How old is Moldavite? To know the answer to this question, you must first understand
what a Moldavite is. It’s a question that experts answered through studying tektites and
impact craters.
Tektites are natural glass formed after a meteorite hits the earth. The impact breaks the
meteorite into million pieces throwing them off hundreds of miles away. These pieces
can be found in multiple countries if the meteorite is big enough.
Now tektites have been classified according to their location. Today, there are only four
locations where tektites can be found. These are North America, Central Europea, Ivory
Coast, and Australasia. Central European tektites are called Moldavites.
Moldavites are scattered mostly in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. 90% of
the Moldavites have been found in Southern Bohemia. These areas are about 450
kilometers away from the impact site, the Nördlinger Ries Crater in western Bavaria
Germany.
With the power of about 1.8 million Hiroshima bombs, the meteorite that fell in German
created a 24-km diameter crater. It is believed that this meteor fell about 14.7 million
years ago during the Miocene period.
How Old Are the Moldavites
In an isotope analysis of a few Moldavite samples in 2006, the Moldavites have been
confirmed to be from a meteorite and is of the same age as the crater in Ries. This
supported the first study by Christian Koeberl for the Geological Society of America in
1994.
Moldavites are about 14.7 million years old as well. Many researchers have been
amazed at how some of the Moldavites have kept their forms since they were very
delicate. A Moldavite has been tested to have the same strength of ordinary glass,
making it delicate.
During the time when the Czech Republic allowed everyone to mine Moldavites, they
were given a limit of 1-meter depth. This shows that the Moldavites have endured the
surface pressures and have kept their beautiful glass forms for 14.7 millions of years.
