Gibeon Meteorite Fountain

In the middle of Post Street Mall, Windhoek's pedestrian shopping street, stands one of the more unusual public monuments in Africa: a collection of iron meteorites mounted on steel columns. They are fragments of the Gibeon meteorite, which fell in prehistoric times over what is now southern Namibia. The display was proclaimed a national monument in 1950, and it is free to see at any time the mall is open.

The meteorite belongs to the IVA group of irons, made up mostly of iron with around 7.7 per cent nickel and small amounts of cobalt and phosphorus. Cut and polished slices show the criss-cross Widmanstätten pattern typical of this kind of meteorite. When it broke up, its fragments were scattered over a huge elliptical area, about 390 km long and 120 km wide, centred near the settlement of Gibeon in the Hardap Region. It is the second largest known strewn field in the world, and between 100 and 150 fragments have been collected so far, with occasional new finds. The Nama people found pieces long before Europeans did and used the metal for tools and weapons; samples reached Britain in the 1830s, where their extraterrestrial origin was confirmed.

The fragments in Windhoek were collected between 1911 and 1913. They were kept at the Alte Feste and later shown at the Zoo Park before this display was built. Of the original 33 pieces, some were stolen in the 1970s and others removed, so 29 remain, and empty pillars mark the gaps. Touching the rocks is part of the experience for many visitors, but do not try to chip or mark them: every meteorite found in Namibia is protected as a national monument, and taking any piece out of the country without a permit is illegal.

This is a quick stop of ten to fifteen minutes, best combined with shopping or a coffee in the city centre. Keep an eye on your belongings in busy areas, as you would in any city centre, and avoid the mall after shops close.

If the display sparks your interest, the National Earth Science Museum on Aviation Road has more Gibeon meteorites and explains Namibia's geology in more depth.