GLASS ROCK found in woods (photos embedded) Need expert analysis.

Give it to your girl and tell her it is a diamond

reply to post by SixX18


Looks like melted glass.....a fire in the area? I have seen windows melted into globs like that...
Green Melt
House Fire

bobs_uruncle
reply to post by SixX18

 

Just an idea... Is there a lot of sand under the surface in the area you found the object? Have you ever seen lightning glass? It does tend to be fractal in it's shaping, but if a large enough bolt of lightning is concentrated in one area, meaning the primary or originating arm, it is possible for the plasma to produce a very large fused silica object. I don't know if that is what it is, but it's a suggestion ;-)

Cheers - Dave

We live near the Susquahana River, and Catawissa Creek runs into it. There are bluffs, and even dry river beds/canyons from where the river and creeks ran sometime ago. There is most likely lots of sand, but I don't think like in a dessert or on the beach. More like rocks that are found in North Eastern PA. But yes, there is lots of sandstone, and sand in certain areas. This was his original theory, and the only thing keeping us from believing it, is that using Google Images, we cannot find Sand Stone like this, or Sand like this. There are many cool and unique pics of sand struck by lightning, but nothing that changes it to crystal clear.

Dumbass
Give it to your girl and tell her it is a diamond

HaHa we tried holding it in one hand, and it's pretty hard to do for more than a few seconds. Pretty dense.

ParanoidAmerican Looks like melted glass.....a fire in the area? I have seen windows melted into globs like that...
Green Melt
House Fire

The thing is, nothing could possibly be nearby enough, and someone would most likely not bring it and leave it there, plus it was embedded into the ground for quite some time, or fell and sunk into the ground. The other part is the edges, and texture of the surface makes it seem as though it was broken, not formed in this shape. So a chunk of rock that was broken, then transformed somehow, or a piece of a larger object like this one found. Meteorite? There are not bubbles on the outside as most meteorites I have found, or have seen. Also no marks that can suggest fire in anyway.

SixX18

bobs_uruncle
reply to post by SixX18

 

Just an idea... Is there a lot of sand under the surface in the area you found the object? Have you ever seen lightning glass? It does tend to be fractal in it's shaping, but if a large enough bolt of lightning is concentrated in one area, meaning the primary or originating arm, it is possible for the plasma to produce a very large fused silica object. I don't know if that is what it is, but it's a suggestion ;-)

Cheers - Dave

We live near the Susquahana River, and Catawissa Creek runs into it. There are bluffs, and even dry river beds/canyons from where the river and creeks ran sometime ago. There is most likely lots of sand, but I don't think like in a dessert or on the beach. More like rocks that are found in North Eastern PA. But yes, there is lots of sandstone, and sand in certain areas. This was his original theory, and the only thing keeping us from believing it, is that using Google Images, we cannot find Sand Stone like this, or Sand like this. There are many cool and unique pics of sand struck by lightning, but nothing that changes it to crystal clear.

Yes, you are right concerning the crystal clear aspect of the object. Lightning glass is usually cloudy which made me wonder a bit about your object's clarity. However, a sustained blast of lightning on a single sandstone rock, might turn the trick. You probably need to have it analyzed. I don't think it's a crystal though since there are no parallel surface, it's too smooth and rounded. Good luck with finding out about it with an expert ;-) It may turn out to be one helluva find!

Cheers - Dave

Looks like slag from glass manufacture. Don't know about the green tint but probably from iron oxide in the silica. If the object is old, say from a century or two ago, the green tint could result from the object being buried for some length of time causing the iron to further oxidize. (At least that's what folks with lots of letters behind their names told me. I'm no geologist or chemist.) In our area old clear glass acquires a purplish color if buried for a period of time. I'm told that the purple results from manganese added to the silica to remove the green tint and produce clear glass.
On the other hand it could simply be failed glass glob from a glass-blowing session that went wrong. The clarity suggests that it is refined in some way rather than a natural occurrence. I've never seen any lightning-made glass with that kind of clarity.
In our area we see a blue glassy slag from the manufacture of iron ore in the area now known as Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. When I was a child the areas around the remnants of the old furnaces were piled high with these pretty blue rocks. They were collected by every kid who saw them. There are still scatters of the rocks around the furnaces but those rocks have dispersed all over the US and probably abroad as well since the area was made federal property.
Or it could be an abstract sculpture---the Jolly Green Giant's paperweight?
But hey, I'm no geologist, just an archaeologist who has seen a lot of glass coming out of the ground.
How it would have gotten there? Good question. Any history of glass manufacture in the area in earlier times? Any silica sources in the vicinity? If so, there should other signs of the craft in the form of similar items. If it was a simple glass-blower's workshop, not a refining operation, say in colonial times, finding the associated artifacts might require a systematic survey of the area. Buildings might be gone but there would probably be remnants of a forge, brick or ceramic materials that would survive the years. Depending on the terrain, on a floodplain or a terrace, other artifacts could have been buried over the years. But this object was only partially buried perhaps other objects of similar size remain partially exposed. Worth a look around to try and solve the mystery. Should be fun.
If I weren't several states away I'd say I love to give him a hand in finding out more. Nothing I like better than tramping about in spring looking to see what I can discover about how this land was utilized in the past.
Worth? Whatever someone is willing to pay.
Just my two cents. Great thread. Looking forward to hearing from others.

