(meteorobs) Stone at Mecca

[Marco Langbroek]

Steven Kolins wrote:
> 
> On Oct 20, 2005, at 7:51 PM, Matson, Robert wrote:
> 
>> Hi All,
>>
>> The Wabar craters are associated with a large iron meteorite fall;
>> however, I seriously doubt that the black stone at Ka'ba (literally,
>> "square building" is an iron meteorite.  It could, however, be an
>> unusually large specimen of black impactite glass from one of the
>> Wabar craters -- i.e. a giant Wabar pearl.  That the black stone
>> (which has broken into several pieces) has been worn smooth by
>> centuries of rubbing/kissing further supports the idea that it is
>> fused silica, rather than iron or chondritic material.  --Rob
> 
> 
> When was the Wabar craters? Is this the c.1863AD fall in the empty  
> quarter of Saudi Arabia? This is far out of sync with the setting up  of 
> Mecca as a place of Moslem pilgrimagte circa 651AD, let alone the  
> original usage of the Ka'ba long before.
> 

Exactly. New datings put the Wabar craters at a very recent age, probably 19th 
century.

The Ka'aba stone has been seen by at least one professional geologist (a 
muslim). Who deemed it a very large agate.

- Marco



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Dr Marco Langbroek  -  Dutch Meteor Society  (DMS)
e-mail: meteorites at dmsweb.org

DMS website: http://www.dmsweb.org
private website:  http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek
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