This is a petite and curvy piece of Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) weighing 6.06 g and measuring 1.5” by 0.75” by 0.4”. This piece is a gentle light gold and smooth on one side and dimpled on the other and has a subtle curve. If you check with a 10X loupe, you’ll see that she has a few dark crescents embedded in the side, likely grin the scouring desert winds that have worn the surfaces smooth. Interestingly, there are also small, dark streaks of iridium. Libyan Desert Glass is a tektite, but with a difference. Discovered by the western world in 1932 by Patrick Clayton, they had been known to the ancient Egyptians; a scarab carved from this glass was found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb. The age of the glass is unknown and it is thought to be an impactite, in that it was formed from a meteorite (or some other force) that literally vitrified the sand. Interestingly, the authorities have never found a meteor crater and are at a loss to explain what could have caused such high heat as to fuse the sand like this. LDG is almost pure silica with traces of iridium, proof of their extraterrestrial origin since iridium is the one element found on Earth not native to here. The largest LDG ever found weighed 26 kg and they are from the Great Sand Sea in northern Africa.

Click on the link below to see additional pictures.

Light Golden Libyan Desert Glass