A METEORITE believed to be the largest ever to have fallen on the British Isles, will go on display at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum next month.
Weighing 90kg, the meteorite landed around 30,000 years ago during the last ice age.
Preserved by the frozen conditions, the meteorite survived until the Stone or Bronze Age, when it is thought to have been built into a burial mound.
It is then believed to have been excavated in the 19th century by antiquarian Edward Duke, who was known for excavating nearby burial grounds.
For the next 80 years the meteorite remained on the front porch of Lake House, the Duke’s home in Wilsford-cum-Lake until it was identified as a meteorite by the Natural History Museum in 1991.
Nicknamed by the Bailey family, occupants of Lake House for the past 100 years, as “grandfather’s rock”, the meteorite will go on display at the museum on September 10.
This will begin a two-week programme of free educational activities at the museum.
Events include two workshops aimed at GCSE and A-level students as well as the opportunity to handle moon rock and other meteorite samples. Professor Colin Pillinger will give a lecture on the meteorite at 6.30pm on September 11.
Tickets are available at £8 to £10.
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