Wolfsegg Iron
Encyclopedia
The Wolfsegg Iron, also known as The Salzburg Cube, is a small cuboid mass of iron that was found buried in Tertiary
lignite
in Wolfsegg
, Austria
, in 1885. It weighs 785 grams and measures 67 x 67 x 47mm. Four of its sides are roughly flat, while the two remaining sides (opposite each other) are convex. A fairly deep groove is incised all the way around the object, about mid-way up its height.
Originally identified as being of meteoric origin, a suggestion later ruled out by analysis, it seems most likely that it is a piece of cast iron used as ballast in mining machinery.
, Austria, was breaking up a block of lignite that had been mined at Wolfsegg. In 1886, mining engineer Adolf Gurlt reported on the object to the Natural History Society of Bonn, noting that the object was coated with a thin layer of rust, was made of iron, and had a specific gravity of 7.75. Other early studies of the object appeared in contemporary editions of the scientific journals Nature
and L'Astronomie, the object identified as being a fossil meteorite. A plaster cast was made of the object shortly before the end of the 19th century, as the original had suffered from being handled, and had had samples cut from it by researchers.
, chromium
or cobalt
in the iron, suggesting that it was not of meteoric origin, while the lack of sulfur indicated that it is not a pyrite
. Because of its low magnesium
content, Dr. Gero Kurat of the museum and Dr. Rudolf Grill of the Federal Geological Office
in Vienna thought that it might be cast iron, Grill suggesting that similar rough lumps had been used as ballast in early mining machinery.
The cast is currently kept in the Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen in Linz, Austria, where the original object was also exhibited from 1950 to 1958, while the original cuboid is held by the Heimathaus Museum of Vöcklabruck
, Austria.
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
in Wolfsegg
Wolfsegg
For the town in Bavaria, see Wolfsegg, Bavaria.Wolfsegg is a small village in Austria, close to the town of Vöcklabruck.The Wolfsegg Iron was found in a mine in this village....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in 1885. It weighs 785 grams and measures 67 x 67 x 47mm. Four of its sides are roughly flat, while the two remaining sides (opposite each other) are convex. A fairly deep groove is incised all the way around the object, about mid-way up its height.
Originally identified as being of meteoric origin, a suggestion later ruled out by analysis, it seems most likely that it is a piece of cast iron used as ballast in mining machinery.
History
The Iron was reportedly discovered when a workman at the Braun iron foundry in SchondorfSchondorf
Schondorf am Ammersee is a municipality in the district Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, Germany and is a member of the municipal association Schondorf am Ammersee The municipal association based in Schondorf.- Geographical Location :...
, Austria, was breaking up a block of lignite that had been mined at Wolfsegg. In 1886, mining engineer Adolf Gurlt reported on the object to the Natural History Society of Bonn, noting that the object was coated with a thin layer of rust, was made of iron, and had a specific gravity of 7.75. Other early studies of the object appeared in contemporary editions of the scientific journals Nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
and L'Astronomie, the object identified as being a fossil meteorite. A plaster cast was made of the object shortly before the end of the 19th century, as the original had suffered from being handled, and had had samples cut from it by researchers.
Analysis
The object was analysed in 1966–1967 by the Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum using electron beam micro-analysis, which found no traces of nickelNickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
or cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
in the iron, suggesting that it was not of meteoric origin, while the lack of sulfur indicated that it is not a pyrite
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
. Because of its low magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
content, Dr. Gero Kurat of the museum and Dr. Rudolf Grill of the Federal Geological Office
Federal Geological Office
The Federal Geological Office or GBA in Vienna is a subordinate agency of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research and is the central point for information and advice in the field of earth sciences for the Republic of Austria. The most important product of the GBA is a range of...
in Vienna thought that it might be cast iron, Grill suggesting that similar rough lumps had been used as ballast in early mining machinery.
The cast is currently kept in the Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen in Linz, Austria, where the original object was also exhibited from 1950 to 1958, while the original cuboid is held by the Heimathaus Museum of Vöcklabruck
Vöcklabruck
Vöcklabruck is the administrative center of the Vöcklabruck district, Austria. It is located in the western part of Upper Austria, close to the A1 Autobahn as well as the B1 highway, and has been ranked in the top 10 most-visited cities in Austria....
, Austria.