Wahbah Pearls and Teardrops are glassy impactites associated with the Philby A & B and Hadida
crater cluster in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia. For many years I have wanted to add some of these strange little objects to both my personal collection and my sales inventory, but they are incredibly rare: I only know of one other dealer (in the US) who has ever had some.
The region where these small tektites are found is the subject of an Arab mythology, in which the crater rims are the walls of a city destroyed by God. The actual cause of the craters was the impact of an iron meteorite, fragments of which have been recovered.
The region where these small tektites are found is the subject of an Arab mythology, in which the crater rims are the walls of a city destroyed by God. The actual cause of the craters was the impact of an iron meteorite, fragments of which have been recovered.
Three factors affect the extreme rarity of
the Wahbah glasses: the remoteness of their location, their importance in Arab
mythology and the continual encroachment of the site by desert sand. My
specimens were obtained in trade with a geologist who has spent over 25 years in
the Empty Quarter.
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