The Gibeon Meteorite was first reported by Capt. J.E. Alexander in 1838. He heard of masses of native iron up to two feet square on the east side of the Great Fish River. While he did not see the masses himself, he was able to obtain samples for analysis. Undoubtedly, the natives in the area were previously aware of these occurrences, since they were found on the surface

Moldavite is a rare, glassy, translucent, dark green silica-based tektite, a mineral formed when a meteorite (a rock from space) struck the Earth’s surface and melted and fused the surrounding rock. Moldavite is only found in Bohemia (the Czech Republic) in the Ries Crater in the Moldau River valley (which it was named for). Moldavite was discovered in the late 1800’s; the meteorite from which it formed hit the Earth about 14.7 million years ago. Moldavite has a Mohs hardness of 5.5-6.6. Inclusions of gas bubbles and iron/nickel spherules are common. This natural glass has been used for jewelry, religious articles, and decorative objects since prehistoric times.

Tektites (from Greek tektos, molten) are natural glass rocks up to a few centimeters in size, which most scientists argue were formed by the impact of large meteorites on Earth’s surface. Tektites are typically black or olive-green, and their shape varies from rounded to irregular.