The Glass of the Great Sand Sea
Scattered across the Sahara lie pieces of yellow glass, and one was carved into a scarab for Tutankhamun.
What was reported
In the Great Sand Sea of western Egypt, near the border with Libya, the desert is scattered with pieces of pale yellow-green glass, some as heavy as 20 kg. It was described by explorers in the 1930s, but people had used it for tools for thousands of years.
In 1998, a scientist identified the yellow scarab at the centre of a pectoral found in Tutankhamun's tomb as being carved from this desert glass.
Explanations offered
The glass formed when sand was melted at extremely high temperatures, about 29 million years ago. Most scientists think this was caused by a meteorite impact or a meteor exploding in the air above the desert. Studies of tiny minerals in the glass have found signs of extreme shock that support an impact, though no crater has been found.
- When
- Formed about 29 million years ago
- Where
- Great Sand Sea, western Egypt
- Witnesses
- Explorers, geologists and Egyptologists
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.