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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.
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]
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.
It was produced from lapis lazuli, a mineral whose major source was the mines of Sar-e-Sang in what is now northeastern Afghanistan. [1] It was transformed into a pigment by the Afghans beginning in about the 5th century, and exported by caravans to India. It was the most expensive blue used by Renaissance artists.
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]