An ancient statue that was recovered by a Nazi expedition in the 1930s was originally carved from a highly valuable meteorite. Researchers say the 1,000-year-old object with a swastika on it's stomach is made from a rare form of iron with a high content of nickel. They believe it is part of the Chinga meteorite, which crashed about 15,000 years ago.
The findings appear in the Journal, Meteoritics and Planetary Science. The 9-inch tall statue is 22lb and is called the Iron Man. The story of this priceless object owes more perhaps to an Indiana Jones film script than sober scientific research.
It was discovered in Tibet in 1938 by German scientist Ernst Schafer. His expedition was supported by the Nazis, in particular by Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Himmler was said to believe the Aryan race originated in Tibet and was keen to recover objects from the area. It was brought back to Germany and disappeared to a private collector until 2007.
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