Website created and maintained by Nick Gessler since 15 July 2021. Last updated 2 November 2024. /
nick.gessler@duke.edu / http://people.duke.edu/gessler
"Somalia: the Forgotten Story," video by Al Jazeera.
AN ODE TO EL ALI
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Oh meteorite, El Ali by name, |
Since times of old, it's been in use, |
Shall it be sliced for baubles, small, |
Let's seek a buyer wise and just, |
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 58, Nr 6, pp. 749-751, June 2023. "Ode to El Ali" is based upon the best info that we had at the time. (443,993 full text views.) |
Rotten Tomatoes: Season 4, Episode 18: "Did a rancher find a Chupacabra carcass in the San Antonio, Texas area? Did scientists studying a 15-ton meteorite discover new minerals that are proof of an alien civilization? Is a video of a dozen dinosaur-like creatures running out of the waterproof of miniature Loch Ness Monsters? Tony Harris and his team of experts examine the clues and make a determination about the validity of what we're seeing." |
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THERE ARE TWO ELEMENTS OF EL ALI'S WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE: PREHISTORIC SIGIFICANCE: A PowerPoint introduction by Nick Gessler'sentitled SOMALIA’S IRON AGE BEGINS WITH EL ALI.may be viewed on OneDrive. There is a dirth of literature on this process and the techniques used are largely unknown in the production of steels. However, folds, curls, ridges, scrolls, lips, rolls, rims, edges, and margins are routinely recognized as collateral and unwanted defects caused by repeated excessive hammering on mild steel during during heavy use. Prominent examples are well known on the heads of cold chisels and hand hammers as well as on railroad tracks. We can learn much more about EL ALI's prehistoric past by studying what we know about Greenland's Cape York "Woman" and "Dog" meteorites which have been studied by archaeologists affiliaed with the University of Copenhagen, the Natural History Museun of Denmark, the National Museum of Denmark, and the Greenland National Museum. Archaeology that could be done at the impact site of EL ALI could tell us more...THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE INNAANGANEQ METEORITE. The Draft Somali Provisional Constitution of 1 August 2012: Article 31: Language and Culture.
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Wikipedia's "Largest Meteorites on Earth."Africa's 2nd Largest Meteorite.EL ALI received worldwide media attentio for bringing three new minerals to Earth. Other meteorites have also brought us new mionerals with Allende having brought us 26. |
8th Largest Individual from a Unique Fall.Wikipedia still lists EL ALI as the 8th largest different meteorite from a distinctly differnet meteorite fall. (CapeYork adn Campo del Cielo are each listed twice, and Aletai is listed thrice.) EL ALI's weight was measured on a commercial scale. How were the weights of the others determined? |
11th Largest Individual from any Fall.Wikipedia now lists EL ALI as the 11th largest individual meteorite, even counting those from the same fall. (CapeYork adn Campo del Cielo are each listed twice, and Aletai is listed thrice.) EL ALI's weight was measured on a commercial scale. How were the weights of the others determined? |
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SOMALIA’S IRON AGE BEGINS WITH EL ALI. - N. Gessler, A. A. Hussein, A. H. Egeh. |
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.pptx and .mp4
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https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2023/technical_program/?session_no=605 |
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Click to view with OneDrive |
SOMALI FOLKLORE - A TALE OF THE EL ALI METEORITE
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Double Click to view Vdeo |
WHAT THE LOCAL PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE EL ALI METEORITE. Abstract - #6057 Introduction: In the past, the El Ali meteorite was not unknown to the locals; rather it was one of their most important landmarks in the area. Its cultural heritage significance was the elephant in the room. El Ali has been a symbol for the local people for a long time and was known as “Shiid-birood,” which means the iron stone (because of its properties of resonance and its ductility). Eventually, the name was given to the area surrounding it.1 The characteristics of the El Ali meteorite’s (Shiid-birood’s) environment include: plants do not grow up around it for a distance of about 10 meters, and it is surrounded by black rocks that appear as a burnt stones.2 Past familiarity with this stone is evidenced by local stories saying that “during the colonization period, the Italians tried to take it, but they couldn’t due to its heavy weight and to the locals who were against it.”2 At sunset, the stone appears in the shape of an animal, and the livestock fear it and run away from it. People describe it as looking like a horse, and the local children play on it and ride it like a horse. |
