Krasnojarsk Stony Iron (Pallasite)

Peter Simon Pallas, a Gemarn natural scientist, was invited by the Russian empress Catherine II to investigate the Siberian wilderness. There, in winter 1771-2, he heard of a large, strange mass of iron found by a blacksmith in 1749. Soldiers sent to collect it five years later brought it to St. Petersburg. Pieces were sent all over the world, stimulating much discussion about stones from the sky.