Case file · Cosmic event
The 'cursed burgrave' meteorite of Loket
The castle of Loket (Elbogen) in Bohemia kept a large iron mass from at least around 1400; legend said it was a wicked burgrave turned to metal.
1400 CE · 50.19, 12.75 · status: explained
The account
The iron was said to return by itself to the castle when thrown into a well. In the 19th century it was identified as an iron meteorite, one of the oldest known in Europe.
The sceptical view
It is a natural iron meteorite; the curse is a legend explaining a strange object.