Asymmetric shock recovery experiments with a two stage gas gun were conducted on a 10 μm grain size alumina at 6.5 and 12 GPa shock pressures levels which were more than three to six times as high as the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) of the same alumina and the shock recovered alumina fragments were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nanoindentation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Based on these results a new qualitative damage model was developed to explain the deformation mechanisms   of shock loaded alumina.