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169-476: The earliest Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions are mostly dated to between the mid-19th (early date) and the mid-16th (late date) century BC. The principal debate is between an early date, around 1850 BC, and a late date, around 1550 BC. The choice of one or the other date decides whether it is proto-Sinaitic or proto-Canaanite, and by extension locates the invention of the alphabet in Egypt or Canaan respectively. However,

338-515: A human skull as their base), knives , and shields . Natural resins , bitumen and wax were used to bond the turquoise to the objects' base material; this was usually wood , but bone and shell were also used. Like the Aztecs, the Pueblo , Navajo and Apache tribes cherished turquoise for its amuletic use; the latter tribe believe the stone to afford the archer dead aim. In Navajo culture it

507-474: A scarab motif, accompanied by carnelian , lapis lazuli , and in later pieces, coloured glass . Turquoise, associated with the goddess Hathor , was so liked by the Ancient Egyptians that it became (arguably ) the first gemstone to be imitated, the fair structure created by an artificial glazed ceramic product known as faience . The French conducted archaeological excavations of Egypt from

676-482: A binder used, meaning it is best described as a simulant rather than a synthetic). Gilson turquoise is made in both a uniform colour and with black "spiderweb matrix" veining not unlike the natural Nevada material. The most common imitation of turquoise encountered today is dyed howlite and magnesite , both white in their natural states, and the former also having natural (and convincing) black veining similar to that of turquoise. Dyed chalcedony , jasper , and marble

845-479: A bringer of good fortune or a talisman. The oldest evidence for this claim was found in Ancient Egypt , where grave furnishings with turquoise inlay were discovered, dating from approximately 3000 BCE. In the ancient Persian Empire , the sky-blue gemstones were earlier worn round the neck or wrist as protection against unnatural death. If they changed colour, the wearer was thought to have reason to fear

1014-452: A bronze tablet placed in some conspicuous position in the town concerned. The patron probably also kept a copy in his house, or had a portable tablet which would ensure his recognition and reception. Honorary inscriptions are extremely common in all parts of the Roman world. Sometimes they are placed on the bases of statues, sometimes in documents set up to record some particular benefaction or

1183-574: A building or other construction. The same applies to leaden water pipes which frequently bear dates and names of officials. Terracotta lamps also frequently have their makers' names and other information stamped upon them. Arms, and especially shields, sometimes bear the name and corps of their owners. Leaden discs were also used to serve the same purpose as modern identification discs. Inscriptions are also found on sling bullets – Roman as well as Greek; there are also numerous classes of tesserae or tickets of admission to theatres or other shows. As regards

1352-511: A child [Gardiner A17] or of dancing [Gardiner A32]. If the latter, h 1 and h 2 may be graphic variants (such as two hieroglyphs both used to write the Canaanite word hillul "jubilation") rather than different consonants. Brian Colless has published a translation of the text, in which some of the signs are treated as logograms (representing a whole word, not just a single consonant) or rebuses : Here, aleph , whose glyph depicts

1521-966: A decline in the Roman Catholic Church 's influence which allowed the use of turquoise in secular jewellery. It was apparently unknown in India until the Mughal period, and unknown in Japan until the 18th century. A common belief shared by many of these civilizations held that turquoise possessed certain prophylactic qualities; it was thought to change colour with the wearer's health and protect him or her from untoward forces. The Aztecs viewed turquoise as an embodiment of fire and gave it properties such as heat and smokiness. They inlaid turquoise, together with gold , quartz , malachite , jet , jade , coral , and shells , into provocative (and presumably ceremonial ) mosaic objects such as masks (some with

1690-410: A decree prescribes how and where the inscription should be set up. The formulae and preambles of such decrees vary considerably from place to place, and from period to period. Those of Athens are by far the most exactly known, owing to the immense number that have been discovered; and they are so strictly stereotyped that can be classified with the precision of algebraic formulae, and often dated to within

1859-406: A few years by this test alone. Very full lists for this purpose have been drawn up by epigraphist Wilhelm Larfeld, in his work on the subject. It is usual to record the year (by the name of the eponymous archon), the day of the month and of the prytany (or presiding commission according to tribes), various secretaries, the presiding officials and the proposer of the decree. It is also stated whether

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2028-402: A heated probe may give rise to the pungent smell so indicative of plastic. Differences in specific gravity , refractive index , light absorption (as evident in a material's absorption spectrum ), and other physical and optical properties are also considered as means of separation. Turquoise is treated to enhance both its colour and durability (increased hardness and decreased porosity ). As

2197-419: A historical perspective, are Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Maghareh , believed to be among the oldest of known mines. The former mine is situated about 4 kilometres from an ancient temple dedicated to the deity Hathor . The turquoise is found in sandstone that is, or was originally, overlain by basalt . Copper and iron workings are present in the area. Large-scale turquoise mining is not profitable today, but

2366-432: A minor source of turquoise for 3,000 years or more. Gem-quality material, in the form of compact nodules, is found in the fractured, silicified limestone of Yunxian and Zhushan , Hubei province. Additionally, Marco Polo reported turquoise found in present-day Sichuan . Most Chinese material is exported, but a few carvings worked in a manner similar to jade exist. In Tibet , gem-quality deposits purportedly exist in

2535-403: A preamble giving the names of the consulting magistrates, the place and conditions of the meeting; then comes the subject submitted for decision, ending with the formula QDERFP ( quid de ea re fieri placeret ); then comes the decision of the senate, opening with DERIC ( de ea re ita censuerunt ). C. is added at the end, to indicate that the decree was passed. In imperial times,

2704-514: A religious nature, as his model allowed an often recurring word to be reconstructed as l bʿl t , meaning "to Ba'alat" or more accurately, "to (the) Lady" – that is, the "lady" Hathor . Likewise, this allowed another recurring word m ʿ h bʿlt to be translated as "Beloved of (the) Lady", a reading which became very acceptable after the lemma was found carved underneath a hieroglyphic inscription which read "Beloved of Hathor, Lady of Turquoise". Gardiner's hypothesis allowed researchers to connect

