Iron From the Sky: the Potential Influence of Meteorites on Ancient Egyptian Culture. (June 28, 2013)

A Royal Society, London lecture delivered by Diane Johnson, Project Officer (FIBSEM) at the Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space & Astronomical Research, Open University from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm on Friday 19 April 2013

Ancient Egyptian belief was frequently derived from observations of the natural world, where the gods were considered to control the forces of nature; and as a society, ancient Egyptians placed great value upon order and balance. So how would the appearance of a fireball bringing meteorite iron to the ground be interpreted, and what was the perception of this iron as such a rare material? This lecture will explore the theory that meteorites may have influenced many aspects of ancient Egyptian culture with evidence in the form of artefacts, ancient texts and architecture.

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