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17 June 2002 |
IMPACT STORY FROM THE PAST?Kaalijärv impact and the Kalevala |
Some links related to this story The Kaalijärv impact and the Kalevala How the story could survive? And because this story telling tradition, it seems that at least in Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, there is a story which probably is based on an eye-witness reports of Kaalijärv impact. Runes 47, 48 and 49 of the kalevala has parts which can be interpret as descriptions of Kaalijärvi impact. There is also parts which can be interpretend as tsunami (rune 47) and devasteting forest fires. Because of nature of those stories, those runes has lot of "extra" which present things like fishing the "fire fish" and which can not be taken too literaly. Probably somebody add gods and heroes into story to make it more interesting and appealing. Those two men, the old wise Väinämöinen and Seppo Ilmarinen, the smith, of the story and their journey to get fire is probably only a one way to tell and explain the story. Or what I can say? Maybe somebody did go and look for the fire which fell from the sky... It also seems that cronology of the story may be distorted somehow. These runes 47-49 seems to form almost individual story within the Kaleva and it seems that it is not connected to other stories of the Kalevala. That may mean that this story, which is almost the last story in the Kalevala, may well be one of the oldest. Cronologically the oldest is, of course, the Kalevala's creation story in Rune 1 and other old story may be the rune 2 which could describe tree free land exposed after the mainland glacier withdraw some 10 000 years ago. Rest of stories (runes 3-46) may be older or younger than the impact story. The last rune of the Kalevala, the rune 50 is probably the youngest since it has been interpret to desrcibe arrival of christianity, which happens in Finland around year 1050 if not earlier. The Finnish national Epic, the Kalevala, is a collection of very old songs and runes of the people. Some of them are said to present events thousands of years ago. Some may based on facts and some are imaginary stories. Man called Elias Lönnrot collected runes and songs of the Kalevala during five trip around Kainuu and Viena area NE from town Kajaani in 19th Century. Area is now located on border of Finland and Russia (Kainuu is in Finland and Viena is in Russia). That region is about 700 km north from Kaalijärv, but it is known fact that first people living in Finland came from South after the ice age withdraw appoximately about 10000 years ago. They were probably Same people. Finns, who now live in Finland came to Finland much later. The Kaalijärv impact According to some older references the impact happens 6270-6500 B.C. At that time the impact site was still under the water, just on or off the shore of Saarenmaa island. Several different values for the age of impact has been offered and this is from C14 dating of layer of microspherules (or microimpactites) found from Piila mire. If the impact took place in the water, there should be some traces of water erosion on the rim of the main crater. However, the crater area has be inhabited and cultivated for a thousand years, so evidences of water erosion may be vanished totally. However, those Ir anomaly datings are more reliable. Recent studies has proved that this age is not correct. Those microspherules are not necessarily produced by any impact. There is 9 known crater in Kaali crater field. The main crater, the Kaalijärv, is a 110 meter wide and 22 meter deep explosion crater with rised rim around it. The rim rises 4-7 meter higher than surrounding area. In the crater dolomite layers are shattered and in rim they are tilted upward from inside 30 - 40 degree. There is also 8 smaller craters (13-39 meters in diameters) around the main crater. If there has been more small craters or impact pits, they have been destroyed or covered by farming during hundreds or thousands of years after the impact. The Kaali crater field formed when a huge iron meteorite hit the Earth. That iron meteorite weighted 1000 tons. It breaks in several pieces up in atmosphere. The main crater was produced by an impact of iron meteorite fragment weighted 160-450 tons. The impact origin was proved in 1927 and final prove that craters were meteorite craters came when first 28 pieces (totalling 102.4 gr) of iron meteorites (coarsce octahedrite, IAB) were found in excavations of crater number 2 (27 m in diameter) in 1937 by I.A. Reinvald. In spite of massive "iron rain" down to Earth 2600 years ago, all few meteorite pieces found so far (total about 3 kg) are small, less than 40 gr in weight. It seems possible that local people collected all big iron meteorites from ground and make then into iron tools etc. The fact is that there has to be tons of iron around after the impact. Just because all 8 smaller craters are only impact pits, not explosion crater, all those 8 giant iron meteorites which make those smaller craters probably survive if not as whole but at least in