Yare - Discuss The Trade in Lapis Lazuli in The Old, Middle, Sip or New Kingdoms

Discuss the trade in lapis lazuli in the Old, Middle, SIP OR New Kingdoms
Discuss the trade in lapis lazuli in the Old Kingdom.

(2700 3300 words)
Brian Yare 31st May 2005
For the purpose of this essay I use the wider definition of the Old Kingdom, as given by Robert Morkot for his course, Ancient Egypt: The Old Kingdom, 5,000-2,000 B. C.. This is important as the use and trade of lapis lazuli started within this period, in Predynastic Egypt. Lapis lazuli is an ultramarine-coloured semi-precious stone, composed of several different minerals (von Rosen, 1988: 8). The most important component of lapis lazuli is the mineral, lazurite. Lazurite is indeed an essential component of the rock, lapis lazuli, and is the one responsible for its blue colour. The formula can be written Na4(NaS3,Al)Al2Si3O12 although there is considerable variation in the amounts of sodium and sulphur present (Herrmann, 1968: 24, note 14). The colour of lapis lazuli varies from intense marine blue to violet blue, but, depending on slight differences in the chemical composition, lighter blue and green varieties can also occur (von Rosen, 1988: 8). The names, lazurite, and indeed lapis lazuli, are commonly used for a wider range of stones of the sodalite family. In antiquity, further confusion may be caused with sapphire and this may well be the case in the Bible. And thou shalt make the
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breastplate of judgement with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire and a diamond (Exodus 28, 15-18, repeated in Exodus 39, 8-11). In times past, any blue gem material was called sapphire, such as lapis lazuli. is Greek for "blue" (Ward, 2004). The ancients gave the name of sapphire also to our lapis-lazuli, which is likewise a blue stone, often speckled with shining pyrites which give it the appearance of being sprinkled with gold dust. It is composed of silica, alumina, and alkali; it is an opaque substance easily engraved. Which of these two is referred to in the Bible? Both may be meant, but the lapis-lazuli seems more probable, for as often as its qualities are described, it is spoken of as being easily engraved (Lam., iv, 7; Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 13) (Souvay, 2004). The name of lapis lazuli is known in many ancient languages of the Near East. We have za-gin in Sumerian and uqn in Akkadian. Ignu in Ugariti is an obvious derivative from the latter, and Akkadian also has zaginnu, nazaginakku, and several others, all derived from the Sumerian za-gin (von Rosen, 1988: 25, from Rllig, 1983: 488). Oppenheim (1970: 10) also suggests that all these terms come from a common source, a Kulturwort that denotes this most precious and coveted stone, the most popular of all the gem stones known to the inhabitants of Mesopotamia. But where does the lapis lazuli originate? Von Rosen (1988: 11-20) lists the known sources of lapis lazuli. Badakhstan, in modern Afghanistan, was probably the only source known in pre-history, although the Soviet Pammir, only 30 miles away, is another known source of similar quality stone. Other sources are known at the southern end of Lake Baikal, much further to the north east, and on the PakistanBurma border, again much further east. Little is known of a source in the Atlas
Mountains of North Africa, but lapis lazuli is also found in the Dattawa Valley of Angola. Latium, in Italy, produces some poor quality lapis. Herrmann (1968: 27) also considers unattested sources in Iran, but these have yet to be located despite extensive geological surveys. But there are a number of 13th and 14th century A.D. sources that claim a Persian provenance. Herrmann concludes that there may have been a source here but it was worked out by that time. It is unlikely that an Iranian source was used in antiquity, because Darius the Great (522-486 B. C.) claims that the lapis lazuli used for the building of the Susa palace came from Sogdonia, the ancient province in Central Asia that includes Badakhstan. Bearing in mind the locations where lapis lazuli has been discovered in archaeological contexts in sites to the end of the Old Kingdom, cited below, it seems reasonable to assume that the source of the lapis lazuli was indeed at Badakhstan, in Afghanistan. Shaw (2000: 320-1) tells us that lapis lazuli was one of the most well-travelled and sought-after materials. It was used for jewellery, amulets and figurines from at least as early as the Naqada II Period (c.3500-3200). Badakhstan lay at the centre of a wide commercial network through which lapis lazuli was exported over vast distances to the early civilizations of western Asia and north-east Africa, no doubt passing through the hands of many middle-men en route. The use of lapis lazuli in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the Predynastic period and the early dynasties is strikingly similar (Payne, 1968: 58). Lapis lazuli and other exotic materials are widely distributed during the Gerzean period. Beads of lapis lazuli have been discovered in cemeteries ranging from Gerzeh in the north to Bahan, just south of modern Aswan. But lapis lazuli was not in common use; at Naqada itself, where the largest Predynastic cemetery known has been excavated by Petrie and colleagues, the rare stone was found in only 11 out of some 2000 graves.
