CAIRO — The iron blade of an ornate dagger buried in Egypt with King Tutankhamen probably came from a fallen meteorite, researchers have determined — a form of metal so prized by ancient Egyptians that they called it “iron from the sky.”

The dagger, which was discovered in the folds of the wrapping around the mummified boy king, has long intrigued historians and archaeologists for its great beauty — it has a gold and crystal handle, and an ornate sheath — and because ironwork was rare in ancient Egypt.

Image King Tut’s dagger has a gold and crystal handle, and an ornate sheath. Credit... Polytechnic University of Milan

Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Italian and Egyptian experts found that the blade’s composition of iron, nickel and cobalt was an approximate match for a meteorite that landed in northern Egypt. The result “strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin” for the blade, according to their results published this week in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.