About Historical Accounts of Black Stones and Meteorites

Before Galba was chosen emperor, and when he was acting as governor of the Basque provinces in Spain, a thunderbolt descended upon the shore of a lake in that region. Search was made for the stones which were supposed to have fallen, and Suetonius tells us that twelve axes were found. This was regarded as a sure augury of Galba's elevation to the imperial dignity, but for the archaeologist the presence of the axes merely signifies that this was the site of a lake dwellers' village.

In some cases, the stone which was held to be a dwelling-place of the divinity was also regarded as a representation, or epitome, of some sacred mountain. In the earliest stage of this belief, the god was supposed to have his abode in the mountain, and later he was thought to animate the stone which had a fancied likeness in shape to the mountain. A coin of the Roman emperor Elagabalus (204-222 A.D.) bears on its reverse a representation of one of the sacred stones of Astarte, namely, that worshipped at Sidon. This is shown resting upon a car, and it seems probable that it was transported from place to place, so that large numbers of people could have the privilege of paying reverence to it.

There seems to be fairly strong reasons for the belief that the Black Stone of the Kaaba at Mecca is an aerolite. If the conjecture be correct, this stone occupies a unique place among meteoric masses, for it was an object of worship for many centuries before the advent of Mohammed, and is to-day regarded with the highest reverence by one hundred and twenty millions of Mohammedans. One of the most solemn acts performed by the pilgrims at Mecca is the kissing of the Black Stone, and should any one doubt that true religious enthusiasm is aroused by this act, he should read the following words of Ibn Batoutah:

The eyes perceive in it a wonderful beauty, similar to that of a young bride; in kissing it one feels a pleasure that delights the mouth, and whoever kisses it wishes he might never cease to do so; for this is an inherent quality in it and a divine grace in its favor. Let us only eite the words of the Prophet in this connection: "Certainly it is the right hand of God on earth."

For centuries before Mohammed's time the Kaaba at Mecca had been a famous sanctuary and a religious centre for the nomadic Arabs.It is stated that there were 360 idols in the temple, a number which suggests a connection with the year of 360 days in use among the Arabs. The most celebrated of these idols bore the name of Hobal, and was the figure of a man cut out of red agate. There was a tradition to the effect that this idol had been brought from Belka in Syria. As one of the hands was broken off, the Koreish, the Arab tribe having charge of the Kaaba, repaired this defect by attaching a golden hand, in which were held seven arrows, plain shafts without heads or feathers, similar to the arrows used for divination by the Arabs. For some occult reason the agate was supposed to exercise a certain control over meteorological phenomena, for in Persia it was believed to ward off tempests, while prayers for rain in time of drought were made to this agate image of the Kaaba.

Much has been written regarding the Black Stone, but perhaps the most satisfactory description is that given by Burckhardt, who writes:

At the North-east corner of the Kaabah, near the door, is the famous "Black Stone"; it forms part of the sharp angle of the building at from four to five feet above the ground. It is an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly smooth; it looks as if the whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent blow, and then united again. It is very difficult to determine accurately the quality of this stone, which has been worn to its present surface by the millions of touches and kisses it has received. It appears to me like lava, containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its color is now a deep reddish-brown, approaching to black.