The El Ali (Arabic) / Ceel Cali (Somali) / Shiid-birood (local name) Meteorite Project.
Reaearch and Status Notes on its World Cultural and Natural Heritage Significance.
A National Treasure of Somalia.

Website created 15 July 2021. Last updated 30 October 2023. / nick.gessler@duke.edu / http://people.duke.edu/gessler

  • EL ALI, a 15.15 tonne IAB Iron Complex Iron meteorite. the world's 9th largest.
  • Vagn Buchwald wrote, in his 1975 HANDBOOK OF IRON METEORITES,
    "Probably no other meteorite has been so intimately connected
    with the life and fate of so many people as Cape York" (p. 410).
    El Ali, 4x larger and 4x more extensively cold-forged and mined for metal, now deserves that standing.
  • Bearer of 3 new minerals to Earth: Elaliite, Elkinstantonite, Olsenite.
  • Impact radiometrically dated at 2-3000 BP.
  • Further 10B, 14C, 22Na, 26Al, and 41Ca dating in process.

    Donations greatly appreciated.

    ODE TO EL ALI

    Oh meteorite, El Ali by name,
    Of massive weight and ancient fame,
    The eighth or ninth largest on this Earth,
    With evidence of human worth.

    Since times of old, it's been in use,
    An artifact of great repute,
    Found in Somalia, now for sale,
    Who'll buy it? Who'll prevail?

    Shall it be sliced for baubles, small,
    To market souvenirs for all?
    Or shall it be conserved with care,
    For world heritage, beyond compare?

    Let's seek a buyer wise and just,
    To keep it whole, for future trust,
    And for Somalia, might we pray,
    To have it back, some future day.


    https://biea.ac.uk/the-world-of-iron-at-10/

    SOMALIA’S IRON AGE BEGINS WITH EL ALI. - N. Gessler, A. A. Hussein, A. H. Egeh.

    EL ALI is the world’s most significant culturally modified meteorite. It is also the world’s 9th largest, and the bearer of 3 new minerals from space to Earth. El Ali could be proclaimed an object of world cultural and natural heritage significance, a tribute to the innovation and creativity of the prehistoric peoples of Somalia.

    EL ALI is a 15.15 tonne “IAB Iron Complex” meteorite, which landed 2-3,000 years ago. It was ripped from its impact site by heavy equipment in 2020, trucked 300 km to Mogadishu, seized and then released for export to Zhenjiang, China, where it is now for sale.  In 2021 it was officially published in the Meteoritical Bulletin by our team of Somali, Canadian and US researchers.  17 minutes from 16 videos show EL ALI in situ, unearthed, and displayed. These images reveal that its entire exposed surface bears evidence of extensive, intensive, and prolonged removal of flakes of meteoritic iron by cold forging. EL ALI has been mined-for-metal to make knives and points.  A similar discovery was made 200 years earlier, at Cape York in Greenland. Iron imposes a unique subsistence calculus on any society that embraces it. Whether smelted or mined from meteorites, it transforms one’s way of life.

    The ethnohistory of the Cape York provides a context for EL ALI. In 1818, Captain James Ross wrote of the Inuit: “Each of the natives was provided with a kind of knife, made of small pieces, or plates of iron, which were set close together in a groove made in a piece of narwhal’s horn: the end piece was rivetted, but the others were kept in their places merely by being driven tightly into the groove. Very diligent enquiry was set on foot as to where they found the iron of which these knives were made; but all we could learn from them was, that they met with it near the shore, at some distance from this place… They procure the iron… from a mass of native iron, distant… about a day’s journey eastward of this place… Their only object, in coming so far from their own country… is to procure some of this iron, which they break off with some difficulty by means of stones, and then beat out into small plates of which the knives are made. Thus far their description agrees so well with what we find these rude instruments to be, that I think there cannot be any doubt of the truth of what they related,” Seventy tonnes of basalt were carried 50 km for use as hammers and the meteoritic flakes were traded, found in archaeological sites 2500 miles away. Cape York’s mined meteorites weigh only 4 tonnes.
    In the back-dirt at EL ALI’s impact site are many basalt hammerstones. Traditions and claims of ownership await translation from over 10 Somali media. The Ministry of Mines’ offers to support a scientific excavation. Three Meteoritical Society presentations and other evidence are available at: https://people.duke.edu/~ng46/El-Ali/

