Wolfsegg Iron

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 am Hausruck, Austria, in 1885.^[1] It weighs 785 grams (1 lb 12 oz) and measures 67 mm × 67 mm × 47 mm (2¾" x 2¾" x 1¾"). 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.^[2]^[3]

The Wolfsegg Iron became notable when it was claimed to be an out-of-place artifact: a worked iron cube found buried in a 20-million-year-old coal seam. It was originally identified by scientists as being of meteoric origin,^[2] a suggestion later ruled out by analysis.^{[citation needed]} It seems most likely that it is a piece of cast iron used as ballast in mining machinery, deposited during mining efforts before it was found apparently within the seam.^{[citation needed]}

^ Grady, Monica M.; A. L. Graham (2000). Catalogue of Meteorites: with special reference to those represented in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Cambridge University Press. p. 529. ISBN 0-521-66303-2.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Nature was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference L'Astronomie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Grady, Monica M.; A. L. Graham (2000). Catalogue of Meteorites: with special reference to those represented in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Cambridge University Press. p. 529. ISBN 0-521-66303-2.

[Nature-2] Cite error: The named reference Nature was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[L'Astronomie-3] Cite error: The named reference L'Astronomie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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