I have the following scenario: a large group of enslaved people (one hundred or so?) looking for a meteorite on a mountain. It struck at some point in the Middle Ages.
It is an asteroid of unknown origin and composition that broke apart in the atmosphere during entry, and one of its fragments crashed into said mountain. For those who know the difficulty of distinguishing between a terrestrial rock and one from space, noting that this meteorite is of an unusual and striking black color, very distinguishable with the naked eye.
The idea is that a good chunk survived, no smaller than a watermelon and no larger than a tank. The search has to last a considerable time, not less than, say, three or four weeks (the longer the better). The meteorite fragment could be housed inside the mountain, possibly some kind of cave or grotto, or it could be also that they are mining the mountain until they discover it buried. Whichever is more plausible.
The question is: would this scenario be more or less possible/believable, searching for such a long time for a meteorite impacted relatively recently (Middle Ages) for which there is no official record, and then finding a sizeable piece somewhere inside the mountain, but without a visible crater to give it away in all that time?
Thanks for your help.
ADDITION:
Attending to the first comments, I’m adding these details to rule out some ideas and to be able to delve into others. Please consider these factors:
About the use of technology: It’s an illegal operation (remember the slaves?), clandestine (in a remote region, difficult to access) and those responsible are not the type of guys who have resources, or else they would have hired staff to do it. They’re also not of those who simply steal technology to do it, because they do not want to attract attention (you will ask, "And the freaking slaves then?". Short story: let’s just say they’re the kind of people nobody cares, so no attention drawn). So, little to no technology if possible (I'll think this through).
About the setting: The geography is a mountain forest and they are at ground level, so no snow for this mountain, only dirt and rock.
About the meteorite: About the burst of fragments, I have to rule it out. For plot reasons, this meteorite is already a fragment of the main one, which only split into a few rather large pieces. It does not help me that it spreads everywhere in smaller fragments. So no burst of fragments, it has to be just one sizeable piece.
And remember: My main concern is that the meteorite won’t be easy to discover. If there really is a possibility that a meteorite could bury itself in a mountain without a visible crater simply pointing "-->Meteorite’s lair, everybody!!<--", to later be found mining from the inside. The discovery must occur inside the mountain, whether they find it like “displayed” within a cavity (remember Evolution (2001)?) or by digging it up.