[meteorite-list] Kaali meteorite - Estonia, 400BC?

From: Robert & Wendi Beauford <wendirob_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:01:30 2004
Message-ID: <006b01c20bf7$d6aec200$334897cc_at_wendirob>

An Estonian friend of mine has mentioned this crater several times.
Apparently it was a favorite swimming hole when she was a child.
-Robert Beauford : )

> Subject: [meteorite-list] Re:Kaali meteorite - Estonia, 400BC?
>
> Hi all -
>
> If anyone has MAPS at hand, I would be most interested
> in the citations of Tacitus and Pytheas.
>
> best wishes -
> ep
>
>
> --- Bernd Pauli HD
> <bernd.pauli_at_lehrer1.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de> wrote:
> > STUARTATK_at_aol.com wrote:
> >
> > > Doing some research for a radio slot, and am
> > intrigued by the "Kaali"
> > > meteorite which fell in Estonia around 400BC; in
> > the brief net
> > > searches I've done so far I've found intriguing
> > references to the Sun
> > > being blocked out by the impact, localised
> > environmental devastation
> > > and even "human casualties"... Couple of websites
> > say that there's a
> > > large crater in Estonia, and several (as many as
> > 8?) smaller craters
> > > nearby, but am just wondering if anyone out there
> > has any more
> > > specific info about this impact? Thanks in advance
> > for all info /
> > > help, Stu
> >
> > Hello Stu and List,
> >
> > Here are two scientifically reliable references:
> >
> > RASMUSSEN K.L. et al. (2000) The age of the
> > Kaalijärv meteorite
> > craters (MAPS 35-5, 2000, pp. 1067-1071, excerpt):
> >
> > 400-370 B.C. at ± 1o / The nine Kaalijärv craters
> > on the Estonian
> > island of Saaremaa (Ösel) were caused by the impact
> > of a fragmented IAB
> > iron meteorite, of which several masses have been
> > recovered totalling
> > about 2.5 kg. The largest piece recovered so far
> > weighs 38.4 gr (Raukas
> > et al., 1999).
> >
> > VESKI S. et al. (2001) Ecological catastrophe in
> > connection with the
> > impact of the Kaali Meteorite about 800-400 BC on
> > the island of
> > Saaremaa, Estonia (MAPS 36-10, 2001 pp. 1367-1375,
> > excerpt):
> >
> > About 800-400 B.C. a meteoroid hit a then relatively
> > densely populated
> > island, forming the Kaali meteorite impact craters.
> > Unfortunately the
> > people living at that time on the island of Saaremaa
> > were illiterate and
> > we have no direct written record of the impact
> > event. Indirect written
> > historical records interpreted as describing the
> > Kaali meteorite blast
> > event come from Tacitus (1942) and Pytheas from
> > Massalia.
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Bernd
Received on Tue 04 Jun 2002 02:43:50 PM PDT