    .pptx and .mp4
    presentations
    Los Angeles
    13-18 August 2023


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    SOMALI FOLKLORE - A TALE OF THE EL ALI METEORITE
    A. A. Hussein, Almaas University, Mogadishu, Somalia. rector@almaas.edu.so

    Abstract - #6056 Introduction: In June 2020, a team of artisanal miners were in search for opal minerals and were prospecting in West Hiiraan, in El Ali and Buq Aqable area. The team belonged to a small-scale company called Kuraim. As they scoured the bushland in the search of opal, they spent weeks and left no rock unturned. However, their effort paid off when they spotted a huge brown rock with metallic lustre. The rock was different from the sandstone/limestone rocks that dominated the area. It was very dense, magnetic, with unusual shape – rounded with potholes and partly immersed in a small impact crater. One of the miners recognised the rock as a meteorite, and took a sample for a laboratory chemical and mineralogical analysis from the massive rock. It was a very difficult job to chop off small pieces from it. The result was a find of 15.15 tonne meteorite, that was moved away in September 2022 to Mogadishu. More...


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    WHAT THE LOCAL PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE EL ALI METEORITE.
    A. H. Egeh, Almaas University, Mogadishu, Somalia, egeh@almaas.edu.so.

    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. More...


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    SOMALIA’S IRON AGE BEGINS WITH EL ALI.
    N. Gessler, Duke University (retired), nick.gessler@duke.edu

    Abstract - #6011 Introduction: El Ali, a 15 metric ton iron meteorite, was found in Somalia in 2020. It’s cultural context and physical characteristics were reported in 2021.1 El Ali is now for sale in China with an asking price of $4,000,000. Concerns were raised about El Ali’s future in 2023.2 Two centuries ago the Inuit use of cold-forging to mine the meteoritic boulders at Cape York was discovered. Their surfaces share a common attribute with El Ali; Their many concave facets reveal intense, extensive, and prolonged hammering. At Cape York the harvested iron was reworked into knives on those same rocks, attested to by those who did the mining. Iron imposes a unique subsistence calculus on any society that embraces it. Whether smelted from ores or mined from meteorites, its production is expensive. There is every reason to expect that the like Cape York irons, the El Ali meteorite was used to fashion knives. More...


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    THE MINERALOGY OF THE EL ALI IAB IRON: CONDITIONS OF FORMATION
    Christopher D.K. Herd , Andrew J. Locock , Radhika Saini , and Chi Ma

    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. More...

     

    Radiometric analyses by Dr. Timothy Jull, University of Arizona.  Initial sub-samples of 3.22 and 5.88 grams from UCLA specimen 1 provided radiometric dating that tentatively established the age of the fall of El Ali at less than 2 to 3 thousand years.  This means that the meteorite would have been available for use by people back into the Iron and Bronze Ages.  A new sample with a mass of 17.5 grams is arriving soon.  Age estimates and other data will be generated from further analyses of radioactive Carbon (14C), Beryllium (10B) , Calcium (14C) and Aluminum (26Al) isotopes.


    Official entry in the Meteoritical Bulletin

     

    Meteoritics & Planetary Science
    58, Nr 6, pp. 749-751,
    June 2023.


    Ode to El Ali


    National Geographic Press Release

    University of Alberta Release
    Meteoritical Bulletin Entry

    Site Visitors Map

    Site Visits from: Australia,Austria,Canada,,China, Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopa, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malasia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Phillipines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Unknown, United States.

    Panoramic Images Merged from Casual Video Frames

    Video 3 - El Ali in situ in Hiiraan. Composite view.

    Credit Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein. Note the thousands of culturally transported rocks nearby.

    Video 3 - El Ali in situ in Hiiraan.
    Composite view showing multifaceted side.

    Credit Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein. Note the thousands of culturally transported rocks nearby.

    Video 6 - El Ali prepared for storage in Mogadishy.
    Composite view showing its right side multifaceted face.

    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 multifacted sites of cold forging as El Ali. Both were also surrounded by piles of hammerstones.


