Pieces of Kaali meteorite being carried away due to insufficient protection

Due to a legal loophole, meteorites should, by default, belong to the finder. However, several archaeologists consider the cultural value of the Kaali meteorite significant enough that related discoveries should automatically become state property, writes Kristo Oks, an archaeologist at the University of Tartu, in the journal Tutulus.
The fall of the Kaali meteorite on Saaremaa around 3,500 years ago is undoubtedly one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in Estonia's history, leaving a significant imprint on both the landscape and the nation's history. The main crater created by the meteorite is one of Saaremaa's most popular tourist attractions, though it has drawn human attention for millennia.
The main crater has been placed under heritage protection due to its historical significance, as it was once the site of a fortified settlement, a sacrificial location and an iron smelting area. In 1938, a landscape conservation area was established in Kaali, providing legal protection for the meteorite craters, the surrounding cultural heritage landscape and the protected species that inhabit the area.
Unfortunately, existing legislation does not explicitly protect the meteorite itself. This legal gap does not prohibit the search for or excavation of meteoritic iron from land outside the monument's protected zone. Since the meteorite is neither man-made nor a natural resource, it falls outside the scope of both heritage protection and mineral resource laws. This leaves free rein to meteorite hunters who use metal detectors to locate and recover celestial iron.
In the fall of 2023, metal detectorist Filip Nikodem, equipped with a search permit, discovered four pieces of iron near the Kaali crater, which to this author, based on photographs, resembled medieval Swedish imported iron, but which the finder immediately identified as meteorite fragments. Since it was impossible to determine the true nature of the iron pieces from the photos provided in the search reports, the finds were handed over to the National Heritage Board. Later, a rapid X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis was conducted at the University of Tartu archaeology laboratory to assess their chemical composition. The results revealed that the nickel content — a key indicator of meteoritic iron — ranged between 0.6 percent and 4.8 percent, along with traces of titanium and vanadium. These characteristics confirmed the pieces to be meteoritic iron.
In the spring of 2024, the meteorite hunter resumed his searches, uncovering ten more pieces of iron from the same area over several weeks, the largest weighing 5.7 kilograms. By comparison, the largest meteorite found in Estonia with the assistance of geologists and preserved in a museum weighs 621.5 grams. This substantial fragment resembles iron reduced from local bog ore, though such material has not been discovered on Saaremaa in this form before. The total weight of all finds from the past two years amounts to approximately 10.5 kilograms.

Although authorities requested that these finds be handed over to the National Heritage Board for evaluation of their potential cultural value, this has not yet occurred. Complicating matters is the fact that the finder is a Polish citizen and the unreturned items have reportedly been transported to Poland where they are said to be undergoing analysis at a university. Through a lawyer, the finder has contacted the National Heritage Board, asserting that the items belong to him under Polish law.
Despite these unresolved issues, Nikodem returned to Kaali in the fall of 2024, this time accompanied by another meteorite hunter, Andrzej Owczarzak, who lacked a search permit and thus violated heritage protection laws. During one such expedition, the men were noticed by a journalist investigating matters related to the meteorites. The journalist has since published at least two articles on the topic in [local paper] Saarte Hääl.
The entire debate surrounding Kaali takes place at the intersection of facts and emotions. Legally, meteorites should belong to the finder due to a legal loophole. However, many stakeholders, including geologists and archaeologists, feel that the Kaali meteorite holds significant scientific and cultural value, warranting state ownership of any discoveries. This sentiment is further supported by the fact that, without expert analysis, it cannot be ruled out that some finds may actually be wrought iron — archaeological artifacts rather than meteorite fragments.
Associate Professor Jüri Plado from the University of Tartu's Department of Geology applied for funding this fall from the Environmental Investment Center for a project aimed at organizing the protection of the Kaali meteorites. Unfortunately, the application was rejected due to resource constraints. These developments highlight the importance of the issue and how deeply people care about the fate of this iconic site and the scientific material it contains.
However, it is not only the Kaali meteorite that needs protection. Nikodem has also visited the Ilumetsa crater field in Rebasmäe Village, Võru County, though no finds have been reported there to date. Since the National Heritage Board lacks the capacity to verify whether a detectorist has secured landowner permission for each search, it remains unclear if Nikodem coordinated his searches with property owners in advance.
Therefore, we urge all landowners and their neighbors to remain vigilant: if you see someone using a device in your fields, do not hesitate to approach them and request documentation. Public awareness and intervention can play a crucial role in curbing the activities and consequences of illegal hobbyist searches.
Jüri Plado (University of Tartu, Department of Geology)
Humanity's exploration of celestial objects is driven by a blend of fascination and fear. Fascination stems from our curiosity about the evolution of the Solar System and the history of the universe. Fear arises from the potential threat of a cosmic visitor heading toward Earth, capable of altering or endangering our way of life. A third motivation is greed: on a large scale, this manifests as ideas about mining asteroids, whether in orbit or by bringing them to Earth. On a smaller scale, it drives people to search for, process and commercialize meteorites that have already fallen to Earth.
The explosions that created the Kaali craters were accompanied by a meteorite shower. Entering Estonia's atmosphere from the usual cosmic silence, the asteroid broke into fragments, with smaller, slower pieces penetrating the ground without forming craters. Our task is to consider what and how to protect — whether to continue focusing solely on safeguarding the craters or to extend that protection to the smaller "siblings" of the meteoroid that created them.
Nele Kangert (National Heritage Board)
How can meteorite fragments found in Kaali be protected when they are neither culturally valuable human-made artifacts — handled by the National Heritage Board — nor minerals or fossils, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Board?
There is no clear answer yet. However, one thing is certain: according to heritage protection laws, anyone holding a search permit must fulfill their obligation to hand over discoveries to the National Heritage Board for assessment of potential cultural value. Only an expert evaluation can determine whether a find is ancient wrought iron or a meteorite. Until then, these items are treated as objects with potential cultural value and cannot simply be declared the property of the finder or taken out of the country.
If a permit holder fails to hand over potential archaeological finds, the law provides further steps, including holding the finder accountable and revoking their search permit. Currently, discussions are ongoing with the finder to clarify their rights and obligations, with the hope that the finds can reach experts without the need for enforcement measures.
Valter Lang (University of Tartu, Department of Archeology)
The protection of meteorites has indeed fallen into a legal gray area. On one hand, they are not classified as natural resources under the Earth's Crust Act, as they are quite literally extraterrestrial resources. On the other hand, meteorites are not human-made artifacts, so they do not fall under the category of archaeological finds protected by the Heritage Conservation Act. What seems to be needed is a "universal property protection law." Until such a law exists, there is no comprehensive solution for safeguarding all remnants of meteoritic origin.
Given the current focus on the Kaali meteorite specifically, a potential solution could be to designate all related finds as part of the material cultural heritage under § 4.1 of the Heritage Conservation Act. According to this clause, "Material cultural heritage consists of objects and environments of human origin or created through the interaction of humans and nature that hold historical, archaeological, cultural or aesthetic value." Considering the immense role the Kaali meteorite has played in Estonia's national identity and cultural history — even if we limit this to Lennart Meri's "Hõbevalge" — there is no doubt that these naturally occurring meteorite fragments have acquired significant cultural value. These are not merely archaeological or geological finds but items of broader cultural importance. This recognition should be sufficient to apply the existing Heritage Conservation Act to their protection.

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Editor: Jaan-Juhan Oidermaa, Marcus Turovski