K IS FOR KAALI
Exactly when the giant iron meteorite struck earth in Kaali on the Estonian island of Saaremaa is the
source of much speculation. Best estimates put the date of the impact
between 7500 - 7600 years ago.
The meteorite has inspired many
myths and legends. Indeed Rune 47 of the Finnish epic poem, The
Kalevala, contains a powerful evocation of a celestial event where "the
sky was pierced with holes and the heavens full of windows" and the
heroes journey to find "the fire that fell from heaven".
Our guide Maarika told a story a little similar to the legend of Tristan and Isolde, about a man who was sent out of the village after falling in love with a woman he shouldn't have. He was put on his horse, sent on his way and instructed not to look back. Inevitably, he looked back - just as fire fell from the heavens, consuming him and the horse he rode out on...
The embers were well and truly out by the time we arrived but there's something eerie and magical still about this dent in the Earth's crust. People have been drawn to it for millennia, ever since the day it fell.
It makes me think of the High Possil Meteorite that landed in a quarry in the north of Glasgow in 18o4, the first of only four meteorites (so far!) to have been recovered in Scotland.
It arrived with a "violent whizzing sound . . , like a gong", according to a contemporary report.
The Possil Meteorite caused hardly any damage, and landing in a quarry, it was almost lost amongst the piles of rocks.
No myths and legends have sprung up around Glasgow's meteorite, as far as I know, but as it arrived towards the tail end of the Enlightenment, it definitely provoked a great deal of rational scientific enquiry. A remaining fragment is on display at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow University.