A Perthshire family and a farmer’s wife narrowly escaped death when a four-billion-year-old meteorite crashed on Scotland at 150mph.
After a brilliant fireball, travelling south-east to north-west, and a series of thunder-like detonations, four stones fell at Easter Essendy (22lb), Carsie (2lb 6oz), Keithick (2lb) and South Corston (2lb 5oz).
The family at Keithick Lodge were at home when one of the fragments came through their cottage roof.
Their young daughter went outside to investigate and found the still-warm stone wedged between the ceiling and a rafter.
Three miles away at Carsie Farm, a farmer’s wife also had a lucky escape when another chunk of the meteorite landed about 20 yards from where she was standing.
The bizarre incident happened on December 3, 1917.
Now, nearly 100 years later, a small fragment less than two inches long and weighing just over an ounce from the Easter Essendy chunk of the so-called Strathmore Meteorite is expected to sell for between £3000 and £4000 at Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh on August 17.
It is part of the meteorite collection, put up for sale by retired Milton of Balgonie meteorite dealer and collector Rob Elliott, set to fetch around £60,000 at auction.
Mr Elliott said, “The Strathmore Meteorite is a stone meteorite known as a chondrite.
“When it first hit the upper atmosphere, it could have been travelling at up to 20 miles per second but the dense atmosphere slowed it greatly so rapidly it exploded into four fragments and it hit the roof of Keithick South Lodge at 150mph.
“It was formed four and a half billion years ago and has remained relatively unchanged since that time.”
He added, “I have two Strathmore fragments in the auction.
“My larger piece is from the piece which fell at Easter Essendy, acquired from the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh.
“My smaller piece is from the piece that fell a little further south at Carsie and I acquired that one from the Natural History Museum, London.”
In 2002 Mr Elliott supplied a meteorite which fell in the Sahara Desert thousands of years ago to Michael Jackson.
Only four meteorites are known to have landed in Scotland at High Possil near Glasgow in 1804, Perth in 1830, Strathmore in 1917 and Glenrothes in 1998.
The Strathmore meteor fall is considered one of the most remarkable recorded in the UK, according to expert James Robinson of Durham.
Mr Robinson, who wrote the definitive book, The Authenticated Meteoric Falls of the British Isles, wrote, “Although it took place on a bright sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky and only a gentle breeze from the south-westerly direction, the meteorite cut such a dash that it could be seen from over 40 miles away.”
In his book Mr Robinson recorded reports of sightings from the rector of McLaren High, Callander, and an Aboyne householder.