[meteorite-list] 93 Kilo Druid Meteorite

From: dorifry <dorifry_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:01:40 -0500
Message-ID: <D98F01E0CE114C8698DFE9EDF240B165_at_DoriPC>

And they found a smaller one in a grain pit!:

http://news.discovery.com/space/druids-meteorite-stonehenge-ice-age-120209.html


Large Meteorite Likely Found in Druid Burial Site
Britain's largest space rock -- excavated 200 years ago by an archaeological
dig -- was preserved by the Ice Age.

Thu Feb 9, 2012 04:01 PM ET
Content provided by Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience

THE GIST
  a.. In a new exhibition, the 205 pound meteorite is on display, along with
its mysterious story.
  b.. The space rock was likely found by druids to build a burial chamber
and later unearthed by archaeologists near Stonehenge.
  c.. Scientists believe that the meteorite was preserved by the onset of
the Ice Age.

enlarge
The 205 pound meteorite likely crashed to Earth 30,000 years ago -- it was
then preserved by the freezing conditions of the Ice Age. Click to enlarge
this image.
Credit: Open University


With a weight that rivals a baby elephant, a meteorite that fell from space
some 30,000 years ago is likely Britain's largest space rock. And after much
sleuthing, researchers think they know where it came from and how it
survived so long without weathering away.

The giant rock, spanning about 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) across and weighing 205
pounds (93 kilograms), was likely discovered by an archaeologist about 200
years ago at a burial site created by the Druids (an ancient Celtic
priesthood) near Stonehenge, according to said Colin Pillinger, a professor
of planetary sciences at the Open University.

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Pillinger curated the exhibition "Objects in Space," which opened Feb. 9 and
is the first time the public will get a chance to see the meteorite. The
exhibition will explore not only the mystery that surrounds the origins of
the giant meteorite, but also the history and our fascination with space
rocks.

As for how the meteorite survived its long stint on Earth, researchers point
to the ice age.

"The only meteorites that we know about that have survived these long ages
are the ones that were collected in Antarctica," said Pillinger, adding that
more recently, some ancient meteorites have been collected in the Sahara
Desert. This rock came from neither the Sahara Desert nor Antarctica, but
rather the Lake House in Wiltshire.

"Britain was under an ice age for 20,000 years," Pillinger told LiveScience,
explaining the climate would have protected the rock from weathering.

At some point, the Druids likely picked up the meteorite when scouting for
rocks to build burial chambers. "They were keen on building burial sites for
[the dead] in much the same way the Egyptians built the pyramids," Pillinger
said.

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Then, years later, an archaeologist with ties to other, famous
archaeologists, likely found the rock while excavating the Druids' burial
sites, he said. The archaeologist then brought the rock back to his house in
Wiltshire, where its more recent residents took notice and alerted
researchers.

"The men whose house this was found at spent a lot of time opening these
burial sites 200 years ago for purposes of excavating them," Pillinger said.
"Our hypothesis is that the stone probably came out of one of those burial
chambers."


WATCH VIDEOS: FROM METEORS TO ASTEROIDSThe meteorite is called a chondrite,
a group that includes primitive meteorites that scientists think were
remnants shed from the original building blocks of planets. Most meteorites
found on Earth fit into this group.

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Other objects on display include a much smaller meteorite, weighing about an
ounce (32 grams), and excavated from a grain pit where ancient peoples of
the Iron Age stored their crops. It was discovered in the 1970s at Danebury
Hill Fort in Hampshire, though it wasn't until the 1980s when scientists
analyzed metal in the walnut-size object did they realize its
extraterrestrial origin.

The exhibition will also include a Damien Hirst "spot painting," which
features the famous Beagle 2 spacecraft as its center spot. In addition,
part of Newton's apple tree will be on display.

The story of how researchers are uncovering the origins of these impressive
specimens will astonish and delight visitors to this remarkable exhibition,
which also contains letters and books charting the history of scientific
interest in meteorites.

The Royal Society's London headquarters will house the exhibit through March
30.

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Phil Whitmer

Joshua Tree Earth & Space Museum
Received on Sat 11 Feb 2012 12:01:40 PM PST