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Click to bore eoyj OneDrive |
SOMALIA’S IRON AGE BEGINS WITH EL ALI. |
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Click to view with OneDrive. |
THE MINERALOGY OF THE EL ALI IAB IRON: CONDITIONS OF FORMATION https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2023/pdf/6143.pdfAbstract - #6143 Introduction: The El Ali meteorite is a 15.2-ton iron meteorite from Somalia, originally known by camel herders and others in the region as “Nightfall.” Further insights into the history of this significant meteorite are provided in this meeting. The meteorite belongs to the IAB Complex, a group that spans a diversity of bulk compositions and that is typified by silicate or other inclusions. IAB irons may have formed by melting due to impact heating on a porous chondritic body. Detailed study of phosphate inclusions in El Ali revealed the occurrence of at least three new minerals. Analysis by EPMA (University of Alberta) and by SEM-EBSD (Caltech) on specimen MET11814/2-1/EP1 of the University of Alberta Meteorite Collection revealed the occurrence, and enabled the description of: elaliite (Fe2+8Fe3+(PO4)O8, IMA 2022-087), elkinstantonite (Fe4(PO4)2O, IMA 2022-088), and olsenite (KFe4(PO4)3, IMA 2022-100). Details of elaliite and elkinstantonite can be found in LPS LIV Abstract #2220; olsenite is described in LPS LIV Abstract #1883. Here, we discuss the origin of these minerals and the implications of their occurrence for the petrogenesis of the El Ali meteorite. |
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Radiometric Age Dating - Terrestrial Age of Meteorites - by Timothy Jull Mineralogy, geochemistry and classification of the new Smolenice iron meteorite from Slovakia |
1/3/2023 Summary by N. Gessler: 10/25/2024 Update by T. Jull: |
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National Geographic Press Release |
University of Alberta Release |
Video 3 - El Ali in situ in Hiiraan. Composite view. Credit Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein.
Note the thousands of culturally transported rocks nearby.
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Video 3 - El Ali in situ in Hiiraan. Credit: Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein. Note the thousands of culturally transported rocks nearby. |
Video 6 - El Ali prepared for storage in Mogadishu. Credit: Nicholas Gessler. El Ali in Mogadishu on 24 April 2021. A composite of 16 detailed video frames of its above-ground right multifaceted face. Detail shows smooth hammered surfaces as well as layering along the right diagonal edge and numerous linearly deformed pits illustrating cultural alteration and removal of metal by cold forging.. |
Cape York 3-ton individual called "the Woman," Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Utilized as a source of meteoritic iron removed by cold forging, and as an anvil for its manufacture into sharps (knives and points), by the Inuit of Greenland. It shows the same polished crowns used as anvils and the same multi-facted sites of cold forging as El Ali. Both were also surrounded by piles of hammerstones. |
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Library holdings of the 1819 publication.Library holdings of the 1935 publication. |
Inuit accounts of mining iron from the Cape York meteorites. |
Inuit accounts of mining iron from the Cape York meteorites. |
Northward Over the Great Ice, v2 (1898) |
The Cape York "Woman" iron meteorite surrounded by a massive ring of hammerstones. We would expect to find an analogous assemblage of hammerstones at the El Ali / Ceel Cali impact site, and we have.. |
Sketch for a proposed diorama of the Cape York "Woman" iron meteorite being harvested for iron. The basaltic hammerstones were brought from 50 miles away. |
METEORIFACTS |
The Cape York "Woman" meteorite being moved on rollers to the ship. |
Size comparison of the three Cape York meteorites collected by Robert Peary. |
Peary's ship ramming packed ice. |
Sequence ID Number | Tracking point cloud & camera path. | Tracking point cloud & camera path. | DISCRIPTION | SPECS |
#1 | Static camera, no parallax. | Chiseling a sample at the impact site. Credit: Global Resources Static camera |
12.6 MB 30 fps 640 w 352 h 225,280 pixels 1 min 19 sec 79 sec 2,370 frames |
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#2 | Static camera, no parallax. | Cutting a sample in
Mogadishu. Source: Global Resources Static camera |
10.2 MB 30 fps 640 w 352 h 225,280 pixels 0 min 52 sec 52 sec 1,560 frames |