2873-614: A result of the Spanish Conquest of Central America. However, recent work by Maya epigraphers and linguists has yielded a considerable amount of information on this complex writing system. Ancient writers state that the earliest laws of Athens were inscribed upon tablets of wood, put together in a pyramidal shape. These, owing to their material, have perished; but we have some very early codes of law preserved on stone, notably at Gortyna in Crete. Here an inscription of great length

3042-483: A script which other Semitic peoples of this region must be credited with knowing." Flinders Petrie , 1906, Researches in Sinai O my god, 「rescue」 [me] 「from」 the interior of the mine. ’l「ḫlṣ」[n]「b」t「k」nqb Text 350 Steliform rock panel column ii, left column gives a picture of the situation of the miners. According to William Albright, in his book "The Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions And Their Decipherment",

3211-652: A series of archaeological excavations in the Sinai Peninsula . During a dig at Serabit el-Khadim , an extremely lucrative turquoise mine used between the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasty and again between the Eighteenth and mid- Twentieth Dynasty , Petrie discovered a series of inscriptions at the site's massive invocative temple to Hathor , as well as some fragmentary inscriptions in the mines themselves. Petrie immediately recognized hieroglyphic characters in

3380-407: A statement of boundaries and a prohibition of violation or further use – for instance, H.M.H.N.S. ( hoc monumentum heredem non sequetur , this monument is not to pass to the heir). The person who has erected the monument and his relation to the deceased are often stated; or if a man has prepared the tomb in his lifetime, this also may be stated, V.S.F. ( vivus sibi fecit ). But there

3549-428: A typical turquoise deposit begins with hydrothermal deposition of copper sulfides . This takes place when hydrothermal fluids leach copper from a host rock, which is typically an intrusion of calc-alkaline rock with a moderate to high silica content that is relatively oxidized . The copper is redeposited in more concentrated form as a copper porphyry , in which veins of copper sulfide fill joints and fractures in

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3718-458: A uniform dark blue) and texture (usually granular or sugary). Glass and plastic will have a much greater translucency, with bubbles or flow lines often visible just below the surface. Staining between grain boundaries may be visible in dyed imitations. Some destructive tests may be necessary; for example, the application of diluted hydrochloric acid will cause the carbonates odontolite and magnesite to effervesce and howlite to turn green, while

3887-441: A wetting effect, thereby enhancing the colour and lustre. This treatment is more or less acceptable by tradition, especially because treated turquoise is usually of a higher grade to begin with. Oiled and waxed stones are prone to "sweating" under even gentle heat or if exposed to too much sun, and they may develop a white surface film or bloom over time. (With some skill, oil and wax treatments can be restored.) Since finer turquoise

4056-433: Is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium , with the chemical formula Cu Al 6 ( PO 4 ) 4 ( OH ) 8 ·4 H 2 O . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. Like most other opaque gems, turquoise has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics into the market. The robin egg blue or sky blue color of

4225-966: Is a separate field, palaeography . Epigraphy also differs from iconography , as it confines itself to meaningful symbols containing messages, rather than dealing with images. The science of epigraphy has been developing steadily since the 16th century. Principles of epigraphy vary culture by culture, and the infant science in Europe initially concentrated on Latin inscriptions. Individual contributions have been made by epigraphers such as Georg Fabricius (1516–1571); Stefano Antonio Morcelli (1737–1822); Luigi Gaetano Marini (1742–1815); August Wilhelm Zumpt (1815–1877); Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903); Emil Hübner (1834–1901); Franz Cumont (1868–1947); Louis Robert (1904–1985). The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum , begun by Mommsen and other scholars, has been published in Berlin since 1863, with wartime interruptions. It

4394-560: Is a summary of the life and achievements of Augustus, already mentioned, and known as the Monumentum Ancyranum . The various sets of Fasti constituted a record of the names of consuls, and other magistrates or high officials, and also of the triumphs accorded to conquering generals. These are probably the most numerous of all classes of inscriptions; and though many of them are of no great individual interest, they convey, when taken collectively, much valuable information as to

4563-447: Is an immense variety in the information that either a man himself or his friend may wish to record. Milliarium (milestones) have already been referred to, and may be regarded as records of the building of roads. Boundary stones ( termini ) are frequently found, both of public and private property. A well-known instance is offered by those set up by the commissioners called III. viri A.I.A. ( agris iudicandis adsignandis ) in

4732-433: Is concerned with arbitration between various states on various questions, mainly concerned with frontiers. In cases of dispute it was not uncommon for the two disputants to appoint a third party as arbitrator. Sometimes this third party was another State, sometimes a specified number of individuals. Thus, in a frontier dispute between Corinth and Epidaurus , 151 citizens of Megara were appointed by name to arbitrate, and when

4901-443: Is given but the name of the person who built or restored the edifice and a statement that he had done so. But later it was usual to give more detail as to the motive of the building, the name of the emperor or a magistrate giving the date, the authority for the building and the names and distinctions of the builders; then follows a description of the building, the source of the expenditure (e.g., S.P. , sua pecunia ) and finally

5070-503: Is incised on the slabs of a theatre-shaped structure in 12 columns of 50 lines each; it is mainly concerned with the law of inheritance, adoption, etc. Doubtless similar inscriptions were set up in many places in Greece. An interesting series of inscriptions deals with the conditions under which colonists were sent out from various cities, and the measures that were taken to secure their rights as citizens. A bronze tablet records in some detail

5239-490: Is inscriptions representing an idea or concept, may also be called ideography . The German equivalent Sinnbildforschung was a scientific discipline in the Third Reich , but was later dismissed as being highly ideological. Epigraphic research overlaps with the study of petroglyphs , which deals with specimens of pictographic , ideographic and logographic writing. The study of ancient handwriting , usually in ink,

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5408-435: Is less common, and much less convincing. Other natural materials occasionally confused with or used in lieu of turquoise include: variscite and faustite ; chrysocolla (especially when impregnating quartz ); lazulite ; smithsonite ; hemimorphite ; wardite ; and a fossil bone or tooth called odontolite or "bone turquoise", coloured blue naturally by the mineral vivianite . While rarely encountered today, odontolite

