ON METEORITES, OR CELESTIAL STONES 85
Arabs.
For some occult reason the agate was supposed to exercise a certain
control over meteorological phenomena, for in Persia it was believed to
ward off tempests, while prayers for rain in time of drought were made
to this agate image of the Kaaba.27
Much
has been written regarding the Black Stone, but perhaps the most
satisfactory description is that given by Burckhardt, who writes :28
At
the North-east corner of the Kaabah, near the door, is the famous "
Black Stone " ; it forms part of the sharp angle of the building at
from four to five feet above the ground. It is an irregular oval, about
seven inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of about
a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined
together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly smooth; it
looks as if the whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent
blow, and then united again. It is very difficult to determine
accurately the quality of this stone, which has been worn to its
present surface by the millions of touches and kisses it has received.
It appears to me like lava, containing several small extraneous
particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its color is now a
deep reddish-brown, approaching to black.
This
description seems to support the conjecture that the stone is a
meteorite. The injuries it has sustained are attributed to various
accidental or intentional causes. In the early part of the Mohammedan
era the Kaaba was damaged by fire, and the intense heat caused the
stone to break into three pieces. This injury was repaired, but some
years later (926 a.d.) the
heretic sect of the Cannâtes captured and sacked Mecca. Hoping to
divert to another place the tide of pilgrims, and the riches they
brought with them, the leader of the sect caused the stone to be
wrenched from its place and borne away to Hedjez. During the sack of
Mecca, or possibly in its violent removal, the stone was broken into
two pieces,—perhaps along the line of one of
"Sale, "The Koran" (Preliminary Discourse), Phila., 1853, p. 14. " Burckhardt, " Travels in Arabia," London, 1829, p. 137.
