Meteorites in history

People have treasured meteorites for thousands of years. This final lesson visits Ancient Egypt and medieval France, and ends with how to look after meteorites today.

Iron from the sky in Ancient Egypt

For thousands of years, people did not know how to get iron out of rock by smelting. The only iron metal they could find came from iron meteorites.

Small iron beads found in an Egyptian grave at Gerzeh are about 5,000 years old. Scientists have shown that they were hammered from meteorite iron, because they contain lots of nickel and the crystal pattern of meteorite metal. Tutankhamun, the boy pharaoh, was buried with a beautiful iron dagger. Studies of its blade show that it, too, was made from a meteorite.

The stone of Ensisheim

On 7 November 1492 a large stone fell from the sky near the town of Ensisheim, in what is now France. A boy saw it land in a wheat field. People broke pieces off as good-luck charms, and the rest was chained up in the church so that it could not leave. It weighed about 127 kg when it fell. About 55 kg of it is still kept in Ensisheim today, making it the oldest meteorite in Europe with a known fall date that still survives.

Even so, many educated people did not believe stones could fall from the sky until around 1800, when scientists carefully studied several falls and proved it.

Looking after meteorites

If you go meteorite hunting, follow these rules. Always get permission from the landowner before searching, and check the law, because some countries and some land do not allow collecting. Pick up a fresh meteorite with clean gloves or wrap it in foil, keep it dry, and never taste, cut, heat or put chemicals on it. Write down exactly where and when you found it, because scientists need that information. A meteorite with a good record is worth far more to science.

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