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Report on the Tunguska International Workshop Bologna, Italy, July 14-17, 1996
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Report on the Tunguska International Workshop
Bologna, Italy, July 14-17, 1996
(This article was originally prepared for and published by the magazine Meteorite!)
Roy A. Gallant
Bologna, ITALY: Tunguska is very much alive and well. And it continues to wear its Mona Lisa-like
smile of elusiveness despite the scores of models, hypotheses, and bizarre notions generated over the
decades since 1927. That was the year of Leonid A. Kulik's first expedition to the remote site in north
central Siberia. And despite the International Workshop's more than 50 invited talks, short
communications, and posters delivered by delegates to the conference, there still is no consensus about
the identity of the cosmic intruder that devastated some 2,100 square kilometers of taiga on the morning
of June 30, 1908.
Among those who were registered for the conference by the end of the second day were 20 from Russia,
20 from the United States, 6 from Italy, 6 from Japan, and 2 from France. Eventually some 65 people
attended.
The meeting was held in the central part of Bologna in San Giovanni in Monte, a seventh-century site of
religious worship nestled amid a labyrinth of tiny streets lined with myriad shops and sidewalk cafes.
Today a church and converted monastery mark the site. Both had undergone restorations and
enlargement a number of times since the 13th century. The monastery, with a large open courtyard and
adjourning grand hall some 50 by 20 meters underwent restoration in the 16th century, and restoration
continues. Open spaces, cloisters, arcades, galleries, and botanical gardens make up the buildings. In
1796 a French occupation abolished all the religious orders and turned the monastery into the city's
prison and court house, and a prison it remained until only a dozen years ago.
While the large open court served as the meeting place for receptions, luncheons, and coffee breaks, the
paper sessions were held in the adjacent grand hall. Coupled with the very poor acoustics in the hall, the
heavily accented English of many of the Russian presenters made it virtually impossible to understand
what they were saying. Fortunately most of the presenters had provided comprehensive abstracts of their
talks, which helped somewhat. The weather was sunny and averaged about 25 C, hardly the
uncomfortable heat one usually associates with Italy in July.
Some 65 or so participants gave the meeting a truly international flavor. The Russians were out in full
force with their Tunguska heavy artillery, which included Chairman N.V. Vasilyev, veteran of more
than 35 Tunguska expeditions, G.V. Andreev, S.S. Grigorian, E.M. Kolesnikov, W.H. Fast, V.P.
Korobeinikov, and V. Ye Fortov, to name a few. Not to be outdone, the Americans were represented by
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