An ancient 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.
Absolutely priceless
The researchers believe it was carved from a piece of the Chinga meteorite that fell in the border region of eastern Siberia and Mongolia about 15,000 years ago.
The debris from the crash was only discovered in 1913 by gold prospectors, but the individual fragment from which the statue was carved was collected many centuries before.
“We were quite astonished by the results,” said Dr Buchner.
“OK, it’s a meteorite but what amazed me was that we could also say it was from Chinga, that we could find the provenance, that was really astonishing for me.”
The statue is believed to portray the god Vaisravana. The researchers think it belongs to the pre-Buddhist Bon culture that existed in Asia about 1,000 years ago.
“If we are right that it was made in the Bon culture in the 11th Century, it is absolutely priceless and absolutely unique worldwide,” observed Dr Buchner.
Full article via BBC News – Ancient statue discovered by Nazis is made from meteorite.