It is almost four years since an iron meteorite struck near the village of Ådalen outside Enköping. The 14 kilo space rock was found a few weeks later by two geologists, Andreas Forsberg and Anders Zetterqvist, who were in the area to search.
The landowner Johan Benzelstierna von Engeström believed that the stone should belong to him, citing that it is not covered by the right of commons – and sued the finders.
However, the district court decided that the finders would be allowed to keep the unique find and held that a “just-fallen meteorite is not part of the property on which it has landed”.
The judgment was changed in the Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal wavered on the issue and justified the decision that “there are no special rules about meteorites”, and that the meteorite “consists of substances that are already present in the earth’s surface” which leads to it becoming part of the property it falls on.
– It is sad. It is one of my greatest experiences as a “meteor explorer” and one had hoped that it would end in a more pleasant way, said the geologist Andreas Forsberg at the time.
The landowner was all the happier.
– It feels fantastically nice. It has been a difficult time where a lot of energy has gone into this dispute, said Johan Benzelstierna von Engeström.
Both parties have said they want the meteorite to be displayed in a museum.
New match awaits
Now a third final round is expected in the fight for the space stone. This after the Supreme Court, where the inventors appealed the Court of Appeal’s verdict, decided on Monday to take up the case for a new trial, which P4 Uppland was the first to report on.
SVT Nyheter Uppsala is looking for the finders and the land owner.