    The cultural use of El Ali / Ceel Cali likely predates the beginning of the introduction of smelted iron iron in the Horn of Africa.
    The only analog to such intensive, extensive, and prolonged hand cold forging of meteorites was witnessed among the Inuit in Cape York, Greenland, 200 years ago.

    Captain John Ross: exploring the probability of a north-west passage. London: J. Murray. 1819


    Second voyage in search of a north-west passage,
    in the years 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833


    The Arctic Career of
    Captain Sir John Ross
    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.

    Illustrations from Robert Peary (1898).

    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 diarama of the Cape York "Woman" iron meteorite being harvested for iron. The basaltic hammerstones were broght from 50 miles away.

    METEORIFACTS
    Inuit knives made from coin-sized flakes of the Cape York "Woman" meteorite. Traded well into Canada.

    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.

     

    Video Analyses

    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

    Staticcamera
    12.6 MB
    30 fps
    640 w
    352 h
    225,280 pixels
    1 min 19 sec
    79 sec
    2,370 frames
    #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
    #3
    Meshroom, 174 frames, every 10th frame.
     

    In situ at the impact site.

    Credit: Abdulkadir.

    Good tracking shot.

    1,740 frames

    2.3 MB
    30 fps
    352 w
    640 h
    225,280 pixels
    0 min 58 sec
    58 sec
    #4
    Meshroom, 960 frames, every 3rd frame.

    Meshroom, 960 frames, every 3rd frame.

    Good coverate at Mogadishu.

    Credit: Abdulkadir

    Good tracking shot.

    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


    A detailed composite of 16 video frames of EL ALI's most faceted face. Two pans.

    No point cloud available.

    Detailed panning shots in Mogadishu.

    Credit: Nick Gessler

    Suitable for Photoshop Photomerge.

    1,320 frames

    9.0 MB
    30 fps
    640 w
    352 h
    225,280 pixels
    0 min 44 sec
    44 sec
    #7 Chaotic, no easily discernable parallax.  

    In chains on crane in Mogadishu

    Credit: Nick Gessler

    Chaotic

    2,670 frames

    13.5 MB
    30 fps
    640 w
    352 h
    225,280 pixels
    1 min 29 sec
    89 sec

    #8 Confined, partial parallax.  

    In container in Mogadishu

    Credit: Nick Gessler

    Dark, confined space.

    760 frames

    9.8 MB
    20 fps
    1072 w
    1920 h
    2,058,240 pixels
    0 min 38 sec
    38 sec
    #9
    Meshroom, 660frames, 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
    Subtotal of section above     24,396 frames 13 min 10 sec
    #10        

    Vid-11:: At the borehole of the town of EL ALI
    El Ali Borehole   390 frames

    2.35 MB
    30 fps
    368 w
    672 h
    247,296 pixels
    0 min 13 sec
    13 sec


    Vid-12: At the borehole of the
    town of EL ALUI
    El Ali Borehole   930 frames 5.58 MB
    30 fps
    368 w
    672 h
    247,296 pixels
    0 min 31 sec
    31sec

    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.
      1,770 frames 10.5 MB
    30 fps
    368 w
    672 h
    247,296 pixels
    0 min 59 sec
    59 sec

    Vid-14: At the impact site. Look for ark hammerstones.
    Shiid-birood (grinding metal)   1,770 frames 10.7 MB
    30 fps
    368 w
    672 h
    247,296 pixels
    0 min 59 sec
    59 sec

    Vid-15: The landmark stone called Afeelaha.
    Afeelaha   390 frames 2.38 MB
    30 fps
    368 w
    672 h
    247,296 pixels
    0 min 13 sec
    13 sec

    Vid-16: The landmark stone called Afeelaha.
    Afeelaha   1,170 frames 7.0 MB
    30 fps
    368 w
    672 h
    247,296 pixels
    0 min 39 sec
    39 sec
    Subtotal of Ali's videos     6,420 frames 3 min 34 sec
    TOTAL     30,816 frames 16 min 44 sec

    * Pans are excellent for creating composite panoramas. Tracking shots are excellent for creating 3D stereo imagery.


    Images from Global Resources Ltd. Credit: Global Resources Ltd.


