Ariana Church had a trip to the local beach – but what she found there, no one would ever expect
Ariana made an extraordinary discovery on a family day out(Image: Hayley Church)
A day at the beach usually means sandcastles, splashing in the sea, and hunting for the prettiest shells. But for nine-year-old Ariana Church, a trip to Penarth Pier in the summer of 2025 turned into something far more extraordinary.
The then eight-year-old went with her father, Matt, and her little sister, Leyla. “We were just trying to keep them occupied during the six-week holiday,” recalled her mother, Hayley. As Leyla and Matt enjoyed their family day out, Ariana wandered along the shoreline, eyes scanning the sand and stones.
“She’s always looking down,” Hayley said. “It was a regular thing she wanted to do.”
That day, Ariana spotted two unusual stones: a piece of volcanic rock and another dark, strangely textured rock. A geologist later confirmed that the volcanic rock had likely come from the last volcanic eruption in Spain.
Fascinating – but it was the other stone that would prove truly remarkable. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here
Back home, Ariana’s parents encouraged her curiosity. “I humoured her to begin with,” Hayley admitted. “I just told her to keep it safe, pop it in your treasure box, and don’t paint it.” And so the rocks stayed quietly in her treasure box – until a family friend came to visit.
Ariana has become fascinated by stones and fossils(Image: Hayley Church)
This friend happened to be a geologist originally from South Africa who works closely with Bristol University; and he immediately recognised the unusual rock’s potential.
“I don’t think I understood the scale of her discovery until I heard the geologist say that in seventy years he had never found one,” Hayley said. “He’s handled hundreds of meteorites, but he said he had always dreamed of finding one.”
The small stone, about the size of her palm, was heavy, freezing cold, and had a strange smell. With Ariana’s permission, the rock was taken to Bristol University for testing. Ariana was thrilled, sharing the news with her school friends, who were equally intrigued with the discovery. “They kept telling her she was going to be a millionaire,” Hayley said with a laugh.
However, when the results returned – the revelation was astonishing. It is believed that the rock is a meteorite, extremely rare, and estimated to be around 4.5bn years old – older than the Earth itself.
“And my daughter had found it in Penarth,” Hayley said.
The meteorite was split in half by experts, to find out its origins (Image: Hayley Church)
According to the geologist, the meteorite looks to have been part of a planet that no longer exists.
“We were told that it was likely hit by something and exploded, and the fragments fell to Earth, like sparks from a firework. There might even be more on the beach, so we have been told to keep looking.”
To understand the nature of the meteorite, the rock was cut in half. Inside were thousands of tiny crystals, formed only in space, which allowed scientists to date the rock.
The outer surface bore tiny indentations – like thumbprints – left as the meteorite passed through Earth’s atmosphere. It is believed to be pre-dinosaurs, pre-oceans, a tangible piece of the very beginnings of the solar system.
Ariana will be talking about her discovery in a school assembly (Image: Hayley Church)
The meteorite now sits under lock and key at Ariana’s home, waiting for show and tell at school. Ariana, however, has remained grounded.
She still wants to be a police officer when she grows up, but her fascination with rocks, fossils, space, and history has deepened.
Inspired by her grandmother Marion, she has begun a collection of precious stones and continues to explore science whenever she can.
“She’s so inquisitive and wants to share it with everybody,” Hayley said.
“If she could cut the stone into a million pieces, she would, just so everyone could experience it with her. She loves finding things, loves history, and is obsessed with space… It couldn’t have been found by a better person.”