Libyan Desert Glass- The Sun Stone
Eastern Saharan Desert- Libya/Egypt
Geology and Formation
Welcome to the world of Libyan Desert Glass, a true impactite formed roughly 29 million years ago as a result of cosmic forces fused with Saharan sand. Known as the Stone of the Sun, it has the highest silica content (95.6-99 wt% SiO2) of any stone on earth, which can only occur at temperatures above 1,600°C, owing to its unique ability to refract the sun’s light very powerfully. Libyan Desert Glass is derived from the combined composition of the meteorite that struck the mature sandstone and kaolinite, and characteristically contains high concentrations of pure silicate minerals such as reidite, cristobalite and lechatelierite. Epochs of erosion from wind-blown sand and dunes shaped the smooth edges of any exposed stones- likened to the smooth edges of modern-day seaglass- while buried surfaces maintained the regmaglypts and crater-like surface texture present from the original creation event. It is found over an unforgiving 130x50km stretch of the Saharan Desert.
Definitive proof of a meteoritic impact creation event is evident in the presence of reidite microcrystals, which is a high-pressure form of zircon that can only form at immense pressure (Cavosie & Koeberl, 2019). Researchers suggest the impact event reached 100-megaton potential- an event that occurs only once every 10,000 years. Other notable attributes of the desert glass include a particularly high water content (0.64%), high viscosity, and high amounts of high-pressure quartz inclusions, with a low refractive index (1.4616) and specific gravity (2.21).
It is still a mystery how the desert glass may have cooled so fast as to create instant homogenous fusion and relatively bubble-free liquid that would have rpapidly cooled to create glass without any inclusions. Even commercial human-made glass takes many hours to relieve the melt of its volatile components and cool fully, yet, the desert glass contains no partially melted material or target rock inclusions, suggesting it cooled very quickly and homogenously.
History, Mythology and Uses
The ancient Pharoah King Tutenkhamen was notably discovered in his tomb with a giant carved scarab beetle around his neck carved out of Libyan Desert Glass, suggesting the stone was sacred and revered by the ancient Egyptians and their Gods. The Pyramids of Gyza, The Sun Temple of Apollo, and the Libyan Desert Glass strewn field create a nearly perfect equilateral triangle that also intersects significant sun-enriched electromagnetic leylines, which many consider the world’s “Sun Triangle”.
It has been postulated (without significant evidence) that the Desert Glass was created during an immense solar flash, which might explain its remarkably high silica content, obvious solar resemblance and energy, high refractive index, and the lack of an observed impact crater in the Saharan region (which may also be due to the shifting dune sands and lack of intensive LIDAR or geophysical research in the area).
King Tut’s Scarab Brooch
Pharoah King Tutekhamen ruled nearly 4 millennia ago, yet his fabled brooch adorned with (top) Sun and Moon gods Ra and Thoth protecting the Pharaoh above the pineal gland-resembling Eye of Horus and (middle) a scarab beetle carved out of Libyan Desert Glass, has become a timeless artifact with origins in a meteor impact some 29 million years ago.
The stone is found in the shifting Saharan desert dunes between Egypt and Libya, and has been hard to source recently because of political instability in the region and difficulty making collecting trips through the vast and unforgiving desert. It is a light stone generally associated with the solar plexus, offering a more soothing energy than other tektite species.