    Video #1
    Removal of a few grams.

    1m19s


    Video #2
    Removal of a few kilos.

    0m62s


    Image A
    EL ALI unearthed in Hiiraan.


    Image B
    EL ALI unearthed in Hiiraan.


    Image C
    EL ALI unearthed in Hiiraan.


    Image D
    EL ALI unearthed in Hiiraan.


    Image E
    EL ALI unearthed in Hiiraan.


    Images from Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, Rector, Almaas University, Mogadishu. Credit: Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein.


    Eng. Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein.
    Rector
    Almaas University, Mogadishu.
    Facebook page.


    El Ali vicinity nomadic camel herders.


    Image F
    In situ. Note the hammered surface and culturally transported rocks (manuports) surrounding it.


    In situ. Red/Cyan stereo anaglyph (limited depth).


    In situ. Note the hammered surface and culturally transported rocks (manuports) surrounding it.

    Image H
    In situ. Who is this?.


    Image I
    Six etched slices. Probably shown being cut in Video #2.


    Image J
    Weighbridge certificate. 12/08/2020
    (12 August 2020).


    Image K
    In situ. Note the hammered surface and
    thousands of culturally transported rocks (manuports).


    Image L
    In situ. Note the hammered surface and
    thousands of culturally transported rocks (manuports).


    Image M
    In situ. Note loose rocks and hammered surface and
    the thousands of culturally transported rocks (manuports).

    Image N
    Mogadishu. Showing the buried underside. Note the odd whorl.


    Abdulkadir Facebook Post:
    "a National Treasure for the National Museum of Somalia?


    Abdulkadir Faceboook Post:
    On the deep history of the stone...


    Abdulkadir Facebook Post:
    On two new minerals discovered...


    Video #3. El Ali in situ.
    0m 58s


    Video #4. El Ali in Mogadishu.
    1m 36s


    Video #9. El Ali in situ
    0m 22s



    Images from Anonymous sources. Credit: Nicholas Gessler


    Video #5
    In situ. Pans back and forth.
    Good source for a composite.
    5m44s


    Mogadishu. Close-up from video..
    24 April 2021.


    Video #6
    Mogadishu. Excellent detail.
    24 April 2021
    0m44s


    Video #7
    Mogadishu. Unloading.
    1m29s


    Video #8
    El Ali in Shipping Container
    0m38s


    Image O
    Mogadishu. Beauty shot.
    24 Aprl 2021.


    Image P
    Weighbridge certifacate.
    12/08/2020.
    (12 August 2020).


    Image Q
    In situ. Note loose rocks.



    Images from Christopher D. K. Herd. Credit: Christopher D. K. Herd


    Chris Herd


    Image R
    Mogadishu. Note hammered surface.


    Red/Cyan stereo anaglyph (limited depth).


    Image S
    Mogadishu. Note hammered surface.


    Images from Ali Hassan Egeh, Vice-Rector, Almaas University, Mogadiskh. Credit Ali Hassan Egeh.


    Eng. Ali Hassan Egeh
    Vice-Rector
    Almaas University, Mogadishu.
    Facebook page.


    Vid-11:: At the borehole of the town of EL ALI


    Vid-12: At the borehole of the
    town of EL ALUI


    Vid-13: At the impact site of the meteorite. Look for dark hammerstones..


    Vid-13: A clip of one of many classic hammerstones at the impact site of EL ALI.

    Vid-14: At the impact site of the meteorite. Look for dark hammerstones.

    Vid-15: The landmark stone called Afeelaha.

    Vid-16: The landmark stone called Afeelaha.


    Discussions on heritage values, ownership, and export.
    El Ali / Ceel Cali was Found by Abdikarim Farasle, Abdi Shigshigow, Noor Hassan,
    Abukar Murasade and Faqi Qubeys of the Kureym Mining and Rocks Company in 2020.

    As of June, 2023, the meteorite is reportedly still awaiting sale in Yiwu, Zhejiang, China.

    Google Translate may provide the "gist" of a conversation,but it does not understand metaphors, idioms, allusions, or poetic language. El Ali stone = dhagax ceel cali.