5577-510: Is nearly always cryptocrystalline and massive and assumes no definite external shape. Crystals, even at the microscopic scale, are rare. Typically the form is a vein or fracture filling, nodular, or botryoidal in habit . Stalactite forms have been reported. Turquoise may also pseudomorphously replace feldspar, apatite, other minerals, or even fossils . Odontolite is fossil bone or ivory that has historically been thought to have been altered by turquoise or similar phosphate minerals such as

5746-407: Is of a low grade (called "chalk turquoise"); high iron levels mean greens and yellows predominate, and a typically friable consistency in the turquoise's untreated state precludes use in jewelry . Arizona is currently the most important producer of turquoise by value. Several mines exist in the state, two of them famous for their unique colour and quality and considered the best in the industry:

5915-544: Is often found as thin seams, it may be glued to a base of stronger foreign material for reinforcement. These stones are termed "backed", and it is standard practice that all thinly cut turquoise in the Southwestern United States is backed. Native indigenous peoples of this region, because of their considerable use and wearing of turquoise, have found that backing increases the durability of thinly cut slabs and cabochons of turquoise. They observe that if

6084-468: Is restricted to a mine-riddled region in Nishapur , the 2,012 m (6,601 ft) mountain peak of Ali-mersai near Mashhad , the capital of Khorasan Province , Iran . Weathered and broken trachyte is host to the turquoise, which is found both in situ between layers of limonite and sandstone and amongst the scree at the mountain's base. These workings are the oldest known, together with those of

6253-428: Is so often the case with any precious stones, full disclosure about treatment is frequently not given. Gemologists can detect these treatments using a variety of testing methods, some of which are destructive, such as the use of a heated probe applied to an inconspicuous spot, which will reveal oil, wax or plastic treatment. Historically, light waxing and oiling were the first treatments used in ancient times, providing

6422-403: Is sometimes doubtful whether the name is that of the man who actually made the statue, or of the master whose work it reproduces. Thus there are two well-known copies of a statue of Hercules by Lysippus , of which one is said to be the work of Lysippus, and the other states that it was made by Glycon (see images) . Another kind of artist's or artificer's signature that is commoner in Roman times

6591-611: Is termed "bonded" or "stabilized" turquoise. This process consists of pressure impregnation of otherwise unsaleable chalky American material by epoxy and plastics (such as polystyrene ) and water glass (sodium silicate) to produce a wetting effect and improve durability. Plastic and water glass treatments are far more permanent and stable than waxing and oiling, and can be applied to material too chemically or physically unstable for oil or wax to provide sufficient improvement. Conversely, stabilization and bonding are rejected by some as too radical an alteration. The epoxy binding technique

6760-458: Is the cause of the beautiful bright green to yellow-green shades. Some of the green to green-yellow shades may actually be variscite or faustite , which are secondary phosphate minerals similar in appearance to turquoise. A significant portion of the Nevada material is also noted for its often attractive brown or black limonite veining, producing what is called "spiderweb matrix". While a number of

6929-482: Is the country's other major producer, with more than 120 mines which have yielded significant quantities of turquoise. Unlike elsewhere in the US, most Nevada mines have been worked primarily for their gem turquoise and very little has been recovered as a byproduct of other mining operations. Nevada turquoise is found as nuggets , fracture fillings and in breccias as the cement filling interstices between fragments. Because of

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7098-548: Is the largest and most extensive collection of Latin inscriptions. New fascicles are still produced as the recovery of inscriptions continues. The Corpus is arranged geographically: all inscriptions from Rome are contained in volume 6. This volume has the greatest number of inscriptions; volume 6, part 8, fascicle 3 was just recently published (2000). Specialists depend on such on-going series of volumes in which newly discovered inscriptions are published, often in Latin, not unlike

7267-421: Is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing ; it is the science of identifying graphemes , clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literary composition. A person using

7436-540: Is thought to be the location of the oldest mines; prior to the 1920s, the state was the country's largest producer; it is more or less exhausted today. Only one mine in California, located at Apache Canyon, operates at a commercial capacity today. The turquoise occurs as vein or seam fillings, and as compact nuggets; these are mostly small in size. While quite fine material is sometimes found, rivalling Iranian material in both colour and durability, most American turquoise

7605-423: Is to be found in the signatures of potters upon lamps and various kinds of vessels; they are usually impressed on the mould and stand out in relief on the terracotta or other material. These are of interest as giving much information as to the commercial spread of various kinds of handicrafts, and also as to the conditions under which they were manufactured. Many of these inscriptions might well be assigned to one of

7774-412: Is to search through a list of initials, such as those given by modern Latin epigraphists, until a formula is found which fits the context. Most of what has been said about Greek inscriptions applies to Roman also. The commonest materials in this case also are stone, marble and bronze; but a more extensive use is made of stamped bricks and tiles, which are often of historical value as identifying and dating

7943-440: Is treated only for porosity, the treatment is undetectable. The use of Prussian blue and other dyes (often in conjunction with bonding treatments) to "enhance” its appearance, make uniform or completely change the colour, is regarded as fraudulent by some purists, especially since some dyes may fade or rub off on the wearer. Dyes have also been used to darken the veins of turquoise. Material treated with plastic or water glass

8112-772: Is typically the most translucent, and under magnification, its surface structure is revealed to be peppered with dark blue discs not seen in material from other localities. The Southwest United States is a significant source of turquoise; Arizona , California ( San Bernardino , Imperial , Inyo counties), Colorado ( Conejos , El Paso , Lake , Saguache counties), New Mexico ( Eddy , Grant , Otero , Santa Fe counties) and Nevada ( Clark , Elko , Esmeralda County , Eureka , Lander , Mineral County and Nye counties) are (or were) especially rich. The deposits of California and New Mexico were mined by pre-Columbian Native Americans using stone tools, some local and some from as far away as central Mexico . Cerrillos , New Mexico

8281-464: Is typically waxy to subvitreous, and its transparency is usually opaque, but may be semitranslucent in thin sections. Colour is as variable as the mineral's other properties, ranging from white to a powder blue to a sky blue and from a blue-green to a yellowish green. The blue is attributed to idiochromatic copper while the green may be the result of iron impurities (replacing copper.) The refractive index of turquoise varies from 1.61 to 1.65 on

