Ancient Fireball Sightings
(Pre-historical record-476 A.D. (fall of the Western Roman Empire)
Pre-Recorded History
(In other words you would have to have been a Dimetrodon or a caveman to see one of these giant fireballs)
251 million years ago- This was known as "The Great Dying." 90% of aquatic species and nearly 75% of land species disappeared from the Earth. The cause of this mass extinction is unknown, but it is generally thought to have been brought on by either a comet or a meteor impact.
65 million years ago-The age of the dinosaurs comes to an end. Recent science has brought to light a possible culprit being the impact of a large asteroid off the Yucatan peninsula near Mexico.
12,900 B.C- Recent evidence has indicated that a comet may have exploded or broke apart in the Earth's atmosphere leading to mass extinctions including the Mammoth and the Mastodon.
Recorded History
1478 B.C.- The Parian chronicle mentions a fireball, or a "thunderstone" which fell near or on the island of Crete. This fall may or may not have had something to do with the sudden disappearance of the Minoan civilization which was flourishing up until this time.
1168 B.C.- A large rock or chunk of iron was said to have been seen falling in the area around Mt. Ida in Crete.
687 B.C.- (March 23) Edouard Biot in his Catalog mentions that "stars fell like rain." Immanuel Velikovsky, the controvertial catastrophist who was the author of Worlds in Collision believed that it was this incident that destroyed the Assyrian army of Sennacherib while it camped outside the walls of Jerusalem.
654 B.C- According to Livy some stones fell on Alban Hill near Rome.
616 B.C.- (January 04) The Chinese Annals states that a stone from heaven fell to the Earth striking several chariots and killing 10 men.
466 B.C- A stone referred to by the ancient writers as "The mother of the gods" fell either near Thrace or Anatolia (modern day Turkey.) Legend has it that the poet Pindar was sitting on a hill in a contemplative mood when the meteorite slammed into the Earth near his feet. The stone was said to have been encircled by a fire as it descended through the sky. Upon striking the Earth the meteorite was described as being "of moderate dimensions, of a black hue, of an irregular, angular shape, and of a metallic aspect." This stone is thought to have been the one that was brought to Rome in 204 B.C. by Scipio and used as an idol to worship the Phrygian goddess Cybele in a last ditch effort to find a way to defeat the Carthaginian General Hannibal. Within months Hannibal was indeed soundly defeated at the battle of Zama.
190 B.C.- At Tusculum, southeast of Rome, there was said to have been "a shower of Earth."
188 B.C.- On Aventine Hill, in Rome, stones were seen falling from the heavens.
186 B.C.- At Picenum, in Italy there was a shower of stones.
167 B.C.- At Anagnia, in central Italy there was a shower of Earth.
167 B.C- At Lanivium, near Rome, a blazing fireball was seen streaking across the sky. According to the Roman scribe Julius Obsequens, another fireball was seen at Lanivium the following year. Since Obsequens was writing nearly 500 years after the event and relying almost totally on Livy as his source, the two fireballs are in all likelihood one and the same.
163 B.C.- At Cephallonia, in Greece, there was heard a sound like a trumpet in the sky followed by a shower of Earth.
162 B.C.- At Anagnia it was said that the sky seemed to be on fire at night. This could have been caused by the Aurora Borealis. However, it must be noted that this phenomenon is not normally seen at this latitude.
154 B.C.- At Compsa In Italy weapons were seen flying through the sky. This was almost certainly a meteor shower.
152 B.C.- A stone shower was seen at Aricia (a suberb of Rome.) At this same time a day of prayer was called for after strange things were seen in the sky. Some places reported seeing apparitions of men in togas which disappeared when people approached them.
147 B.C.- A comet was seen in the sky for 32 days.
140 B.C.- At some locations near Rome images were seen falling from the sky.
137 B.C.- Near Praeneste, in Italy, a fireball was seen in the sky. Thunder was also heard although there was not a cloud in the sky.
133 B.C.- At Ardea, south of Rome, stones fell from the sky.
125 B.C.- At Arpi, in Italy, it rained stones for 3 days.
122 B.C.- In Gaul (modern day France.) 3 suns and 3 moons were seen in the sky. This sounds like Parhelion, but might be something else entirely.
113 B.C.- In Gaul the sky caught fire.
106 B.C.- A meteor was seen at Rome accompanied by a loud noise and javelins falling from the sky.
104 B.C.- In the eastern and western sky weapons were seen battling.
102 B.C.- At Etruria stones were seen falling from the sky.
100 B.C.- At Tarquinia, in Italy, a blazing fireball was seen soaring toward the Earth. Also, at around sunset, a shield like object was seen streaking across the sky from west to east.
94 B.C.-Julius Obsequens mentions a meteor that appeared which seemed to set the whole sky on fire.
93 B.C.- At the town of Volsinii in Italy a flame issued forth from the sky at dawn. The sky opened up and split in two. In the opening flames appeared
91 B.C.- In Rome, as the sun was rising, a fireball blazed across the northern sky with great noise.
87 B.C.- At Rome the sky opened up and struck down many soldiers in the camp of Pompey along with weapons and standards. Julius Obsequens states that Pompey "perished by the blast of a heavenly body." Interesting enough, this incident was also mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Petronius. Pliny says that "Pompeius was paralysed by a star." To diffuse any confusion the reader might be having, the Pompey mentioned here is not the same Pompey that was a third of Romes First Triumverate with Julius Caesar and Crassus. Indeed, this man was his father. It is possible that Pompey was the unfortunate victim of a lightning strike. However, it is plausible that this could have been one of those rare instances of someone being struck by debris from outer space.
44 B.C.- During the festival of the Mother Venus, a comet appeared in the heavens. This occurred shortly after the assassination of Julius Caesar. The new emperor, Octavius (Caesar Augustus) dedicated this celestial object to the late emperor. It was generally thought among the Roman populace that the comet was the vehicle that carried Caesar's soul to heaven. Also at around this time a meteor was seen traveling through the western sky.
42 B.C.- 3 suns were seen in the sky over Rome that inevitably amalgamated into one as the day progressed. Many believed that this was a representation of Rome's Second Triumverate of Octavius, Antony and Lepidus. A more scientific explanation would suggest that this was nothing more than parhelion which is better known as a sundog. A process that occurs when sunlight is reflected off of ice crystals in the atmosphere.
17 B.C.- A meteor streaked across the Roman sky from south to north which made it seem as if night had turned into day.
7 B.C.- A great fireball is seen somewhere to the east of Bethlehem in Judea. Most probably either in Persia, or in the region around the Dead Sea. Although this is admittedly speculative I have reason to believe that the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke allude to this. I hope to provide greater details in another page on this website in the future.
30 A.D.- Eochie Oireaw, an Irish king is "slain and burnt by lightning fire from heaven."
85 A.D.- Battles were seen in the air over Britain.
112 A.D.- Thomas Short mentions a battle seen in the air over Britain.
230 A.D.- Soldiers and horsemen were seen in the sky over London and other places in England.
249 A.D.- There was a bloody rain that fell in parts of Britain. Also, a bloody sword was seen in the sky for three nights just after sunset.
442 A.D.- At York England it rained blood.
445 A.D.- Apparitions were seen in the air over Britain. At Rome, burning spears were seen in the sky. This was shortly before a Saxon army was defeated by the Britons.
