Glass Finds

Yesterday I as walking the Thames foreshore as I do many weekends, I have a few regular spots that seem to attract flint artifacts, mostly cores that have had blades taken from them. However yesterday I decided on a completely new spot, total different landscape, mostly mud. Unfortunately it had no flint to speak of whatsoever but was littered with pottery and glass. I found a 1950's coke bottle intact a really old half inch thick glass bottle, a thick glass tile but two finds worth bringing home. One a beautiful rainbow coloured piece of glass slag, right at the bottom of the pic, indistinguishable from an obsidian nodule. And that huge lump of green glass. No idea what it is but it's massive 35cm diameter and full 3.5cm thick.

Wow! good work, that's better than my last haul at the old bottle dump. Mud larking's the the way to go... Is that big sherd at the back TV glass?

That's my neighbour's flat screen TV.

I assume the tv was already broken before you took it, or is there something you want to tell us.

That bit glass slag looks fun. I have a lump of white glass which I am hanging onto and only use for microflints. As I don't know if I'll ever get my hands on such stuff again.

i often see the old glass paper weights at the boot sales with flowers and different colour swirls in, might i wonder what they would be like to knap.

Could be worth a shot. Although I have noticed there can be quite a few air bubbles in the paperweights. Could that affect knapping?

Flint contains impurities, you just work around them, I would guess bubbles and colour swirls can be worked around too.

I'd have thought they be expensive though.

this is the cheapest way of getting glass I have found
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GLASS-BRICK-WALL-TILES-INFINITY-GLITTER-RED-8mm-THICK-/271068186569?pt=UK_Bathroom_Mats_Rugs&hash=item3f1cec47c9

It's clear but the painted back knaps off fine. You can get a large spearhead or knife from single tiles, cut it lengthways and get two thin knife or cut it into 4 and four arrowheads. He does a pack of 68 tiles for £60 post free. That's a whole lot of cheap glass to practice on. Oneday I'll send for a pack.

I've stuck those tiles in my 'watch' file. Might just invest in some at some point or other.

might be worth popping to the local tile store - they always give away free samples. (-: