The Lost Iron Mountain of Chinguetti
In 1916, a French officer in the Sahara said he was led, blindfolded, to a giant block of iron from space as big as a hill. No one has found it since.
What was reported
In 1916, a French officer named Gaston Ripert, serving in what is now Mauritania, said that a local guide led him, blindfolded, to a vast block of metal on top of a sandstone hill near the town of Chinguetti. He described it as about 100 metres across, with a smaller piece he broke off and brought back.
The fragment, about 4.5 kilograms, was confirmed to be a meteorite. If Ripert's description were true, the main mass would be one of the largest meteorites in the world.
Explanations offered
Many searches, including magnetic surveys from the air, have found no giant iron mass. Scientists think the 'mountain' may have been a dark sandstone hill, with Ripert's fragment found lying on it. The real source of the meteorite fragment remains uncertain.
- When
- Reported in 1916
- Where
- Near Chinguetti, Adrar, Mauritania
- Witnesses
- A French army officer
- Status
- Never found
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.