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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 ...
Another Sar-e Sang Lazurite crystal, with the classic deep azure-blue color. Crystal is 4.5 cm wide. Sar-i Sang (or Sar-e Sang) (lit. "stone summit" in Persian) is a settlement in the Kuran Wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, famous for its ancient lapis lazuli mines producing the world's finest lapis. [1]
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.
Shortugai (Shortughai), in Darqad District of northern Afghanistan, was a trading colony of the Indus Valley civilization (or Harappan Civilization) established around 2000 BC on the Oxus river (Amu Darya) near the lapis lazuli mines. [1] [2] It is considered to be the northernmost settlement of the Indus Valley Civilization. [3] [4]
The mines were the largest and most well-known source in ancient times. [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]
It is almost universally acknowledged that the lapis lazuli from Mesopotamia originated in the upper reaches of the Kokcha River in the Badakhshan district of modern Afghanistan. [3] This was certainly exploited at the time of the Royal Cemetery (ca. 2600 BC) with evidence of manufacture in the 3rd millennium at Shortugai (I) on the Oxus River ...
Map [permanent dead link ] at the Afghanistan Information Management Services Lazurite specimen from Sar-i Sang , Kuran Wa Munjan District, where much of the world's finest lapis lazuli is mined.
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 ...