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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]
[1] [4] [5] Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion [6] of untapped minerals. There are six lapis mines in Afghanistan, the largest being located in Badakhshan province.
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]
[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]
Koksha (Dari: کوکچه, Munji: قوقشه, Pashto: کوکشه) is a valley that is located in Badakhshan's Kuran Wa Munjan District in Afghanistan. Koksha is famous for its lapis lazuli found in the mines of Sar-e-Sang since the 3rd millennium BC. [1] Koksha Valley includes Mount Ladjuar. [2]
Lazurite was first described in 1890 for an occurrence in the Sar-e-Sang District, Koksha Valley, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. [3] It has been mined for more than 6,000 years in the lapis lazuli district of Badakhshan. It has been used as a pigment in painting and cloth dyeing since at least the 6th or 7th century. [9]
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 ...