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Mauerkirchen (Ober-Österreich, Austria) L6 (stone) Fell 20th November 1768

Of all the ancient witnessed falls still preserved in meteorite collections around the World, only 14 meteorites have a fall date older than Mauerkirchen. Of those 14, many have been lost over the centuries leaving behind only small fragments and crumbs for posterity - 4 of them are still securely held in sacred shrines!

The Mauerkirchen meteorite fell in 1768, stuck firmly in an age when rocks falling from the heavens was still considered folklore and very far from an accepted part of nature - it would be another 30 - 35 years before the later falls of Siena, Wold Cottage and L'Aigle proved beyond any doubt that the Earth really IS under siege from space.

The Catalogue of Meteorites lists Mauerkirchen with a quote from E.Chladni as "After detonations, a stone of about 19kg fell, E.F.F. Chladni (1803)", although less than 10kg in total is accounted for in all of the major museum meteorite collections around the World.

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