[Rockhounds] Three Ton Meteorite Stolen

[Axel Emmermann]

Hi Kreigh,

You wrote "Three tons of anything are hard to 
> make disappear."

Few years ago there was a specimen of the very rare mineral ardennite on
display at the Royal Belgian Museum of National History. It was a find from
the type locality (Salm-Château, Vielsalm, Stavelot Massif, Luxembourg
Province, Belgium) which makes it all the more valuable.  The specimen was
NOT in a display case but on a rather large wooden podium at the center of
the mineralogy hall. I estimate the specimen at between 35 an 50 kilos and
it was the richest piece of ardennite ever. At least a dozen aggregates of
fibrous crystals of 5 cm or larger.
It stood in the middle of an active display in a well guarded modern museum
and it vanished overnight... Still unsolved, I'm afraid. 

Mind you: Thad Ryan Roberts got caught when stealing Apollo Moon samples, a
national treasure. That was stupid and he paid the price for it. I heard
that he was involved in "liberating" dinosaur fossils from a museum were he
use to work before NASA. He allegedly was caught trying to remove dinosaur
footprints from bedrock in a natural park.

I guess that we expect even thieves to have a minimum amount of respect for
some things that "belong to the people". Obviously we have little
understanding of how "being amoral" affects one's sense of decency ;-)))

Cheers
Axel

> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com 
> [mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com] Namens Kreigh 
> Tomaszewski
> Verzonden: woensdag 15 augustus 2007 3:45
> Aan: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem 
> collectors
> Onderwerp: Re: [Rockhounds] Three Ton Meteorite Stolen
> 
> One of my close relatives chaperoned a high school class trip 
> to Russia a few years ago. 
> 
> As a joke during the trip my relative expressed an interest 
> in acquiring a military tank on the black market. It 
> backfired as my relative was approached shortly afterwards 
> with a believable offer (and generous terms that were 
> actually affordable) to deliver the vehicle of interest 
> (ammunition extra) to any US address specified. 
> 
> I would not be suprised if the 'Museum' Director was found to 
> have helped make the sale. Three tons of anything are hard to 
> make disappear.
> 
> Kreigh
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Alan Goldstein wrote:
> > 
> > The way things seem to go in Russia, I am would not be surprised if 
> > entire museums were stolen - building and all! On the 
> otherhand if the 
> > rock was missing for a long time before someone noticed, they don't 
> > need to be operating a museum to begin with!
> > 
> > Alan
> > 
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Kreigh Tomaszewski" <Kreigh at tomaszewski.net>
> > To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and 
> gem collectors"
> > <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
> > Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 7:39 PM
> > Subject: [Rockhounds] Three Ton Meteorite Stolen
> > 
> > > 
> http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Three_tonne_meteorite_stolen_in_Rus_081
> > > 02007.html
> > >
> 
> --
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