Shiloh, OhioJuly 1957

In July 1957, someone in Shiloh, Ohio found a large black stone and reported it as a meteorite to the Air Force. The object was sent to the Air Force Institute of Technology for examination as part of Project Blue Book, the military's official UFO investigation program.

Initial analysis suggested it might be a meteorite, but further study by experts contradicted that conclusion. Scientists determined the stone was not a meteorite at all. Instead, they concluded it was most likely a volcanic bomb (a rock ejected from an active volcano). The stone appeared to be over 100 years old. Researchers theorized it may have been transported from a volcanic region in Canada or the Appalachian Mountains by glaciers thousands of years ago.

The examination revealed the object had no characteristics typical of meteorites. It showed bedding planes (layers of sedimentary rock) with small pebbles, features that do not appear on space rocks. Its composition matched sandstone found in eastern Ohio, not the materials usually found in meteorites. The Air Force eventually returned the stone to the Richland County Commissioners' Office, which had originally submitted it.

Although the case file involved a physical specimen, the object had no connection to unexplained aerial sightings. The Air Force's final evaluation listed it as "unidentified," though this reflected only the initial confusion about what the stone was, not any mystery about its origin. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 25 pages.