8450-474: Is used for "a spiritual protection and blessing." Among these peoples turquoise was used in mosaic inlay, in sculptural works, and was fashioned into toroidal beads and freeform pendants. The Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) of the Chaco Canyon and surrounding region are believed to have prospered greatly from their production and trading of turquoise objects. The distinctive silver jewellery produced by

8619-472: Is very important – namely, that common Syrian workmen, who could not command the skill of an Egyptian sculptor, were familiar with writing at 1500 B.C., and this a writing independent of hieroglyphics and cuneiform. It finally disproves the hypothesis that the Israelites, who came through this region into Egypt and passed back again, could not have used writing. Here we have common Syrian labourers possessing

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8788-538: The "tribute lists" , recording the quota paid to Athens by her subject allies during the 5th century BC. These throw much light on her relations with them at various periods.(Cf. Delian League ). An institution as to which our knowledge is mainly derived from inscriptions is the ephebic system at Athens. There are not only records of lists of ephebi and of their guardians and instructors, but also decrees in honour of their services, especially in taking their due part in religious and other ceremonies, and resolutions of

8957-646: The Augurs , the Fetiales , the Salii ; also the Sodales Divorum Augustorum in imperial times. The records of these colleges sometimes give no information beyond the names of members, but these are often of considerable interest. Haruspices and Luperci were of equestrian rank. Our information as to these is not mainly drawn from inscriptions and, therefore, they need not here be considered. On

9126-631: The Aztecs (and possibly other Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans ), Persia , Mesopotamia , the Indus Valley , and to some extent in ancient China since at least the Shang dynasty . Despite being one of the oldest gems, probably first introduced to Europe (through Turkey ) with other Silk Road novelties, turquoise did not become important as an ornamental stone in the West until the 14th century, following

9295-552: The Canaanite languages of the Late Bronze Age) who had been allowed to settle the eastern Delta. Most of the forty or so inscriptions have been found among much more numerous hieratic and hieroglyphic inscriptions, scratched on rocks near and in the turquoise mines and along the roads leading to the temple. The date of the inscriptions is mostly placed in the 17th or 16th century BC. An alternative view dates most of

9464-711: The Cerrillos Hills in New Mexico, are typical supergene deposits formed from copper porphyries. The deposits in Cochise County, Arizona , are found in Cambrian quartzites and geologically young granites and go down at least as deep as 54 meters (177 ft). Turquoise was among the first gems to be mined, and many historic sites have been depleted, though some are still worked to this day. These are all small-scale operations, often seasonal owing to

9633-547: The Cypriot syllabary , and Anatolian hieroglyphs . Then the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions were studied by Alan Gardiner who identified the word bʿlt "Lady" occurring several times in inscriptions, and also attempted to decipher other words. In the 1950s and 1960s, William Albright published interpretations of Proto-Sinaitic as the key to show the derivation of the Canaanite alphabet from hieratic . According to

9802-566: The Earth's surface ) percolates through the copper porphyry. Dissolved oxygen in the water oxidizes the copper sulfides to soluble sulfates, and the acidic, copper-laden solution then reacts with aluminum and potassium minerals in the host rock to precipitate turquoise. This typically fills veins in volcanic rock or phosphate-rich sediments. Deposition usually takes place at a relatively low temperature, 90–195 °C (194–383 °F), and seems to occur more readily in arid environments. Turquoise in

9971-521: The First Dynasty and possibly earlier; however, probably the most well-known pieces incorporating the gem are those recovered from Tutankhamun 's tomb, most notably the Pharaoh 's iconic burial mask which was liberally inlaid with the stone. It also adorned rings and great sweeping necklaces called pectorals . Set in gold, the gem was fashioned into beads, used as inlay, and often carved in

10140-472: The First Sealand dynasty , four of which have been identified as examples of Early Alphabetic inscriptions. Other probable examples of Early Alphabetic inscriptions include an ostracon from a tomb in western Thebes and a inscribed sherd from Lachish , both dating to the 15th century BC. In 2010, Stefan Wimmer published an inscription discovered at Timna Valley which he also identified as written in

10309-522: The Hellenistic Age , and later, the forms of independent government were, to a great extent, kept up, though little real power remained with the people. On the other hand, it is common thing to find letters from kings, and later from Roman emperors , inscribed and set up in public places. It was customary to inscribe on stone all records of the receipt, custody and expenditure of public money or treasure, so that citizens could verify for themselves

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10478-525: The James Ossuary . An epigraph (not to be confused with epigram ) is any sort of text, from a single grapheme (such as marks on a pot that abbreviate the name of the merchant who shipped commodities in the pot) to a lengthy document (such as a treatise, a work of literature, or a hagiographic inscription). Epigraphy overlaps other competences such as numismatics or palaeography . When compared to books, most inscriptions are short. The media and

10647-594: The Persian turquoise mined near the modern city of Nishapur , Iran , has been used as a guiding reference for evaluating turquoise quality. The word turquoise dates to the 17th century and is derived from the Old French turquois meaning "Turkish" because the mineral was first brought to Europe through the Ottoman Empire . However, according to Etymonline , the word dates to the 14th century with

10816-649: The Serabit el-Khadim proto-Sinaitic inscriptions , carved graffiti and votive texts from a mountain in the Sinai called Serabit el-Khadim and its temple to the Egyptian goddess Hathor ( ḥwt-ḥr ). The mountain contained turquoise mines which were visited by repeated expeditions over 800 years. Many of the workers and officials were from the Nile Delta , and included large numbers of Canaanites (i.e. speakers of an early form of Northwest Semitic ancestral to

10985-494: The Sinai Peninsula is found in lower Carboniferous sandstones overlain by basalt flows and upper Carboniferous limestone . The overlying beds were presumably the source of the copper, which precipitated as turquoise in nodules, horizontal seams, or vertical joints in the sandstone beds. The classical Iranian deposits are found in sandstones and limestones of Tertiary age were intruded by apatite -rich porphyritic trachytes and mafic rock. Supergene alteration fractured

