egyptians knew that meteorites came from outer space?
Newly deciphered hieroglyphic texts provide clues to this mystery, according to research by Egyptologist Victoria Almanza-Villatoro. From the beginning of the 19th Dynasty, around 1295 BC, a new hieroglyphic word for iron appeared in the Egyptian language: “bi-An-pt”, which translates as “iron from the sky.”
This word arose suddenly and then began to be used to refer to all metallic iron. A possible explanation for this sudden appearance of the word is a major impact event or meteorite impact.
Interestingly, the earliest mention of the connection between iron and the sky is found in the pyramid texts, which date back 4100-4400 years ago.
They describe the sky as an iron bowl of water, parts of which could fall to Earth in the form of meteorites. These texts describe how the dead float on iron, and how the king must overcome the iron barrier to reach the sky.
Another interesting point is that the sign used for iron was also used as a qualifier for the words “uterus” and “water”. The ancient Egyptians believed that after death they were reborn in the waters of the womb of the goddess Nut, and it was there that meteorite iron was found.
These interesting associations and possible connections between meteorites and celestial phenomena in ancient Egypt, although criticized by some scientists, provide an interesting perspective on our history. It is possible that the ancient Egyptians witnessed meteorite impacts such as the Gebel Kamil meteorite, which fell in Southern Egypt 5,000 years ago.
It turns out that the ancient Egyptians knew about the connection between iron and celestial phenomena. Perhaps their knowledge and observations helped them create such amazing artifacts as Tutankhamun’s dagger.
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News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
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