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#3 | Meshroom: 174 frames, every 10th frame. |
In situ at the impact site. Credit:
Abdulkadir. 1,740 frames |
2.3 MB 30 fps 352 w 640 h 225,280 pixels 0 min 58 sec 58 sec |
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#4 | Meshroom: 960 frames, every 3rd frame. |
Meshroom: 960 frames, every 3rd frame. |
Good coverage at
Mogadishu. 3,296 frames |
7.8 MB 30 fps 480 w 848 h 407,040 pixels 1 min 36 sec 96 sec |
#5 | Meshroom: 3340 frames, every 3rd frame. |
Meshroom: 3340 frames, every 3rd frame. |
Pulled from the dirt at the impact site. Credit: Nick Gessler Good tracking shot. 10,020 frames |
37.2 MB 30 fps 640 w 352 h 225,280 pixels 5 min 34 sec 334 sec |
#6 |
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No point cloud available. | Detailed panning shots in Mogadishu. |
9.0 MB 30 fps 640 w 352 h 225,280 pixels 0 min 44 sec 44 sec |
#7 | Chaotic, no easily discernible parallax. | In chains on crane in
Mogadishu 2,670 frames |
13.5 MB 30 fps 640 w 352 h 225,280 pixels 1 min 29 sec 89 sec |
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Confined, partial parallax. | In container in
Mogadishu 760 frames |
9.8 MB 20 fps 1072 w 1920 h 2,058,240 pixels 0 min 38 sec 38 sec |
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#9 | Meshroom: 660 frames, every 10th frame. |
In situ at impact site. Credit: Abdulkadir Good tracking shot. 660 frames |
0.9 MB 30 fps 272 w 480 h 130,560 pixels 0 min 22 sec 22 sec |
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Subtotal of section above | 24,396 frames | 13 min 10 sec | ||
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Vid-11:: At the borehole of the town of EL ALI |
El Ali Borehole | At the borehole (well) from which EL ALI took its name. 390 frames |
2.35 MB |
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Vid-12: At the borehole of the town of EL ALUI |
El Ali Borehole | At the borehole (well) from which EL ALI took its name. 930 frames |
5.58 MB 30 fps 368 w 672 h 247,296 pixels 0 min 31 sec 31sec |
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Vid-13: At the impact site. Look for dark hammerstones.. |
#13 Shiid-birood (griinding metal). Vid-13: A clip of one of many classic hammerstones at the impact site of EL ALI. |
The EL ALI meteorite impact site showing hammerstones. 1,770 frames |
10.5 MB 30 fps 368 w 672 h 247,296 pixels 0 min 59 sec 59 sec |
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Vid-14: At the impact site. Look for ark hammerstones. |
Shiid-birood (grinding metal) | The EL ALI meteorite impact site showing hammerstones. 1,770 frames |
10.7 MB 30 fps 368 w 672 h 247,296 pixels 0 min 59 sec 59 sec |
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Vid-15: The landmark stone called Afeelaha. |
Afeelaha | Afeelaha, a companion road marker used to sharpen knives. 390 frames |
2.38 MB 30 fps 368 w 672 h 247,296 pixels 0 min 13 sec 13 sec |
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Vid-16: The landmark stone called Afeelaha. |
Afeelaha | Afeelaha, a companion road marker used to sharpen knives. 1,170 frames |
7.0 MB 30 fps 368 w 672 h 247,296 pixels 0 min 39 sec 39 sec |
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Vid-17: Sample being removed at impact site. |
Removing a sample from EL ALI at its impact site. 9,600 frames |
29.2 MB .30 fps 352 w 640 h 5 min 20 sec 320 sec |
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Vid 18: ELALI in its container on arrival in China. |
The meteorite is reportedly still awaiting sale in Yiwu, Zhejiang, China. | The meteorite in its shipping container on arrival at Yiwu, Zhejiang, China. 610 frames |
10.4 MB 21.02 fps 1072 w 1920 h 29 sec 29 sec |
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Subtotal of videos 1-16 | 6,420 frames | 3 min 34 sec | ||
TOTAL | 30,816 frames | 16 min 44 sec |
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Image N |
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Chris Herd |
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Image O Mogadishu. Beauty shot. 24 April 2021. |
Image P Weighbridge certificate. 12/08/2020. (12 August 2020). |
Image Q In situ. Note loose rocks. |
Vid-17: Sample being removed at impact site. |
V-d 18: ELALI in its container on arrival in China. |
Funding for the translations of Somali media interviews posted below was provided by the Meteoritical Society, Six-West Media's "The Proof is Out There," and others. Translations linked via "ENGLISH #N" were by Jibril Mohamed. |
From the
Horn Afrik News Agency for Human Rights (HANAHR)
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3 June 2023
https://hanahr.net/somalia-el-ali-meteorite-in-the-light-of-history-and-culture/ |
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31 July 2021
