Submit a Picture

Where is My Picture?!

The Queue

Met Name

Met Type

Thin Sections

  L6

TKW unk. Observed fall 25 December 1704, Cataluna, Spain.


      ^Archyde

David writes:

Have a nice Christmas day!

This meteorite was believed lost for more than 300 years until two pieces were found in an old botanical collection in September 2017. I cannot explain how important this lost this historical meteorite is for Catalonia. The best idea is to read the MAPs article in the April 2020 issue.

The abstract of this article says:

On Christmas Day 1704, at 17h (UT), a meteorite fell in Terrassa (about 25 km NW of Barcelona). The meteorite fall was seen and heard by many people over an area of several hundred kilometers and it was recorded in several historical sources. In fact, it was interpreted as a divine sign and used for propaganda purposes during the War of the Spanish Succession. Although it was believed that meteorite fragments were never preserved, here we discuss the recent discovery of two fragments (49.8 and 33.7 g) of the Barcelona meteorite in the Salvador Cabinet collection (Botanic Institute of Barcelona). They are very well preserved and partially covered by a fresh fusion crust, which suggests a prompt recovering, shortly after the fall. Analysis of the fragments has revealed that the Barcelona meteorite is a L6 ordinary chondrite. These fragments are among the oldest historical meteorites preserved in the world.

As co-founder of Meteorits.cat Team, a successful team with more than 475 meteorite finds by now, I always dreamed to recover a meteorite fall in Catalonia, or just find pieces of one of the historical ones, but it seemed an elusive dream. But in September 2017 I was contacted by Dr.Marc Campeny to help determine if some rocks in an old jar were meteorites. Dr. Jordi Llorca , Dr.Marc Campeny, and I took a look at the jar a few days later and some of the images you see are the ones taken that day, the "rediscovery" day. At first sight through the glass the meteoritic material was evident, but it could have been any meteorite...until the presumed label was examined and proved to be an envelope with the original XVIII century label glued to a paper. And this label says in Catalan: "rock that fell....1704" !!! Amazing day!

Photo 1 Josep Bollo illustration circa 1717

Photo 2 Jar, unopened.

Photo 3 Jar detail.

Photo 4 Trying to get meteorites out without breaking the blown glass jar from the XVIII century.

Photo 5 The label proved to be an envelope! What's inside?

Photo 6 1704!!!!

Photo 7 All of the pieces

Photo 8 Close up of the label

Photo 9 The two fragments, label, and jar.

Photo 10 Close up of the two fragments.

Visit My Web Site