Featured Fragment—Vaseline Glass
In a recent excavation Dovetail Cultural Resource group found several fragments of what is known as Vaseline glass. This glass ranges in color from yellow to green and was manufactured from the 1840s to 1940. What is interesting about this type of glass is it was made with Uranium, which is the reason for its distinctive color. This type of glass was produced until WWII at which time the shortage of Uranium put an end to its production. What is the best way to identify Vaseline glass? If put under a black light, the glass will light up. The Uranium makes the glass emit radiation and glow, or a Geiger counter can be used to determine whether it is radioactive. The vessel found by Dovetail registered at 0.15 milliroentgens per hour. Is this a dangerous level? No, the amount put out by this type of glass is small and not harmful.
Image of Vaseline Glass. On left: yellow tumbler base and body fragment. One right: tumbler under black light.
Joe Blondino using Geiger counter on Vaseline glass.
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