11154-688: The Sinai Peninsula . Iran also has turquoise mines in Semnan and Kerman provinces. Since at least the First Dynasty (3000  BCE ) in ancient Egypt , and possibly before then, turquoise was used by the Egyptians and was mined by them in the Sinai Peninsula . This region was known as the Country of Turquoise by the native Monitu . There are six mines in the peninsula, all on its southwest coast, covering an area of some 650 km (250 sq mi). The two most important of these mines, from

11323-684: The "alphabet theory", the early Semitic proto-alphabet reflected in the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions would have given rise to both the Ancient South Arabian script and the Proto-Canaanite alphabet by the time of the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–1150 BC). For example, the hieroglyph for pr "house" (a rectangle partially open along one side, "O1" in Gardiner's sign list ) was adopted to write Semitic /b/ , after

11492-618: The 1980s to improve the stability of medium to high-grade turquoise. The process can be applied in several ways: either through deep penetration on rough turquoise to decrease porosity, by shallow treatment of finished turquoise to enhance color, or both. The treatment can enhance color and improve the turquoise's ability to take a polish. Such treated turquoise can be distinguished in some cases from natural turquoise, without destruction, by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy , which can detect its elevated potassium levels. In some instances, such as with already high-quality, low-porosity turquoise that

11661-660: The 1st and 2nd centuries  CE , including the Mora Well and Vasu Doorjamb inscriptions, represent significant contributions to the early use of Sanskrit, often linked to Hindu and Jaina traditions. The turning point in Sanskrit epigraphy came with the Rudradaman I inscription from the mid-2nd century CE, which established a poetic eulogy style later adopted during the Gupta Empire . This era saw Sanskrit become

11830-400: The 4th century CE onward. Indic scripts adapted for Sanskrit were found in regions like Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia, where they evolved into local scripts such as Khmer, Javanese, and Balinese. These inscriptions highlight the spread of Indian cultural and religious practices . Turquoise Turquoise is an opaque , blue-to-green mineral that

11999-563: The Acropolis held nothing but the names of Pericles himself and of the sculptor Kresilas . Later it became usual to give, in some detail, the reasons for the honours awarded; and in Hellenistic and Roman times, these became more and more detailed and fulsome in laudatory detail. These inscriptions are of special interest as throwing much light upon the history of art. The artist's name was usually, especially in earlier times, carved upon

12168-580: The American Southwest. The pre-Columbian Aztec and Maya also considered it to be a valuable and culturally important stone. The Egyptians were the first to produce an artificial imitation of turquoise, in the glazed earthenware product faience . Later glass and enamel were also used, and in modern times more sophisticated porcelain , plastics , and various assembled, pressed, bonded, and sintered products (composed of various copper and aluminium compounds) have been developed: examples of

12337-551: The British recruits, were sent as a measure of precaution to serve elsewhere; or, finally, at what epoch the empire grew weak enough to require the enlistment of barbarians from beyond its frontiers." There were many treaties between Rome and other states in republican times ; but we do not, as a rule, owe our knowledge of these to inscriptions, which are very rare in this earlier period. In imperial times, to which most Latin inscriptions belong, international relations were subject to

12506-456: The Greek anthology. In later times it becomes usual to give more elaborate praise of the deceased; but this is hardly ever so detailed and fulsome as on more modern tombstones. The age and other facts about the deceased are occasionally given, but not nearly so often as on Latin tombstones, which offer valuable statistical information in this respect. Latin inscriptions may be classified on much

12675-490: The Hellenistic and Roman times, when youths from all parts of the civilised world flocked to Athens as an intellectual centre, the ephebic system became a kind of cosmopolitan university. In addition to inscriptions which are concerned with the internal affairs of various cities, there are many others recording treaties or other agreements of an international character between various cities and states. These were incised on bronze or stone, and set up in places of public resort in

12844-563: The Native American style, or as tumbled or roughly hewn beads in chunky necklaces. Lesser material may be carved into fetishes , such as those crafted by the Zuni . While strong sky blues remain superior in value, mottled green and yellowish material is popular with artisans . In many cultures of the Old and New Worlds, this gemstone has been esteemed for thousands of years as a holy stone,

13013-601: The Navajo and other Southwestern Native American tribes today is a rather modern development, thought to date from around 1880 as a result of European influences. In Persia, turquoise was the de facto national stone for millennia, extensively used to decorate objects (from turbans to bridles ), mosques , and other important buildings both inside and out, such as the Medresseh-i Shah Husein Mosque of Isfahan . The Persian style and use of turquoise

13182-659: The Neo-Assyrian Period" (Sumerian and Akkadian inscriptions) and so forth. Egyptian hieroglyphs were solved using the Rosetta Stone , which was a multilingual stele in Classical Greek, Demotic Egyptian and Classical Egyptian hieroglyphs. The work was done by the French scholar, Jean-François Champollion , and the British scientist Thomas Young . The interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs was lost as

13351-612: The Nevada deposits were first worked by Native Americans, the total Nevada turquoise production since the 1870s has been estimated at more than 600 short tons (540 t), including nearly 400 short tons (360 t) from the Carico Lake mine. In spite of increased costs, small scale mining operations continue at a number of turquoise properties in Nevada, including the Godber, Orvil Jack and Carico Lake mines in Lander County,

13520-656: The Pilot Mountain Mine in Mineral County , and several properties in the Royston and Candelaria areas of Esmerelda County. In 1912, the first deposit of distinct, single-crystal turquoise was discovered at Lynch Station in Campbell County , Virginia . The crystals, forming a druse over the mother rock, are very small; 1 mm (0.04 in) is considered large. Until the 1980s Virginia

13689-578: The Sleeping Beauty Mine in Globe ceased turquoise mining in August 2012. The mine chose to send all ore to the crusher and to concentrate on copper production due to the rising price of copper on the world market. The price of natural untreated Sleeping Beauty turquoise has risen dramatically since the mine's closing. The Kingman Mine as of 2015 still operates alongside a copper mine outside of