fragments. Recent studies has given new information of devastation of the impact. Findings from the Piila revealed new information that the impact sweep and burn down trees in so large area that total pollen influx and especially tree pollen influx were distorted. The impact layer has extensive layer of charcoal and tree stumps point out that forest fires ignited by the impact spread over the Piila which is over 6 km away from craters. They also estimated that the explosion of the main crater has energy equivalent for 20 Kt of TNT which is same as Hiroshima atom bomb and Tunguska 1908 event has (Tunguska explosion was 15 Mt of TNT but it happens 5-10 km above the ground, on the ground the energy was about 5 - 32 Kt of TNT). Tunguska even destroyed 2100 km2 of forest and produced 4.5 - 5 magnitude earthquake. It seems that Kaalijärv impact caused similar destructions. Pollen record also told that the farming, cultivation and probable also human habitation ceased for a 100 years in impact region. One interensting point is, that the fotrified settlement of Asva some 20 km east from epicenter was burn down in 800-400 B.C. which is very close to age of Kaalijärv impact. Did Kaalijärv impact produced wildfire which destroyed that settlement? Not proven theory but interesting. Kaalijärv iron meteorite and the Kalevala's sampo It is also suggested that the Kalevala's sampo, which was a mysterious machine which produce wealth and prosperity to its owner, was in fact related to Kaalijärv meteorite. Perhaps sampo was not a machine at all but an iron meteorite or an invention how to make tools from meteoritic iron! Tools and weapons made out of good quality meteoritic iron (Kaalijärv meteorites has about 85% Fe and 7.25% Ni) were surely a really good merchandice. In story describing making of sampo it come clear that the Seppo Ilmarinen the smith work hard to built that thing what ever it was. Maybe it symbolize that the meteoritic iron was not so easy to melt? It seems one possible explanation. Places mentioned in the Kalevala A map
This map shows Baltic Sea region today. If the impact did happens 800 - 400 BC, as the most recent dating suggest, the shoreline of Saarenmaa was only about 1.5 meters higher than today. That means that the impact happens on land. The impact story in the Kalevala What this story may desribe? It probably describe a meteorite impact which happens in the end of summer and probably at night. It also seems to tell how the impact produce a tsunami or disturped nearby waters by shockwave. Tsunami can be greated also by shockwave when impact occurs close to shoreline, the projectile does not need to hit water. The Kalevala tells also how those waters rage for some times after the impact. It also seems to tell how fires where bread from the impact site. It also seems to desribe some casualties by the impact. There is in the end of rune 48 also a story how cold weather arrive from Lappland. I don't know could Kaalijärv size impact produce a minor nuclear winter? Maybe those big forest fires may affect so that climate turn a little bit colder for a while. Today's Savo and Karelia are over 500 km NE from Kaalijärv and in the story the fire burn forest also those regions. That is a little bit too much for Kaalijärv size impact, but at that time there was no fire departments and the impact did happens in the late summer according to Kalevala, when landscape was probably very dry. It is also possible that people who call they home region as Savo or Karelia has moved toward north later, and they are still calling they home region with the same name. Other references There is also other story from totally different source which seems to be related to Kaalijärv impact. One is from Roman writer Plinius (the older, 23 - 79 AD, who died when Vesuvius erupted and destroyed town of Pompeij) a couple of thousand years ago (his book Historia Naturalis was published in year 77). He told about a place where the sun fell. References suggest that he probably got his information from Pytheas of Massalia who probably visited the site already in 350 - 325 BC (that is only 100-500 years after the impact). Local people show him the grave where the sun fell. Mr. Lennard Meri (the first president of Estonia after the Soviet time) has support the explanation that the Ultima Thule is the Saarenmaa island (or Oesel island) on the eastern coast of Estonia, where "the Sun" (=meteorite) really did fell... The same story is repeated by Appolonios (295 - 215 BC) in the epic "Argonautics". Cornelius Tacitus may have mentioned that local people worship the Mother of the Gods, who is Cybele. Cybele is known to be associated with meteorites. There is also some old legend in German folklore which may also be related to Kaalijärv impact. Althought it seems unlikely that Kaalijärv impact could have any major effects for people at south side of Baltic Sea. Or did those forest fires force people to escape toward south away from fires and by doing so, they also spread the stories? Other possibilities? References:
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