3. Ancient Meteorite Found to Contain Seeds
Place: France
Year of discovery: 1864
Estimated value per gram: $1,000
Metals may be the first thing that come to mind when considering items that could be “found” in meteorites. Plant life and seeds, not so much. But that is precisely what occurred in 1864 when a massive meteorite struck Southern France. One of the oldest meteorites ever discovered, Orgueil led scientists to believe that it may have existed before the formation of our solar system.
Found Inside an Ancient Meteorite: Seeds
Then, in 1962, pollen and fungus spores on the Orgueil rock were found by French chemists, who subsequently received support from experts at Fordham University. These findings were clearly anomalous. Upon cracking open the rock, seeds were discovered embedded therein. Unfortunately, additional research revealed that a vandal from the 1800s had tampered with the meteorite in order to produce false results, which caused everything to collapse.