Gebel Kamil Iron Meteorite Individual, Ungrouped Ataxite, 550.00g, Impact Crater Specimen

Whole shrapnel fragment from one of Earth's youngest impact craters

This 550.00g Gebel Kamil whole shrapnel fragment preserves the structural signature of hypervelocity impact in unusually clear form. The specimen displays pronounced lizard skin texture across its outer surfaces, well-defined shear lines running through the metal, and rollover lips along the fragment edges where the iron plastically deformed during disintegration. The piece is intact and uncut, recovered from the strewnfield surrounding the 45-meter Kamil Crater in Egypt's southwestern desert, formed less than 5,000 years ago.

The visible features document the mechanics of the impact itself rather than atmospheric entry. The lizard skin surface forms the characteristic rough, dark-brown exterior of Gebel Kamil shrapnel, produced as the impactor disintegrated against the quartz-arenite target rock. Shear lines trace the curvilinear deformation bands that propagated through the mass during fragmentation, recording the direction and intensity of the shock event. Rollover lips along multiple edges show where ductile metal curled and folded as it tore away from neighboring fragments at impact.

Ataxite structure and composition

Gebel Kamil is classified as an ungrouped iron meteorite, a Ni-rich ataxite per the Meteoritical Bulletin No. 95 (Weisberg et al., 2010). Ataxites lack the crystalline Widmanstätten pattern characteristic of octahedrites, instead forming a fine-grained nickel-iron structure too Ni-rich for visible kamacite and taenite banding to develop under acid etching. Gebel Kamil specifically assays approximately 20 wt percent Ni, 0.75 wt percent Co, with unusually high Ge and Ga contents and a very fine-grained duplex plessite matrix.

The "ungrouped" designation means Gebel Kamil's bulk chemistry does not fall within any of the established iron meteorite chemical groups (IAB, IIAB, IIIAB, IVA, IVB, etc.). It derives from a distinct, otherwise-unrepresented parent body. Accessory mineral phases identified in Gebel Kamil include schreibersite, troilite, daubréelite, and trace native copper.

Scientific context

The Kamil Crater is one of the best-preserved young impact structures on Earth. Identified via Google Earth imagery in 2009 by V. De Michele, the crater was confirmed by Italian-Egyptian field expeditions in February 2009 and 2010, which recovered approximately 1.6 metric tons of meteoritic material from in and around the 45-meter structure. The crater excavates Cretaceous sandstone bedrock and remains exceptionally well preserved due to the hyperarid climate of the East Uweinat Desert.

Gebel Kamil represents a complete impact system: crater morphology, ejecta distribution, and the recovered impactor material itself. This correlation has enabled detailed reconstruction of impact velocity, angle, and energy release. The structure formed during human prehistory, less than 5,000 years ago, though no historical or archaeological records document the event. Gebel Kamil belongs to a small group of impact sites worldwide where the impactor has been recovered and formally classified. Learn about meteorites for further reading on crater formation and impact-recovered material.

Frequently asked questions

Is this meteorite authenticated? Yes. Gebel Kamil is classified in the Meteoritical Bulletin as Iron, ungrouped (Ni-rich ataxite). You can verify the classification here: Gebel Kamil on the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. This specimen ships with a certificate of authenticity from Treasure Coast Meteorite Co. (IMCA #3323).

What does ungrouped ataxite mean? Ataxites are iron meteorites with sufficiently high nickel content that visible Widmanstätten patterns do not form under standard etching. Ungrouped means Gebel Kamil's chemistry does not match any established iron meteorite group, indicating a distinct parent body in the asteroid belt.

What is shrapnel, and how does it differ from a regmaglypted individual? Shrapnel refers to fragments produced when a meteorite disintegrates on impact rather than during atmospheric flight. Of the approximately 1.6 metric tons of Gebel Kamil recovered, almost all of it is shrapnel. Only a single 83 kg specimen was found as a complete regmaglypted individual. This piece is whole shrapnel: an intact, uncut fragment from the explosive impact, displaying the shear and rollover features that distinguish crater-recovered material.

What are shear lines and rollover lips? Shear lines are curvilinear bands of deformation that record the direction of shock propagation through the metal at the moment of impact. Rollover lips are folds and curls along fragment edges where the ductile nickel-iron deformed plastically as fragments separated. Both are hallmarks of hypervelocity impact disintegration and are found primarily in crater-recovered material.

What is included with this specimen? The 550.00g Gebel Kamil whole shrapnel fragment, certificate of authenticity, and specimen card with full classification details. No display stand is included.

Collector significance

Gebel Kamil occupies a position few iron meteorites can match: a classified ungrouped specimen with confirmed crater association, recovered under controlled scientific survey, with visible structural evidence of the impact event itself. Whole shrapnel fragments at the 550g range, displaying clear lizard skin, well-defined shear lines, and intact rollover lips on a single uncut piece, are uncommon. Most material in this weight class has been cut down for slice production, making intact fragments increasingly difficult to source as the original recovery stock is dispersed.

The combination of mass, surface preservation, and structural detail on this fragment makes it both a strong display piece and a meaningful portfolio addition for collectors focused on crater-recovered material. Specimens from Gebel Kamil connect the buyer to a specific, identifiable geological event, a category of meteorite that remains a small minority of what has ever been classified.

Meteoritical Bulletin entry: Gebel Kamil | Classification: Iron (ungrouped, ataxite) | Find, Egypt, 2009