Meteorites from Egypt

The Kharga Oasis area has produced smaller finds, primarily consisting of chondrites, and the meteorites here are often highly fragmented, making them challenging to collect and classify. However, these specimens are still of interest to researchers due to the scarcity of meteorite finds in the region.

It is possible the Kharga meteorite was the source of the meteoritic iron dagger owned by Tutankhamun, long before any countries iron age.

Another key meteorite locality in Egypt is Gebel Kamil, located in the Eastern Desert near the Nubian Desert. This site is significant because it produced the Gebel Kamil meteorite, an iron meteorite classified as an ataxite. Discovered in 2009, this is one of the most well-known and best-preserved meteorite falls in Egypt in recent times.

Egypt is also famous for the meteorite Nakhla, which fell in 1911. Though the fall occurred near the border with Libya, the meteorite is often associated with the larger region of Egypt. Nakhla is a martian meteorite, one of the few known to have come from Mars, and is highly prized both for its extraterrestrial origin and for the scientific knowledge it provides about the Martian surface.

The harsh conditions of Egypt’s deserts have contributed to the preservation of meteorites, as the dry, windblown environment helps protect them from weathering. Meteorite hunters occasionally find fragments, though many of the finds remain unclassified or poorly documented.

While meteorites from Egypt are not as commonly found on the market as those from Morocco or other North African countries, there are still a handful of significant specimens that make their way into collections or scientific studies. Labels typically identify Egyptian meteorites by the location of their fall, often with vague references to the desert regions they were found in.

Egypt