It first appears at Petries Sequence Date (S.D.) 40. Payne finds its associations interesting: lapis lazuli beads were strung together with a Mesopotamian cylinder seal in grave T29 at Naqada (Frankfort, 1939: pl. XLVIa and p. 293). A fly-pendant with a gold head, found in grave B323 (S.D. 60) at Abadiyeh forms another link with the Middle East (Petrie, 1901: 34). In grave 836 at Naqada, dating from the end of the Predynastic period, lapis lazuli beads were found with an unusual copper dagger. Lapis lazuli was frequently found alongside gold, but not with silver.
Lapis lazuli continues to occur into the 1st Dynasty there are a few beads in Petries Semainean graves as well as in Nubian A-group cemeteries (Payne, 1968: 58) and a small female figure of lapis lazuli ; the head is missing, but the wooden peg by which it was attached remains. The flat shape, the position of the hands, and the general style of the figure are very similar to those of the Greek island figures, made of alabaster and limestone. It was found a little to the south of the main deposit and underneath one of the brick walls at Hierakonpolis (Quibell and Green, 1902: 38 and Quibell and Petrie, 1900: pl. XVIII. shown right).
But during the Egyptian Early Dynastic period there appears to be a complete absence of lapis lazuli in Egypt, and it is not found again until the 4th Dynasty. Old Kingdom examples have been found at several sites. At Deshasheh a number of items were discovered in grave 117: pendants in the form of leopards and jackals heads as well as beads (Petrie, Deshasheh: 17). Beads, and inlays in silver bracelets, have been found in the tomb of Hetep-heres at Gizeh (Reisner and Smith, 1955: 44) as well as beads in the Mastaba of Kaseza (Junker, 1944: 179 and fig. 74).
Guy Brunton discovered beads in four graves (3280, 3314, 3315 and 5301) at Matmar (Brunton, 1948: pl. LXXI.); also in grave 5102 at Mostagedda (Brunton, 1937: pl. XLIX.) and in grave 969 at Qau (Brunton, 1928: pl. LXX). Beads, and inlays of lapis lazuli in beetle pendants, have also been unearthed in the
tomb of Queen Iput at Saqqara (Firth and Gunn, 1926: p. x, pl. 15B). In Northern Mesopotamia the distribution of finds of lapis lazuli at the site of Gawra is important. Lapis is first found in a stratified context here in level X, although there is a single unstratified seal attributed to level XI and indications that the mineral could have been imported as early as level XIII. These indications are based on beads discovered at Nineveh and Arpachiyah. A rough cylindrical bead was found in the Deep Sondage at Nineveh, 63 feet below the surface, the top of Nineveh 2 (c). The Arpachiyah beads were also unstratified, but doubtless belonged to the later levels contemporary with Gawra XIII (Herrmann, 1968: 29). One of the finest lapis lazuli seals found at Gawra is G.7-205, with two salukis and a fox surrounded by three smaller glyphs. Although this seal was found in an unstratified context, it bears close similarities to sealings found at level XI, if not level XIII. Lapis lazuli is rare in Gawra XIII to XI, and not particularly well authenticated. It becomes much more abundant at Gawra X, three shaft burials in particular being richly furnished with it. Tomb 109 contained nearly 500 lapis lazuli beads as well as some inlays and a delicate gold and lapis pendant, G.4-759. Tomb 110 contained a hemispheroidal stamp seal, G.4-769, showing a single, upright, human figure. Another hemispheroidal stamp seal found in tomb 114 shows a reclining sheep, G.4-831, and this tomb also yielded a gold rosette with a lapis centre, G.4-830. Compared with the abundant supplies of lapis lazuli in Stratum X, there is an appreciable decline in IX (Herrmann, 1968: 31). Only two fine beads, an acorn pendant and an unstratified amulet of a recumbent animal were found at this level. At Gawra VIII lapis is even rarer, only some tiny inlays on an ivory pin and a few beads being retrieved. This reduction in lapis lazuli finds at Gawra in the north matches the first
