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An Afghan Lapis Lazuli Block. Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15th 2021 takeover by the Taliban.It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country.
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 only then-known deposits of lapis lazuli were mined there as early as the second half of the 4th millennium BC. [6] Badakhshan was an important region, crossed by the Silk Road . [ 7 ] Its significance was its geo-economic role in the silk trade and ancient commodities transactions between the East and West.
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]
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 ...
The lapis lazuli found in Egyptian tombs is thought to come from the Pamir area in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. [7] About 138 BCE Zhang Qian reached the Fergana Valley northwest of the Pamirs. Ptolemy vaguely describes a trade route through the area. From about 600 CE, Buddhist pilgrims travelled on both sides of the Pamirs to reach ...