Campo del Cielo
The Robert Elliott Meteorite Collection Part III
Auction: 20 August 2013 at 15:00 BST
Description
large individual
Dimensions
34,200g
Footnote
Provenance: ex-Robert Cucchiara Collection
Campo del Cielo (Chaco, Argentina) IAB (iron) - found 1576
In 1576, a Spanish governor heard from the Indians of a large iron mass, which they claimed had fallen from heaven. An expedition was sent to investigate, under the command of Captain de Miraval who returned with several chunks of iron meteorite.
Twelve craters are associated with this meteorite, the largest measuring 78 metres across. Carbon dating of burnt wood found within the craters date the fall as somewhere between 4000 - 6000 years old, consistent with the Indian accounts passed down over the centuries, that these rocks did indeed fall from the sky. The strewnfield, the location where meteorites are found, was fittingly named "Field of the Heavens" by the Indians.