DIAMONDS!

seriously, sell it to a rube, even if its glass!

bobs_uruncle

SixX18

bobs_uruncle
reply to post by SixX18

 

Just an idea... Is there a lot of sand under the surface in the area you found the object? Have you ever seen lightning glass? It does tend to be fractal in it's shaping, but if a large enough bolt of lightning is concentrated in one area, meaning the primary or originating arm, it is possible for the plasma to produce a very large fused silica object. I don't know if that is what it is, but it's a suggestion ;-)

Cheers - Dave

We live near the Susquahana River, and Catawissa Creek runs into it. There are bluffs, and even dry river beds/canyons from where the river and creeks ran sometime ago. There is most likely lots of sand, but I don't think like in a dessert or on the beach. More like rocks that are found in North Eastern PA. But yes, there is lots of sandstone, and sand in certain areas. This was his original theory, and the only thing keeping us from believing it, is that using Google Images, we cannot find Sand Stone like this, or Sand like this. There are many cool and unique pics of sand struck by lightning, but nothing that changes it to crystal clear.

Yes, you are right concerning the crystal clear aspect of the object. Lightning glass is usually cloudy which made me wonder a bit about your object's clarity. However, a sustained blast of lightning on a single sandstone rock, might turn the trick. You probably need to have it analyzed. I don't think it's a crystal though since there are no parallel surface, it's too smooth and rounded. Good luck with finding out about it with an expert ;-) It may turn out to be one helluva find!

Cheers - Dave

Some images found on a quick google search.

Rock "Struck by lightning"

A very similar looking glass rock.

Similar to images of Sand Stone struck by lightning, unsure of what material this rock is formed from however.

This is similar to "Volcanic Rock" images I have found on the web, from "Glass Rocks" found in WV, and PA.

diggindirt
Looks like slag from glass manufacture. Don't know about the green tint but probably from iron oxide in the silica. If the object is old, say from a century or two ago, the green tint could result from the object being buried for some length of time causing the iron to further oxidize. (At least that's what folks with lots of letters behind their names told me. I'm no geologist or chemist.) In our area old clear glass acquires a purplish color if buried for a period of time. I'm told that the purple results from manganese added to the silica to remove the green tint and produce clear glass.
On the other hand it could simply be failed glass glob from a glass-blowing session that went wrong. The clarity suggests that it is refined in some way rather than a natural occurrence. I've never seen any lightning-made glass with that kind of clarity.
In our area we see a blue glassy slag from the manufacture of iron ore in the area now known as Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. When I was a child the areas around the remnants of the old furnaces were piled high with these pretty blue rocks. They were collected by every kid who saw them. There are still scatters of the rocks around the furnaces but those rocks have dispersed all over the US and probably abroad as well since the area was made federal property.
Or it could be an abstract sculpture---the Jolly Green Giant's paperweight?
But hey, I'm no geologist, just an archaeologist who has seen a lot of glass coming out of the ground.
How it would have gotten there? Good question. Any history of glass manufacture in the area in earlier times? Any silica sources in the vicinity? If so, there should other signs of the craft in the form of similar items. If it was a simple glass-blower's workshop, not a refining operation, say in colonial times, finding the associated artifacts might require a systematic survey of the area. Buildings might be gone but there would probably be remnants of a forge, brick or ceramic materials that would survive the years. Depending on the terrain, on a floodplain or a terrace, other artifacts could have been buried over the years. But this object was only partially buried perhaps other objects of similar size remain partially exposed. Worth a look around to try and solve the mystery. Should be fun.
If I weren't several states away I'd say I love to give him a hand in finding out more. Nothing I like better than tramping about in spring looking to see what I can discover about how this land was utilized in the past.

Worth? Whatever someone is willing to pay.
Just my two cents. Great thread. Looking forward to hearing from others.