    Eng Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, 29 November 2022

    Goobjoog Television Interview on El Ali

    9m01s

    Eng Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein,30 November 2022
    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

    Somali National Television Interview on El Ali
    12m 9s

    Eg. Abdulkadir Abiikar Hussein, 27 February 2020

    Shabelle TV: "What can be explained by the stone that brought the discussion of El Ali?
    5m52s 33m57s total.

    Article posted 3 June 2023 by the
    Horn Afrik News Agency for Human Rights (HANAHR)

    From a server in France, its "Who we are?" link yields the following: "This page doesn't seem to exist." Similarly it's Governance & Administration Chart is empty.
    https://hanahr.net/somalia-el-ali-meteorite-in-the-light-of-history-and-culture/

    Email from Geologist Fayssal Mezgouri,
    with offices in Agadir, Morocco and China

    apparently in charge of shipment from Mogadishu to China and sales

    MP Dahir Jesow, 23 February 2020.

    2https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=539735773558662

    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.

    MP Dahir Jesow, 26 February 2020.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgFl90wCbfs

    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 Google translated..10 min 07 sec.

    MP Dahir Jesow, 11 July 2023.
    https://www.facebook.com/dahir.jesow/videos/1420758382052710

    3) "The prince of Hiiran region of Al Shabaab Abdicasis Guuleed who was arrested by Galjecel in Jowhar city. Guuleed is the man who sold the stone that was dug in Ceel Ali and taken from it and killed the boys of Gaaljecel." Dahir Jesow. (Ceel Cali is not mentioned in this interview. -NG) 5 min 23 sed.

     


    Hon Dahir Jesow Official Member of Parliament page.

    Dahir Jesow page (current)

    Dahir Jesow page (not current)

     

    25 February 2020.https://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.

    2020.https://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.

    MP Maryan Ahmed Haroun 2020.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=573XIvFfBe0

    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.

     1) 5:12
    2) 10:07 3) 5:23
    4) 11:19
    5) 3:55
    6) 13:07 tot 49:03

     


    El Ali Samples Received


    Alberta: Sample from Video 1.
    15.0 and 54.2 grams received.

    Alberta: Sample as received.

    Alberta: BSE image.

    Los Angeles: Photo from Somalia: 19.23 gram sample from Video 1.

    Los Angeles: 19.23 gram weathered surface.


    Los Angeles:
    19.23 gram cutting.


    Los Angeles:
    19.23 gram three slices.

    Los Angeles: 19.23 gram etch a.


    Los Angeles: 19.23 gram Eetch b.



    Los Angeles:
    19.23 gram distribution

    Los Angeles: 17.5 gram sample


    Los Angeles: 17.5 gram sample.

    Los Angeles: 17.5 gram video.

    Los Angeles: 17.5 gram sample.

    Los Angeles: 17.5 gram sample.

     

    Maps and satellite imagery:


    Somalia. Cities and towns.


    Somalia: Administrative.

    Hypothetical impact site (July 2023).

    2016 Google Earth image of a 9 hectare field.
    Hypothetical impact site (July 2023)

    2004 Google Earth image of a 9 hectare field.


    Google Earth imagery of assumed location of meteorite and the town of El Ali.


    Google Earh imagery of assumed original location of meteorite. Note the changing sites of houses and fields between the years 2004 and 2018.


    Google Earth 2004 imagery showing cultural features.


    Google Earth 2018 imagery showing cultural features.


    Map El Ali - Pixelated 11 April 2021 Maxar Satellite 40cm Imagery (SecureWatch access is being provided courtesy of MAXAR).


    Map El Ali - Pixelate 11 April 2021 Maxar Satellite 40cm Imagery, portion showing town of El Ali and assumed location of the meteorite (SecureWatch access is being provided courtesy of MAXAR)..


    In Google Earth imagery, note the frequent remains of domed houses and fenced areas..


    Google Earth image of the town of El Ali.


    UN OSHA Somalia Administrative Details Map closeup.
    Entire map. .