13858-404: The approach of doom. Meanwhile, it has been discovered that the turquoise certainly can change colour, but that this is not necessarily a sign of impending danger. The change can be caused by the light, or by a chemical reaction brought about by cosmetics, dust or the acidity of the skin. The goddess Hathor was associated with turquoise, as she was the patroness of Serabit el-Khadim , where it

14027-710: The appropriate verb for the work done, whether building, restoring, enlarging or otherwise improving. Other details are sometimes added, such as the name of the man under whose direction the work was done. These vary greatly in content, and are among the most important documents concerning the administration of the Roman Empire. "They are numerous and of all sorts – tombstones of every degree, lists of soldiers' burial clubs, certificates of discharge from service, schedules of time-expired men, dedications of altars, records of building or of engineering works accomplished. The facts directly commemorated are rarely important." But when

14196-560: The arrangements of this sort made when Locrians established a colony in Naupactus ; another inscription relates to the Athenian colonisation of Salamis , in the 6th century BC. A very large number of inscriptions are in the form of decrees of various cities and peoples, even when their subject matter suggests that they should be classified under other headings. Almost all legislative and many administrative measures take this form; often

14365-509: The base of the pedestal of a statue, and consequently was easily separated from it if the statue was carried off or destroyed. A case where both statue and pedestal are preserved is offered by the Victory , signed on its pedestal by Paeonius at Olympia. Occasionally, and more frequently in later times, the artist's signature was carved upon some portion of the statue itself. But in later copies of well-known works, it has to be considered whether

14534-539: The biologists' Zoological Record – the raw material of history. Greek epigraphy has unfolded in the hands of a different team, with different corpora . There are two. The first is Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum of which four volumes came out, again at Berlin, 1825–1877. This marked a first attempt at a comprehensive publication of Greek inscriptions copied from all over the Greek-speaking world. Only advanced students still consult it, for better editions of

14703-721: The buyer on sale of the material. Turquoise prehistoric artifacts (beads) are known since the fifth millennium BCE from sites in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria – the source for the raw material is possibly related to the nearby Spahievo lead–zinc ore field. In Spain, turquoise has been found as a minor mineral in the variscite deposits exploited during prehistoric times in Palazuelos de las Cuevas (Zamora) and in Can Tintorer, Gavá (Barcelona). China has been

14872-640: The case of the Erechtheum , we have not only a detailed report on the unfinished state of the building in 409 BC, but also accounts of the expenditure and payments to the workmen employed in finishing it. Similar accounts have been preserved of the building of the Parthenon , spread over 15 years; in the case of both the Parthenon and the Erechtheum, there are included the payments made to those who made

15041-593: The categories already considered. But there are some which were expressly made to commemorate an important event, or to preserve a record. Among the most interesting is the inscription of the Columna Rostrata in Rome, which records the great naval victory of Gaius Duilius over the Carthaginians ; this, however, is not the original, but a later and somewhat modified version. A document of high importance

15210-419: The cities concerned, or in common religious centres such as Olympia and Delphi. The simplest form of treaty is merely an alliance for a certain term of years, usually with some penalty for any breach of the conditions. Often an oath was prescribed, to be taken by representatives on each side; it was also not unusual to appeal to the god in whose temple the treaty was exhibited. In other cases a list of gods by whom

15379-607: The city served by the proxenos , and record honours consequently conferred upon him. This class of inscription is in form not unlike the last, except that honours recorded are given for all sorts of services, private and public, to the State and to individuals. A frequent addition is an invitation to dine in the Prytaneum at Athens. Some are inscribed on the bases of statues set up to the recipient. In early times these inscriptions are usually brief and simple. The bust of Pericles on

15548-514: The city. Other mines include the Blue Bird mine, Castle Dome, and Ithaca Peak, but they are mostly inactive due to the high cost of operations and federal regulations. The Phelps Dodge Lavender Pit mine at Bisbee ceased operations in 1974 and never had a turquoise contractor. All Bisbee turquoise was "lunch pail" mined. It came out of the copper ore mine in miners' lunch pails. Morenci and Turquoise Peak are either inactive or depleted. Nevada

15717-454: The construction of some public work. The offices held by the person commemorated, and the distinctions conferred upon him are enumerated in a regularly established order ( cursus honorum ), either beginning with the lower and proceeding step by step to the higher, or in reverse order with the highest first. Religious and priestly offices are usually mentioned before civil and political ones. These might be exercised either in Rome itself, or in

15886-406: The contents of inscriptions, there must evidently be a considerable difference between records of a number of independent city states and an empire including almost all the civilised world; but municipalities maintained much of their independent traditions in Roman times, and consequently their inscriptions often follow the old formulas. The classification of Roman inscriptions may, therefore, follow

16055-738: The decision was disputed, 31 from among them revised and confirmed it. In all such cases it was the custom for a full record to be preserved on stone and set up in the places concerned. In this case the initiative in referring the matter to arbitration came from the Achaean League . A very large class of inscriptions deals with the institution of proxenia . According to this a citizen of any State might be appointed proxenos of another State; his duties would then be to offer help and hospitality to any citizen of that other State who might be visiting his city, and to assist him in any dispute or in securing his legal rights. The office has been compared to

16224-451: The deeds and administration of Augustus , which was reproduced and set up in many places; it is generally known as the Monumentum Ancyranum , because the most complete copy of it was found at Ancyra . The Marmor Parium at Oxford , found in Paros , is a chronological record of Greek history, probably made for educational purposes, and valuable as giving the traditional dates of events from

16393-453: The deposits are sporadically quarried by Bedouin peoples using homemade gunpowder . In the rainy winter months, miners face a risk from flash flooding ; even in the dry season, death from the collapse of the haphazardly exploited sandstone mine walls may occur. The colour of Sinai material is typically greener than that of Iranian material but is thought to be stable and fairly durable. Often referred to as "Egyptian turquoise", Sinai material

16562-613: The discovery in 1999 of the two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions, found in Middle Egypt by John and Deborah Darnell . The Wadi el-Hol inscriptions strongly suggest a date of development of Proto-Sinaitic writing from the mid-19th to 18th centuries BC. "I am disposed to see in this one of the many alphabets which were in use in the Mediterranean lands long before the fixed alphabet selected by the Phoenicians. A mass of signs