It is where a friend of both of ours said he has seen of like objects, near that sulfur creek, that starts underground in a cave up stream a bit. Definitely no glass making going on, at least to produce something this size. So no hippies were out there blowing a pipe, and no buildings have or could have been built in that area, pretty much in the past few hundred years do to the slope. Also on top of the hill, all trees, that are old enough that there couldn't have been any foundations built, or there would be a distinct difference in the trees ages in that area. What I am saying is, there may be many more of these mysterious glass rocks in that area, and it is near the creek, even if a few hundred years ago before the creek eroded it's way down the mountain as far as it did.

What I am saying is, this did NOT come from a glass factory, unless someone lost it out of a plane, or hid it there. But if they were to hide it there, it would make no sense what so ever. I'm telling you, this is out in the middle of nowhere, it is possible, NO ONE has EVER stepped foot withing a hundred yards of this place, besides Native Americans. They were out far into the wilderness.

reply to post by SixX18


OK, In short.... Lets get off the man-made glass. If this is naturally formed, what is it and how was it made. Those are the bare bone answers we are looking for.

OP don't talk about monetary gain. It won't go over well. I also doubt this thing is worth much.

Domo1
OP don't talk about monetary gain. It won't go over well. I also doubt this thing is worth much.

I agree, and honestly, he doesn't want to sell this. I suggested going to a museum and he said "They would just steal it from me, I'd rather keep it on my mantel."

We want to know what it is, how it was made, but mainly what it could possibly be. Like I posted earlier, found this weeks ago, and the mystery has us, and many locals puzzled. Just looking for an expert to identify. We have had a bunch of great responses, and a few of those may likely be the answer. No one can seem to know for sure, and that is what we want.

Dig a little into the local history in the area you found it.. Might find something out that would explain it.
Pretty sure it's just a big hunk of glass slag. Probably pretty old. Very cool find!

Here in South Africa we would, just by looking at some of the lines, see it perhaps as quartz crystal, I think if it was something more molten it wouldn't have the edges, here we have huge ones sometimes like a football, some are smokey, others clear like this one.
but yeah one has to get a much closer look to be able to say for sure.

DenyFlatulence
Dig a little into the local history in the area you found it.. Might find something out that would explain it.
Pretty sure it's just a big hunk of glass slag. Probably pretty old. Very cool find!

Any glass slag would have come from the towns in this area from what we did research. Nothing where he found it, the "towns" (although only one town in PA, Bloomsburg... which is 10min from Catawissa, and Berwick, history lesson) are in a developed area. This was out in the mountains, near nothing. I believe he said they followed an old logging road, or dirt road then hiked for quite a bit.

researcher88
Here in South Africa we would, just by looking at some of the lines, see it perhaps as quartz crystal, I think if it was something more molten it wouldn't have the edges, here we have huge ones sometimes like a football, some are smokey, others clear like this one.
but yeah one has to get a much closer look to be able to say for sure.

That is great! We found many like objects, more yellow in tint, from desserts in Middle East, and Africa. This also has similarities to some quartz as far as to how it is broken on the surfaces. Although we can't find anything local surfing the web, it does have characteristics of naturally formed glass rocks in other regions of the planet that do come up in searches on the web. We do however have quartz in this area, but mostly it is white, and in a grey colored rock.

randyvs
reply to post by SixX18

 

A left over from a glass factory that has long since
disappeared?

This post is correct. 'Cullet' or 'Slag' glass is what you Google. No mystery, sorry! But it's worth a hundred or more dollars, ask me if you need help with that.

Edit: I am editting my post to say it is worth between $150 to $250 dollars. I am willing to explain that if you care, OP. (Not for my financial gain, I'm not gonna ask you to sell it to me, or anything!)

Ameilia

randyvs
reply to post by SixX18

 

A left over from a glass factory that has long since
disappeared?

This post is correct. 'Cullet' or 'Slag' glass is what you Google. No mystery, sorry! But it's worth a hundred or more dollars, ask me if you need help with that.

Edit: I am editting my post to say it is worth between $150 to $250 dollars. I am willing to explain that if you care, OP. (Not for my financial gain, I'm not gonna ask you to sell it to me, or anything!)

edit on 4/11/14 by Ameilia because: (no reason given)

Googled both Cullet and Slag, and Slag shows many identical glass rocks. If this is the case, the mystery is how did it get miles into the middle of nowhere, and why does someone say they have seen these while Kayaking in Catawissa Creek, which is where I believe this was found near based on what the finder has told me. Can this be something that was washed up out of the cave during flooding? We did have the largest flood in recorded history about nearly 3 years ago. Destroyed and transformed most of the land around creeks and rivers.