appearance of the mineral in the southern sites in the Jemdat Nasr period. There are finds at Warka, Khafajah, Ur, Telloh and even at the Syrian site of Tell Brak. A particularly fine seal, W.14772cl is probably of Uruk III. It shows a boat containing three people, a bovine with some kind of seat or chest on its back and a shelter. (Herrmann, 1968: fig. 5.a.) At the time of writing in 1968, Herrmann reports that the well-stratified sites in the Diyala valley were mostly unpublished. Perkins has, however, described a leafshaped amulet with a central rib, made of lapis lazuli, found in a late Jemdet Nasr (Protoliterate d) context at Khafajah (Herrmann, 1968: 32). Among the many lapis lazuli finds from Tell Brak were a fine frog amulet, some 2 inches long, and a miniature model of a vase. The frog was found in an early Jemdat Nasr stratum although there is some doubt about the boundary between Jemdat Nasr and early Uruk. The vase amulet came from the dump on the north side of Naram-Sins palace and could therefore be at least Early Dynastic in date (Herrmann, 1968: 33).
In Southern Mesopotamia there have been significant finds of lapis lazuli at Ur (Woolley, 1929). Herrmann reports from Woolleys later works that necklaces of lapis lazuli were found in 32 of Woolleys 370 graves. These are generally agreed to have been late Jemdat Nasr or Early Dynastic I. It is alleged that the Jemdat Nasr levels at Telloh also yielded objects of lapis lazuli, including a fish amulet and a few beads. In all, over 30 lapis lazuli seals have been allocated to the Jemdat Nasr period. But there is some doubt about this attribution as similar designs occur as late as Early Dynastic III.
In summary, the archaeological evidence for the distribution of lapis lazuli artefacts in Mesopotamia during the 4th millennium B.C. shows an early, northern monopoly, followed by a southern takeover. The rise of the powerful southern city-states allowed them to monopolise the trade and exploit it fully. There was sufficient surplus which enabled them to export the stone even as far as Egypt (Herrmann, 1968: 36). This transfer of trade is also reflected in the Iranian sites. Connected to the early strata at Gawra are the Iranian Tepes Giyan, Sialk and Hissar. These stretch out in an easterly line across Iran (Roaf, 1990; map on pp. 64-65). Two lapis stamp seals were recovered in Giyan V C and a bead of the same material was recovered in Sialk III. In the Jemdat Nasr period, when the trade was controlled by the city states in southern Mesopotamia, the only site in Iran to continue developing on its own was Tepe Hissar, near the south-east corner of the Caspian Sea. Sialk III was sacked, and a new town rose on its ashes. There are very strong links between Susa and Sialk IV, both producing identical pottery, cylinder seals and Proto-Elamite tablete. The suggestion is that a strong ruler in Susa needed a far-flung trading outpost. Sialk IV has yielded an abundance of lapis lazuli beads, and the stone is also found at Susa. Some lapis has also been found at Hissar II A. The obvious conclusion is that Susa took over control of the trade routes through Sialk, and the precious goods were brought south to the city-states of southern Mesopotamia rather then west to Gawra in the north. In the Early Dynastic period there is a marked decline of lapis lazuli artefacts even in southern Mesopotamia. There must have been a disruption to the trading links that had repercussions as far west as Egypt in the Early Dynastic period. About the only Mesopotamian finds in E.D. I are confined to a few beads, and a seal from Kish.
The trade with Iran was restarted in E.D. II by Enmerkar, king of Uruk, who forced the state of Aratta to supply him with luxury goods, including lapis lazuli, and the story is told in a long epic. (Herrmann, 1968: 38-39) Following the resumption of trade, lapis has been found as a string of long and short beads in Grave 517 in the Y Cemetery at Kish, as an inlay at Khafajah and extensively as a foundation deposit in Ishtar Temple C at Mari. Herrmann (1968: 39) also describes 7 E.D. II seals from the region. But the greatest wealth of the stone is found in the E.D. III period, particularly at Ur, Kish, Diyala and Mari. The Royal tombs and Death Pits at Ur fall securely into this period. Lapis lazuli was widely used as a veneer or inlay, particularly on the Royal Standard, U.11164, and the other lyre-boxes. It was also applied to gaming boards and pieces, sceptres, toilet boxes, etc. Sometimes it was used to represent the pupils of a statues eyes, and sometimes the eyebrows. Horns and beards were frequently carved from the material, as in the famous Ram caught in a Thicket (Roaf, 1980: front cover). Even parts of the rams fleece are made of overlapping sections of the blue stone (Herrmann, 1968: 44). Also from Ur are a large number of finely engraved cylinder seals. Pliny was incorrect when he wrote that lapis lazuli is not suited for engraving when intersected with hard particles of a crystalline nature (Pliny: XXXVII xxxix 120). A wide variety of lapis lazuli amulets have been found; frogs, fish, calves, bulls, rams and ibex at Ur, a double-headed bull protome, a seated bull, an eagle and some frogs at Mari Larger pieces of lapis have been used as the handle of a dagger, as whetstones and as a spouted cup, all at Ur. During E.D. III Sargon founded his own capital city, Agade, on the Euphrates. According to the epic Curse of Agade its buildings were filled with gold, silver, copper, tin and lapis lazuli. At this point the finds at Ur are much decreased, leading
