Description
November 26, 1874 at 10:30 a.m., a roll of thunder is heard in Maël-Pestivien and ten kilometers around. A farmer “who was near the hamlet of Kérilis saw the land gushing up about 12 m from him.” Frightened by the phenomenon, he hastily leaves the premises and does not return until the next day. He discovers a hole in the field deep enough containing a stone of about 5 kilograms. He picks it up and takes it home. After distributing a few pieces to friends, he meets M. Roudic, the parish priest of the commune, who recognizes a meteorite there; he buys it. The meteorite already weighs only 4.2 kilograms.
Mr. Roudic then cedes it to the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc, Mgr David, who in 1880 proposed the stone to the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
The local press of Côtes-d’Armor and Finistère does not seem to have reported the phenomenon in its columns. It was not until 1877 that the Société d’émulation des Côtes-du-Nord mentioned the existence of This meteorite, without specifying the circumstances of the fall. Details of the celestial event are given in a note by G. A. Daubrée published in 1880 in the Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Sciences.
