The Salzburg Cube (aka The Wolfseff Iron)
"The Wolfsegg Iron, also known as The Salzburg Cube, is a small cuboid mass of iron that was found buried in Tertiary lignite in Wolfseff am Hausruck, Austria, in 1885. It weighs 785 grams and measures 67 x 67 x 47mm. Four of its sides are roughly flat, while the two remaining sides (opposite each other) are convex. A fairly deep groove is incised all the way around the object, about mid-way up its height.
The Wolfsegg Iron became notable when it was claimed to be an out of place artifact: a worked iron cube found buried in a 20-million-year-old coal seam. It was originally identified by scientists as being of meteoric origin, a suggestion later ruled out by analysis. It seems most likely that it is a piece of cast iron used as ballast in mining machinery, deposited during mining efforts before it was found apparently within the seam."
The Wolfsegg Iron became notable when it was claimed to be an out of place artifact: a worked iron cube found buried in a 20-million-year-old coal seam. It was originally identified by scientists as being of meteoric origin, a suggestion later ruled out by analysis. It seems most likely that it is a piece of cast iron used as ballast in mining machinery, deposited during mining efforts before it was found apparently within the seam."
- Text and image from Wikipedia entry for "Wolfsegg Iron" (accessed 11/13/2015) [links added]
Blog Posts and Articles
- "Dr. Gurlt's Iron Cube" (Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews, 7/27/2007)
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