some scholars to suggest that lapis lazuli almost vanishes as a material for inlays and seals. But the confusion was probably due to the change of capital city. As Ur declined, so Agade flourished. The end of E.D. III more or less coincides with the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt. But even at Ur there are 55 Sargonid graves from the Royal Cemetery endowed with lapis lazuli grave gifts, either necklaces or seals (Hoffmann, 1968: 50). Outside Mesopotamia, lapis lazuli has been found at Naram Sins great frontier fortress at Tell Brak. The above descriptions of sites where lapis lazuli has been found need to be tied into some kind of chronology. Amlie Kuhrts books only briefly consider pre-history before 3000 B.C. but give a homogenous set of dates for the periods used here. The following table is based on her dates (Kuhrt, 1995: 22 and 129).
Date, B. C. 4000
Northern Mesopotamia Tepe Gawra
Southern Mesopotamia
Egypt
Early Uruk 3500 Late Uruk / Uruk IV Uruk III / Jemdet Nasr 3000 2900 2800 Early Dynastic I ED II Early Gerzean / Naqada II Protodynastic /Naqada II Dynasty I Dynasty II
2700 2600 2500 2400 2300
ED III Agade
Dynasty III Dynasty IV Dynasty V Dynasty VI
It would appear that Egypts trade in lapis lazuli depended on supplies reaching the dominant city-states of Mesopotamia. The lack of finds in Egypt during the Early Dynastic period tallies with a similar gap in the records in Sumer. The resumption of trade by Enmerkar of Uruk should more or less coincide with the finds in Egypt in the Old Kingdom proper, and can be counted as an early synchronism between the two regions.
References
Brunton, G. (1928) Qau and Badari II. London: British School of Archaeology in Egypt Brunton, G. (1937) Mostagedda and the Tasian Culture. London, Bernard Quaritch. Brunton, G. (1948) Matmar. London: Bernard Quaritch. Firth, C. M. and Gunn, B. (1926) Excavations at Saqqara: Teti Period Cemeteries, Vol. II, Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale Frankfort, H. (1939) Cylinder Seals: a documentary essay on the art and religion of the Ancient Near East. London: Macmillan Herrmann, Georgina (1968). Lapis Lazuli: The Early Phases of its Trade, in Iraq,
vol. XXX, pp. 21-57. London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq. Junker, H. (1944). Giza, band VII. Vienna: Hlder-Pichler-Tempsky Kuhrt, A. (1995) The Ancient Near East c. 3000 330 BC, vol. I. London: Routledge Oppenheim, L.(1970). Glass and Glassmaking in Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Corning. Payne, J. C. (1968). Lapis Lazuli in Early Egypt, in Iraq, vol. XXX, pp. 58-61. London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq. Petrie, W. M. F. (1898). Deshasheh. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. Petrie, W. M. F. (1901). Diospolis Parva. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. Petrie, W. M. F. and Quibell, J. E. (1900). Hierakonpolis, Part I. London: Egyptian Research Account. Pliny the Elder, The Natural History (eds. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A.) [Online] Available: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext? lookup=Plin.+Nat.+toc [30 May 2005] Quibell, J. E. and Green, F. W. (1902). Hierakonpolis, Part II. London: Egyptian Research Account. Reisner, G. A. and Smith, W. S. (1955), A History of Giza Necropolis, Part II. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press Roaf, M. (1980) Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. Oxford: Equinox. Rllig W.(1983). Lapislazuli. A Philologisch. Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archologie. Berlin von Rosen, Lissie (1988). Lapis Lazuli in Geological Contexts and in Ancient written Sources. Sweden: Paul strms. Shaw, I. (ed.) (2000). The Oxford History of Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Souvay, Charles L. (2004). Catholic Encyclopaedia. [On-line] Available: http:// www.newadvent.org/cathen/14304c.htm [10th April 2005] (1954) The Bible, Authorized Version. London: Oxford University Press. Ward, Susan (2004). Gemstones and Gemology. [On-line] Available: http://www. emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go340/corundum.htm [10th April 2005] Woolley, L (1929) Ur of the Chaldees. London: Pelican Books.

Yare - Discuss The Trade in Lapis Lazuli in The Old, Middle, Sip or New Kingdoms

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Discuss the trade in lapis lazuli in the Old, Middle, SIP OR New Kingdoms

Discuss the trade in lapis lazuli in the Old Kingdom.

Brian Yare 31st May 2005

http://www.yare.org/essays/Lapis%20Lazuli.htm (7 of 12) [21/10/2007 9.21.08]

Northern Mesopotamia Tepe Gawra

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2700 2600 2500 2400 2300

Dynasty III Dynasty IV Dynasty V Dynasty VI

http://www.yare.org/essays/Lapis%20Lazuli.htm (12 of 12) [21/10/2007 9.21.08]

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