Libyan Desert Glass
Libyan Desert Glass is a pale yellow natural glass found in the Sahara, formed by intense heat about 29 million years ago.
Libyan Desert Glass is a natural glass found scattered over an area of the Great Sand Sea in western Egypt, near the border with Libya. It is pale yellow to greenish and almost pure silica, about 98 per cent. Pieces range from small chips to blocks weighing tens of kilograms.
The glass formed about 29 million years ago. It contains features showing that it was made by extreme heat, above about 1,700 °C, including grains of a high-temperature mineral called reidite formed from zircon, which requires both high temperature and pressure. Most scientists think it was produced by a meteorite impact or a very powerful airburst, but no crater has been found.
One of the most famous objects in Tutankhamun's tomb, a scarab in a pectoral necklace, is carved from Libyan Desert Glass. Like moldavite, it is not a meteorite but impact-related material, and like moldavite it is often faked.
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