LIBYAN DESERT GLASS COLLECTION

WHAT IS LIBYAN DESERT GLASS

Libyan Desert Glass is a naturally occurring glass. Natural glass can be formed by lightning strike (fulgurite) or volcanic activity (obsidian), as well as by meteorites striking the earth (tektite and impactite). Silica glass is composed primarily of silicon (up to 98 %).

HOW IS LIBYAN DESERT GLASS FORMED

Scientists continue to debate exactly how silica glass is formed. The source in Egypt's Great Sand Sea is unique in the world. It's one of the most remote and inhospitable regions in in the Sahara. It is assumed that the glass here formed when a meteorite struck some 29 million years ago, although no crate can be seen in the area. Some are of the opinion that volcanic debris from the moon or even from Mars was flung into space, captured by the earth's gravitational force, and finally fell into the Libyan Desert. At any rate there is agreement that silica glass formed here as a result of an unimaginably powerful cosmic event.

DISCOVERIES

The Englishman Patrick A. Clayton discovered the source in 1932 and brought the first examples back to Europe for study. However since 1998 it is known that silica glass was found long time before Clayton. Among Tutankhamun's treasures is a pectoral which contains a silica glass scarab. An Italian mineralogist examined the scarab with the latest equipment to determine the index of refraction and the mineral's structure. The results were surprising. The scarab was without a doubt cut from Libyan desert silica glass.

SOURCE AND COMPOSITION

The only source of this glass worldwide is at the southern end of the Great Sand Sea in the area near the Gilf Kebir. Knowledge of the desert and the right equipment is required to reach the area. The glass is found in an area approximately 130 km by 53 km, among dunes that can reach as high as 100 meters. Wind driven desert sands now sculpt, shape an polish fragments of this rare, exotic glass into strikingly beautiful and unique specimens.

There are pieces in the most diverse sizes, from centimeter sized pieces to stones weighting some kilograms (the biggest ever found piece weight around 28 kg). The surface can vary from smooth pieces polished by the sand to rough uneven examples. Each glass is different and colors vary from milky grey-white to light green and yellow. Silica glass is one of the most rare minerals on earth - even more rare than diamonds.