xaan Al-Shabaab ugu biiray si dhagaxii dahabka ahaa ee laga helay Ceel-Cali aan wax ugu yeesho. "I joined Al-Shabaab so that I could have |
25 February 2020 IS THE STONE FOUND IN A WELL GOLD OR PEARL? 3.1K views 4 years ago |
26 February 2020 BAAQ U DIRAY MADAXDA DOWLADA SOOMALIYA EL-ALI REGIONAL GOVERNOR SENT AN INVITATION |
4 February 2023 roos baadiyaha fog ee Ceel cali xili habeen ah laguna A wedding in the remote countryside of |
23 February 2016
The army of El Ali Saar presented in the |
14 June 2022
aarkii dagmada ceel cali caanka ku eheed waayo wayo In the district of El Ali, it is famous |
From the Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders (CSHRDS).On 27 October 2024, info@CSHRDS wrote: Elipses "..." and parentheses "( )" indicate my own edits.. (NG) |
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31 August 2024 Link from "CSHRDS 1." African Academy of Diplomacy Report: "The EL ALI meteorite Heist: A Tale of Betrayal, Corruption, and Tradegy in Somalia." Archival copy: |
27 Octpber 2024 . Videos of the meteorite EL ALI in situ where it landed. |
3 June 2023 . Link from "CSHRDS 3." Press release by Horn Africa News Agency for Human Rights (HANAHR). A different version of the posting two rows up at the left.. |
5 March 2020 Dahir Jesow and others RTN TV. Rajo Talevision Network "RTN" its First Somali TV in Kenya Included in HANAHR link at left link from "CSHRDS 4." ENGLISH #12 "Xil. Dahir Jesoow iyo Mamulka Deeganka Ceel Cali oo ka hadlay Dagaal ka dhacay degamadaasi |
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23 February 2020: MP Dahir Jesow. ENGLISH #1 1) Somali Cable: "Dhagax laga soo qaaday Deegaanka Ceel Cali" (Stone taken from the Ceel Cali area) With Member of Parliament MP Dahir Amiin Jesow. 311k views, 511 comments. 5 min 12 sec. |
24 February 2020: MP Maryan Ahmed Haroun: ENGLISH #6 6) Kulmeye News Network. MP Maryan Ahmed Haroun, Peoples Assembly, El Ali constituency, "We are afraid of other resources of El Ali." 1.4K views, 0 comments.13 min 07 sec. |
25 February 2020. ENGLISH #4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB46J_2LPoU 4) Kulmeye News Network. "Is the stone found in a well gold or pearl?" 3K views, 3 comments.11 min 19 sec. |
26 February 2020.: MP Dahir Jesow: ENGLISH #2 2) Youtube: "What is the stone held by the government of Somalia & its value?" MARACADDE SHOW: 60k views, 84 comments, all 3 years old, all archived and translated by Google..10 min 07 sec. |
19 April 2020: ENGLISH #5https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pqIlR937jI 5) Kulmeye News Network. "What happened to the stone tken from the well? 2.6K views, 19 comments.3 min 55 sec. |
11 July 2023:: MP Dahir Jesow, ENGLISH #3 |
30 November 2022. ENGLISH #11 |
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Eg. Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, 27 February 2020 ENGLISH #7 Shabelle TV: "What can be explained by the stone that brought the discussion of El Ali? 5m52s 33m57s total. |
Eng Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, 29 November 2022 |
Eng Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein,30 November 2022 ENGLISH #9 HUDHUD1: "The stone was found near the village of El Ali in Hiiran and removed from the country." 7m0s |
Eng Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein,1 April 2023 |
Hypothetical impact site (July 2023). 2016 Google Earth image of a nine hectare field. |
Hypothetical impact site (July 2023) 2004 Google Earth image of a nine hectare field. |
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El Ali Meteorite individual analyses: XRFs, samples, certificates, closeups:
Analytical Procedures and Equipment used by the North American team members.
Dr. Bidong Zhang. |
Dr. Paul Warren at the microprobe. |
Dr. Alan Rubin at the microprobe. |
Dr. Kevin McKeegan tuning his equipment. |
Nuclear reactor at University of California, Irvine in which El Ali INAA samples were activated. |
Nuclear reactor at University of California, Irvine in which El Ali INAA samples were activated. |
Dr, Chris Herd. |
Dr. Chris Herd. |
Dr. Chris Herd. |
ICP/MS equipment similar to that used by Dr. Herd.. |
Dr. Timothy Jull. |
Dr. Timothy Jull. |
Arizona Mass Accelerator Lab in which destructive 14C and 10Be dates were likely done. Non-destructive 26Al dating is expected to be run by Pavel Provinec on counters in Brataslava, Slovakia. |
Dr. Nick Gessler at Duke University, Suzhou, China. |
Dr. Nick Gessler at Duke University, Suzhou, China. |
Dr. Nick Gessler in his lab in Los Angeles, CA. |
Wirite-ups on the Nature, Culture and History of El Ali:
Background information:
UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC):
Standards on the Acquisition of Important Properties are similar to those of the J.P. Getty Museum:
Legal Theories regarding the Ownership of Previously Unowned Property.