Iron from the Sky

Tutankhamun’s Dagger in Light of Recent Research

Abstract

This article examines one of Tutankhamun’s most renowned grave goods, the dagger with an iron blade, focusing on its origin, material analysis, and historical context. The study provides a detailed discussion of the weapon’s manufacture, decoration, and archaeological setting, and argues on the basis of recent archaeological and metallurgical research that the blade was made of meteoritic iron and was likely produced in the Mitanni Kingdom. A comparison with an Amarna Letter (EA 22) raises the possibility that the dagger found in Tutankhamun’s tomb is identical with one of the iron-bladed daggers mentioned as gifts sent by King Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenhotep III. Situated at the intersection of Egyptian–Mitanni diplomatic exchange and the history of early ironworking, the article reinterprets the object’s origin and highlights how a royal gift could be transformed into a personal and symbolically charged funerary item.