King Tut's dagger--a blade of meteroritic iron

Nick Wardigo · 7th June 2016, 09:38 PM

When I first read about Tut's dagger, I was reminded of an old academic paper that I purchased at the Smithsonian Institute maybe 20 years ago: "Two Early Chinese Bronze Weapons with Meteoric Iron Blades"; Gettens, Clarke, and Chase; 1971. I have it in front of me; it still has the 99-cent price tag from when I discovered it in the Smithsonian's gift shop's discount bin. Not exactly a best-seller.

After a cursory search, I see it's available online:

https://www.asia.si.edu/research/dow...%20Weapons.pdf

The paper is very technical in places, but the upshot is that the Freer Gallery of the Smithsonian owns two weapons, a "broad axe" and a "dagger axe", both dating from circa 1000 BCE and incorporating both bronze and meteoric iron in their construction.

I realize Tut predates these weapons by about four centuries, but I find it interesting that two ancient cultures in different parts of the world, understood the importance of meteoric iron and learned how to incorporate it into their current technology.

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7th June 2016, 09:38 PM	#18
Nick Wardigo Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 54	When I first read about Tut's dagger, I was reminded of an old academic paper that I purchased at the Smithsonian Institute maybe 20 years ago: "Two Early Chinese Bronze Weapons with Meteoric Iron Blades"; Gettens, Clarke, and Chase; 1971. I have it in front of me; it still has the 99-cent price tag from when I discovered it in the Smithsonian's gift shop's discount bin. Not exactly a best-seller. After a cursory search, I see it's available online: https://www.asia.si.edu/research/dow...%20Weapons.pdf The paper is very technical in places, but the upshot is that the Freer Gallery of the Smithsonian owns two weapons, a "broad axe" and a "dagger axe", both dating from circa 1000 BCE and incorporating both bronze and meteoric iron in their construction. I realize Tut predates these weapons by about four centuries, but I find it interesting that two ancient cultures in different parts of the world, understood the importance of meteoric iron and learned how to incorporate it into their current technology.