Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
An Afghan Lapis Lazuli Block. Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15, 2021 takeover by the Taliban.
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. [12] [13] 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. [14]
Koksha (Dari: کوکچه, Munji: قوقشه, Pashto: کوکشه) is a valley located in Badakhshan Province'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]
The following list of mines in Afghanistan is subsidiary to the lists of mines in Asia article and Lists of mines articles. This list contains working, defunct and future mines in the country and is organised by the primary mineral output(s) and province. For practical purposes stone, marble and other quarries may be included in this list.
The first noted use of lapis lazuli as a pigment can be seen in 6th and 7th-century paintings in Zoroastrian and Buddhist cave temples in Afghanistan, near the most famous source of the mineral. Lapis lazuli has been identified in Chinese paintings from the 10th and 11th centuries, in Indian mural paintings from the 11th, 12th, and 17th ...