16731-818: The discovery of the two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions near the Nile River suggests that the script originated in Egypt. The evolution of Proto-Sinaitic and the small number of Proto-Canaanite inscriptions from the Bronze Age is based on rather scant epigraphic evidence; it is only with the Bronze Age collapse and the rise of new Semitic kingdoms in the Levant that Proto-Canaanite is clearly attested ( Byblos inscriptions 10th–8th century BC, Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription c.  10th century BC ). The first published group of Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions were discovered in

16900-517: The distribution and transference of population, as to trades and professions, as to health and longevity, and as to many other conditions of ancient life. The most interesting early series is that on the tombs of the Scipios at Rome, recording, mostly in Saturnian Metre , the exploits and distinctions of the various members of that family. About the end of the republic and the beginning of

17069-652: The earliest time down. This is by far the most numerous class of inscriptions, both Greek and Latin. In early times there is often no record beyond the name of the deceased in Athens, often with the name of his father and his deme . Sometimes a word or two of conventional praise is added, such as "a good and wise man". Occasionally the circumstances of death are alluded to, especially if it took place in battle or at sea. Such epitaphs were frequently in metrical form , usually either hexameter or elegiacs . Many of them have been collected, and they form an interesting addition to

17238-401: The emperor sometimes addressed a speech to the senate, advising them to pass certain resolutions, or else, especially in later times, gave orders or instructions directly, either on his own initiative or in response to questions or references. The number and variety of such orders is such that no classification of them can be given here. One of the most famous is the edict of Diocletian , fixing

17407-520: The empire, it became customary to head a tombstone with the letters D.M. or D.M.S. ( Dis Manibus sacrum ), thus consecrating the tomb to the deceased as having become members of the body of ghosts or spirits of the dead . These are followed by the name of the deceased, usually with his father's name and his tribe, by his honours and distinctions, sometimes by a record of his age. The inscription often concludes with H.I. ( Hic iacet ), or some similar formula, and also, frequently, with

17576-463: The ephebi themselves in honour of their officials. It is possible to trace in the inscriptions, which range over several centuries, how what was originally a system of physical and military training for Athenian youths from age of 18 to 20, with outpost and police duties, was gradually transformed. In later times there were added to the instructors in military exercises others who gave lectures on what we should now call arts and science subjects; so that in

17745-412: The events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practised by the same person. Epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures. The US Library of Congress classifies epigraphy as one of the auxiliary sciences of history . Epigraphy also helps identify a forgery : epigraphic evidence formed part of the discussion concerning

17914-552: The first consonant of baytu , the Semitic word for "house". A transitional stage between Proto-Canaanite and Old Phoenician (1000–800 BC) has been proposed by authors such as Werner Pichler as the origin of the Libyco-Berber script used among Ancient Libyans (i.e. Proto-Berbers ) – citing common similarities to both Proto-Canaanite proper and its early North Arabian descendants. The Sinai inscriptions are best known from

18083-473: The first inscriptions in the category now known as Proto-Sinaitic were discovered and copied by E.H Palmer in Wadi Magharah during the winter of 1868–1869. His text was not published until 1904. However, E.H. Palmer notes that he was not the first, others had done work before him and as such his work was more of a "Re-discovery". In the winter of 1905, Flinders Petrie and his wife Hilda were conducting

18252-461: The form turkeis , meaning "Turkish", which was replaced with turqueise from French in the 1560s. According to the same source, the gemstone was first brought to Europe from Turkestan or another Turkic territory. Pliny the Elder referred to the mineral as callais (from Ancient Greek κάλαϊς ) and the Aztecs knew it as chalchihuitl . In professional mineralogy, until the mid-19th century,

18421-444: The form of a message from the magistrates, stating the authority on which they acted. Laws all follow a fixed formula, according to the body which has passed them. First there is a statement that the legislative body was consulted by the appropriate magistrate in due form; then follows the text of the law; and finally the sanction, the statement that the law was passed. In decrees of the senate the formula differs somewhat. They begin with

18590-399: The forms of the graphemes are diverse: engravings in stone or metal, scratches on rock, impressions in wax, embossing on cast metal, cameo or intaglio on precious stones, painting on ceramic or in fresco . Typically the material is durable, but the durability might be an accident of circumstance, such as the baking of a clay tablet in a conflagration. The character of the writing,

18759-453: The geology of the Nevada deposits, a majority of the material produced is hard and dense, being of sufficient quality that no treatment or enhancement is required. While nearly every county in the state has yielded some turquoise, the chief producers are in Lander and Esmeralda counties . Most of the turquoise deposits in Nevada occur along a wide belt of tectonic activity that coincides with

18928-479: The goddess Hathor involving inebriation. Archaeological excavations at the site of Umm el-Marra have uncovered four inscribed clay cylinders dating to ca. 2300 BC and whose incisions have been hypothesized to be Early Alphabetic Semitic writing, which would make them the oldest such examples. In 2009, Stephanie Dalley published a number of tablets from the Schøyen Collection dating to the times of

19097-438: The head of an ox, is a logogram used to represent the word "ox" ( * ʾa lp ), he , whose glyph depicts a man in celebration, is a logogram for the words "celebration" ( * h illul ) and "she/her" ( h iʾ‎ ‍ ), and resh , whose glyph depicts a man's head, is a logogram for the word "utmost/greatest" ( * r aʾš ). This interpretation fits into the pattern in some of the surrounding Egyptian inscriptions, with celebrations for

19266-480: The highest to those of senatorial rank, the next to those of equestrian status ; many minor offices, both in Rome and in the provinces, are enumerated in their due order. Among the most interesting of these is the ancient song and accompanying dance performed by the priests known as the Arval Brothers . This is, however, not in the form of a ritual prescription, but a detailed record of the due performance of

