The Gibeon Meteorite

Although no one knows for sure when the Gibeon Meteorite fell to earth, everyone agrees it was in prehistoric times; some speculate it was about 12,000 years ago. The strewn field it fell in is among the largest on earth, 70 miles wide by 230 miles long.

While the locals had always collected pieces of the meteorite -- to use for making tools -- it was only relatively recently that they became available to the North American market. This was thanks to an enterprising meteorite collector named Robert Haag, who marched into the principal's office of a Namibian school and offered to pay kids to bring him meteorites. When the kids' families saw how easy it was to make money, everyone got into the act!

Thanks to the interest of the local residents -- not to mention the huge size of the Gibeon strewn field -- Gibeon meteorite fragments are fairly abundant, and thus quite affordable. The pieces we offer are exactly as they were found and haven't been treated in any way -- the rust is normal weathering. We also have slices of the Gibeon meteorite that have been treated to display the Widmanstätten pattern.

Check out our books about meteorites.

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