Ancient statue discovered by Nazis is made from (Chinga) meteorite

BBC News ^ | 9/27/12 | Matt McGrath - BBC

[NormsRevenge]

An ancient Buddhist statue that was recovered by a Nazi expedition in the 1930s was originally carved from a highly valuable meteorite.

Researchers say the 1,000-year-old object with a swastika on its stomach is made from a rare form of iron with a high content of nickel.

They believe it is part of the Chinga meteorite, which crashed about 15,000 years ago.

The findings appear in the Journal, Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

The 24cm (9-inch) tall statue is 10kg (22lb) and is called the Iron Man. Origins unknown

The story of this priceless object owes more perhaps to an Indiana Jones film script than sober scientific research.

It was discovered in Tibet in 1938 by German scientist Ernst Schafer. His expedition was supported by the Nazis, in particular by Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Himmler was said to believe the Aryan race originated in Tibet and was keen to recover objects from the area.

Brought back to Germany, the statue became part of a private collection and disappeared from view until 2007. A new owner then sought scientific advice on the origins. He turned to Dr Elmar Buchner from the University of Stuttgart.

[NormsRevenge]

[NormsRevenge]

“It is rich in nickel, it is rich in cobalt. Less than 0.1% of all meteorites and less than 1% of iron meteorites are ataxites, so it is the rarest type of meteorites you can find.”

[verum ago]

This seems like the back story to a rejected Indiana Jones script.

[NormsRevenge]

Tibet was the place to be back then, not too far from Shangri-La and Burma on a slow week-end.

[nickcarraway]

I was thinking the same thing.

[NormsRevenge]

‘Iron Man’ ping

[Boogieman]

What a waste. In more sensible places and times, they would have used that meteoric iron to make some very fine swords, not a useless idol.

[Slyfox]

The meteorite at mecca:

[faucetman]

Jump to conclusions much? You know what, if you find ONE of something.... keep looking you'll find another, and another.

Maybe it's made from a piece of the planet Orpheus? (sarc)

[Secret Agent Man]

Coincidentally named “The Iron Vagina.”

[a fool in paradise]

[winodog]

It would be cool if that thing chopped off a hand now and then. That would prove you were a sinner and they could take you outback and stone you.

[gop4lyf]

Is that what the hajis throw rocks at?

[davisfh]

Love this guy’s hairdo and his phony accent.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

That fagola Nazi has a ring in his RIGHT ear! (Right is Wrong).

[Sirius Lee]

The sand savages smooch sphincter, that’s for sure.

[Smokin' Joe]

So, either the image has been reversed, or that just isn’t a Nazi swastika. (It’s backwards).

[Repeat Offender]

In the 11th century, a man allegedly sent by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah attempted to smash the Black Stone, but was killed on the spot, having caused only slight damage. In 1674, according to Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, someone smeared the Black Stone with excrement so that "every one who kissed it retired with a sullied beard". The Shi'ite Persians were suspected of being responsible and were the target of curses from other Muslims for centuries afterwards, though explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton doubted that they were the culprits; he attributed the act to "some Jew or Greek, who risked his life to gratify a furious bigotry.

from wiki

[DogByte6RER]

Sounds like the plot form an Indiana Jones movie ...

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