Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Lapis lazuli was being mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan as early as 8000 BC. [13] In ancient Egypt , lapis lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments such as scarabs and was used in Egypt's pyramids ; [ 14 ] it was also used in ancient Mesopotamia by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians for seals and at ...
The Sar-i Sang lapis lazuli mine probably dates from prehistoric times.It consists of one old disused shaft and two new shafts. This was the main source of lapis lazuli in the ancient world, with lapis from here occurring in such famous archaeological discoveries as the Royal Treasure of Ur and the Tomb of Tutankhamun.
Lapis lazuli is found in limestone in the Kokcha River valley of Badakhshan province in north-eastern Afghanistan, where the Sar-i Sang mine deposits have been worked for more than 6,000 years. [20] Afghanistan was the source of lapis for the ancient Persian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, as well as the later Greeks and Romans.
[13] [14] Most recent mining activity has focused on lapis lazuli, with the proceeds from the lapis mines being used to fund Northern Alliance troops, and before that, anti-Soviet Mujahideen fighters. [15] Recent geological surveys have indicated the location of other gemstone deposits, in particular rubies and emeralds. [16]
In the royal cemetery lapis lazuli is found as jewelry, plaques and amulets, and as inlays in gaming boards, musical instruments, and ostrich-egg vessels as well as parts of larger sculptural groups such as the "Ram in a Thicket" and as the beard of a bull attached to a lyre. Some of the larger objects include a spouted cup, a dagger-hilt, and ...
Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. Before the Soviet invasion in 1979, mining in Afghanistan was limited to lapis lazuli, rock salt, natural gas, and coal. Jurassic and Cretaceous limestones and sandstones in the north near Shibarghan contain extensive oil and natural gas—the Cretaceous gas is more than 95 percent methane. The northern Jurassic ...
Lazurite is a pigment (opalescent) and has a bright blue streak (especially as a component of the semiprecious stone lapis lazuli). Many hauynes have a white or pale blue streak and are translucent. Many hauynes have a white or pale blue streak and are translucent.
However, a number of problems have plagued the study of ancient tin such as the limited archaeological remains of placer mining, the destruction of ancient mines by modern mining operations, and the poor preservation of pure tin objects due to tin disease or tin pest. These problems are compounded by the difficulty in provenancing tin objects ...