    Archive

    El Ali Meteorite individual analyses: XRFs, samples, certificates, closeups:

    1. XRF from Nairobi - on a presumnably weathered surface
    2. XRF from SA Recycling, Los Angeles - top of slice - scan of clear metal
    3. XRF from SA Recycling, Los Angeles - bottom of slice - scan of clear metal
    4. XRF from SA Recycling, Los Angeles - bottom of slice - scan of weathered crust
    5. XRF from SA Recycling, Los Angeles - Make, model, SN of XRF gun used.
    6. Abdirahman Haji-Jama - sample before receipt.

    Analytical Procedures and Equipment used by the North American team members.

    1. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) - An explanation by NIST
    2. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) - An explanation by Carleton
    3. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) - Budapest
    4. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) - Delft
    5. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) - UCLA

      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.

    6. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) Nuclear Reactor at Irvine.
    7. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INNA) Nuclear Reactor at Irvine.
    8. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) - An explanation on Wikipedia
    9. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) - An explanaion by Science Direct
    10. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) - A quick guide
    11. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) - University of Alberta

      Dr, Chris Herd.

      Dr. Chris Herd.

      Dr. Chris herd.

      ICP/MS equipment similar to that used by Dr. Herd..

    12. Radiometric Age Dating - Wikipedia
    13. Radiometric Age Dating - Terrestrial Age of Meteorites - by Timothy Jull
    14. Radiometric Age Dating - University of Arizona 

      Dr. Timothy Jull.

      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.


    15. Nick Gessler, Information Sciences, Duke University (retired):

      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.

    Wiriteups on the Nature, Culture and History of El Ali:

    1. Paul Warren, Bidong Zhang - El Ali (a.k.a. Beledweyne, Nightfall) elements compared with other IAB irons
    2. Global Resources Ltd. - Story of NIGHTFALL 18 Feb 2021
    3. Abdulkadir Abiikar - The El Ali Meteorite (with 6 in situ images of the meteorite, 1 image of it on a crane in Mogadishu, and 3 others).
    4. Abdulkadir Abiikar - Preliminary Notes from 7 December 2020
    5. Nick Gessler - Natural and Cultural Heritage Considerations of El Ali Revised 26 June 2021

    Background information:

    1. Terrestrial Age of Meteorites - Timothy Jull
    2. Classification of the Smolenice Iron meteorite form Slovakia 2020 - A.J. Timothy Jull, Pavel P. Povinec, et al
    3. Simon Jerome Victor - WhatsApp File Analysis - 2020
    4. Gessler - Proposal for Cooperation 15 June 2021
    5. Gessler - Request for more information on El Ali 24 June 2021

    UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC):

    1. UNESCO Converntion Concerning the Protection of theWorld Cultural and Natural Heritage 1972.
    2. UNESCO Historic Visit by Director-General of UNESCO to Somalia 2020.
    3. UNESCO Museum Development and Monuments Conservation 1988.
    4. UNESCO Somalia Develops National Strategy for Culture 2020
    5. UNESCO First Consultations to implement World Heritage Sites in East Africxa 14 June 2021
    6. United Nations Somalia - Livlihood Baseline Analysis 2011.
    7. UNESCO Somalia Whos Who 2021
    8. UNESCO Illicit and Stolen Cultural Property

    Standards on the Aquisition of Important Properties are similar to those of the J.P. Getty Museum:

    1. J.P. Getty Museum - Acquisitions Policy (see especially section VC1a)

    Legal Theories regarding the Ownership of Previously Unowned Property.

    1. Yale Law School - Possession as the Origin of Property 1985
    2. Yale Law School - Accession and Original Ownership 2009.

    Flag Counter

    Visitors, since 7 July 2023, from the following Countries:

    1. Australia
    2. Austria
    3. Canada
    4. China
    5. Congo
    6. Denmark
    7. Egypt
    8. Ethiopa
    9. European Union
    10. Finland
    11. France
    12. Germany
    13. Guinea
    14. Hungary
    15. Iceland
    16. India
    17. Ireland
    18. Japan
    19. Kenya
    20. Lebanon
    21. Malasia
    22. Maldives
    23. Mauritania
    24. Morocco
    25. Phillipines
    26. Russia
    27. Saudi Arabia
    28. Somalia
    29. Sweden
    30. Spain
    31. Switzerland
    32. Turkey
    33. Ukraine
    34. Unknown
    35. United States

    .END