Meteorites
Birki, Turkey, *1325?
According to the Islamic traveller and explorer Ibn Batuta, a meteorite was reported to have fallen near the historical city of Birki in Turkey, some time before 1325. Here is an account of his meeting with the local King, and the meteorite itself. [Note that this stone is not considered a meteorite, and does not appear in the Met Bulletin database]
Read MoreHatford, England, *1628
Hatford is the earliest British fall of which I’ve been able to find any record. It fell near Oxford on a sunny day in April, about 5 o’clock in the afternoon. There are two surviving accounts of the fall. The language is quite florid, and demonstrates the god-fearing nature of peasants at a time when anything not explainable was attributed to supernatural forces. No material survives. I’ve also used the references to try to trace a speculative flight path/strewnfield, and have included images.
Read MoreJalandhar, India, *1621
Jalandhar is a witnessed fall from the Punjab, India in 1621. I’m not aware that any of the original material survives, although some of this iron meteorite was broken up, smelted, and used in the creation of swords and daggers. Here are two descriptions of the fall, recovery, and the subsequent fate of the stones.
Read MoreEnsisheim, France, *1492
Ensisheim is one of the most famous historic falls, as well as being one of the earliest. It fell in Alsace, in what is now France, on the 13th November 1492 – the same year Columbus set sail for the Americas. My specimen is a 0.29g part slice. The total known weight of the meteorite is 127kg, although so many pieces have been hacked off that it’s difficult to know how much is left! Here is an account of the circumstances surrounding the fall.
Read MoreTjabe, Indonesia, *1869
Tjabe is one of only 16 recorded falls from Indonesia. It fell on the 19th September, 1869, near Rembang, East Java. It’s an H6 chondrite. The total weight is about 20kg, of which this little end cut represents 1.72g.
Read MoreL’Aigle, France, *1803
L’Aigle is one of the most famous metorites in history. On April 26th, in the Basse-Normandie area of France, a shower of 3,ooo or so stones descended in front of numerous witnesses. This was recorded and picked up by 18th century scientists, and was arguably the pivotal moment in the founding of meteoritics as a science. This little 0.24g fragment derives from Russ Kempton at the NEMS.
Read MoreJonzac, France, *1819
Jonzac is a beautiful monomict eucrite which fell in the Poitou-Charentes region of France in 1819. Only 5,000g was recovered. This lovely part slice weighs in at 0.91g.
Read MoreHessle, Sweden, *1869
Hessle fell to earth in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1869. Recovered material weighed around 20kg. This 0.78g part slice originated from Russ Kempton and the NEMS.
Read MoreDiep River, South Africa, *1906
Diep River fell in Western Cape in South Africa, knocking a hole through a farm roof in the process. A small stone weighing only 1,000g was recovered. This nice part slice weighs 0.51g
Read MoreAumale, Algeria, *1865
A nice, early African witnessed fall, Aumale fell in the Bouira region of Algeria in 1865. The total known weight is about 50kg, this part slice is 1.48g.
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