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.

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.