Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Researchers at a Japanese university have successfully solved the mystery of an iron dagger found in the tomb of Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun.

A team of researchers at Chiba University of Technology (CIT) concluded that the dagger, which was made of iron from a meteorite, was imported from the kingdom of Mitanni, in present-day in Syria, to Egypt. 

Takanori Matsui, Director of the Center for Geology and Planetary Exploration at Chiba University of Technology, conducted an on-site investigation in February 2020 with permission from the Egyptian government.

In an interview with Arab News Japan, Matsui said, “At that time, we used our mapping technology to investigate the distribution of elements throughout the blade to find out how dagger was made. Our team is also contributing to the development and operation of the asteroid probe ‘Hayabusa 2,’which we can say is very different from archaeology.”

He said that Tutankhamun’s dagger has little rust, so it was possible to find out how it was made.

“If you leave it as it is, it will rust and become worn out, and it won’t last 3,400 years. However, no corrosion occurred inside Tutankhamun’s coffin, which means, corrosion must have progressed before placing it in the coffin. It corroded when Tutankhamun had it.”

Matsui looked through ancient Egyptian documents and found a description of a Mitanni Princess’s marriage to Tutankhamun’s grandfather Amenhotep III.

“3,400 years ago, the Hittite Kingdom on the Anatolian Plateau and the Mitanni Kingdom across Syria had ironmaking technology. That’s why it was possible to process the iron from the meteorite.”

Matsui measured the gold on the hilt of the dagger for further physical evidence. “The gold contained a second element, calcium. I thought this might be an adhesive. Egypt and Mitanni used different types of adhesives, so I solved the mystery that dagger was made in Mitanni.”

The first place humans refined iron was the Hittite Kingdom on the Anatolian Plateau in Turkey. Matsui said, “From 3,900 to 3,200 years ago, Hittite had the technology to make iron products as their secret technology. The kingdom disappeared 3,200 years ago, but the technology became popular and the so-called Iron Age began. The Arab world is geographically close, so I don’t think it’s surprising that such technology had a big impact on Arab cultures.”

Regarding the design of the sword on the Saudi Arabian flag, Matsui said, “I think it is very meaningful to use the sword as a symbol. For Japanese, swords are spiritual symbols. I think this sword contains Saudi Arabia’s spirituality.”