19435-401: The inexperienced student. Often the same initial may have many different meanings according to the context. Some common formulae such as V.S.L.M. ( votum solvit libens merito ), or H.M.H.N.S. ( hoc monumentum heredem non sequetur ) offer little difficulty, but there are many which are not so obvious and leave room for conjecture. Often the only way to determine the meaning

19604-547: The information from hundreds of such inscriptions is collected together, "you can trace the whole policy of the Imperial Government in the matter of recruiting, to what extent and till what date legionaries were raised in Italy; what contingents for various branches of the service were drawn from the provinces, and which provinces provided most; how far provincials garrisoned their own countries, and which of them, like

19773-512: The inscriptions to the reign of Amenemhat III or his successor circa 1800 BC. It has been suggested that the dating period includes the reign of pharaoh Senwosret III . Four inscriptions have been found in the temple, on two small human statues and on either side of a small stone sphinx . They are crudely done, suggesting that the workers who made them were illiterate apart from this script. The two Wadi el-Hol inscriptions ( Arabic : وادي الهول Wādī al-Hawl 'Ravine of Terror') were carved on

19942-476: The inscriptions, but upon closer inspection realized the script was not the combination of logograms and syllabics as in Egyptian script proper. He thus assumed that the inscriptions showed a script that the turquoise miners had devised themselves, using linear signs that they had borrowed from hieroglyphics. He published his findings in London the following year. Ten years later, in 1916, Alan Gardiner , one of

20111-477: The iron phosphate vivianite . Intergrowth with other secondary copper minerals such as chrysocolla is also common. Turquoise is distinguished from chrysocolla, the only common mineral with similar properties, by its greater hardness. Turquoise forms a complete solid solution series with chalcosiderite , CuFe 6 (PO 4 ) 4 (OH) 8 ·4H 2 O , in which ferric iron replaces aluminium. Turquoise deposits probably form in more than one way. However,

20280-412: The latter include "Viennese turquoise", made from precipitated aluminium phosphate coloured by copper oleate ; and "neolith", a mixture of bayerite and copper(II) phosphate . Most of these products differ markedly from natural turquoise in both physical and chemical properties, but in 1972 Pierre Gilson introduced one fairly close to a true synthetic (it does differ in chemical composition owing to

20449-511: The letters of the inscriptions to modern Semitic alphabets, and resulted in the inscriptions becoming much more readable, leading to the immediate acceptance of his hypothesis. The letters of the earliest script used for Semitic languages were derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the 19th century, the theory of Egyptian origin competed alongside other theories that the Phoenician script developed from Akkadian cuneiform , Cretan hieroglyphs ,

20618-487: The limited scope and remoteness of the deposits. Most are worked by hand with little or no mechanization. However, turquoise is often recovered as a byproduct of large-scale copper mining operations, especially in the United States. Deposits typically take the form of small veins in partially decomposed volcanic rock in arid climates. Iran has been an important source of turquoise for at least 2,000 years. It

20787-590: The methods of epigraphy is called an epigrapher or epigraphist . For example, the Behistun inscription is an official document of the Achaemenid Empire engraved on native rock at a location in Iran . Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and finding any relevant circumstances. It is the work of historians , however, to determine and interpret

20956-462: The mid-19th century through the early 20th. These excavations, including that of Tutankhamun's tomb, created great public interest in the western world, subsequently influencing jewellery, architecture , and art of the time. Turquoise, already favoured for its pastel shades since around 1810, was a staple of Egyptian Revival pieces. In contemporary Western use, turquoise is most often encountered cut en cabochon in silver rings, bracelets, often in

21125-407: The modern appointment of consuls , with the essential difference that the proxenos is always a citizen of the state in which he resides, not of that whose citizens and interests he assists. The decrees upon this matter frequently record the appointment of a proxenos , and the conferring on him of certain benefits and privileges in return for his services; they also contain resolutions of thanks from

21294-422: The mountains of Derge and Nagari-Khorsum in the east and west of the region respectively. Other notable localities include: Afghanistan ; Australia ( Victoria and Queensland ); north India ; northern Chile ( Chuquicamata ); Cornwall ; Saxony ; Silesia ; and Turkestan . The pastel shades of turquoise have endeared it to many great cultures of antiquity: it has adorned the rulers of Ancient Egypt ,

21463-420: The name is that of the original artist or of the copyist who reproduced his work. (see for example, the statue of Hercules/Heracles below) A special class of artists' signatures is offered by the names signed by Attic and other vase painters upon their vases. These have been made the basis of a minute historical and stylistic study of the work of these painters, and unsigned vases also have been grouped with

21632-421: The other hand, the word lex (law) is usually applied to all decrees of the senate or other bodies, whether of legislative or of administrative character. It is therefore, best to consider all together under the heading of public decrees. A certain number of these dating from republican times are of considerable interest. One of the earliest relates to the prohibition of bacchanalian orgies in Italy; it takes

21801-474: The predominant language for royal and religious records, documenting donations, public works, and the glorification of rulers. In South India, inscriptions such as those from Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati illustrate early use in Buddhist and Shaivite contexts, transitioning to exclusive Sanskrit use from the 4th century CE. Sanskrit inscriptions extended beyond South Asia, influencing Southeast Asia from

21970-419: The premier Egyptologists of the early and mid-20th century, published his own interpretation of Petrie's findings, arguing that the glyphs appeared to be early versions of the signs used for later Semitic languages such as Phoenician , and was able to assign sound values and reconstructed names to some of the letters by assuming they represented what would later become the common Semitic abjad . One example

22139-620: The prices of all commodities . Copies of this in Greek as well as in Latin have been found in various parts of the Roman Empire . A very large number of inscriptions record the construction or repair of public buildings by private individuals, by magistrates, Roman or provincial, and by emperors. In addition to the dedication of temples, we find inscriptions recording the construction of aqueducts , roads, especially on milestones , baths, basilicas , porticos and many other works of public utility. In inscriptions of early period often nothing

22308-417: The proto-Sinaitic writing, although he also noted that its authenticity is not certain. Below is a table synoptically showing selected Proto-Sinaitic signs and the proposed correspondences with Phoenician letters and Egyptian hieroglyphs. A full repertoire of the currently known letterforms can be found on pages 8 and 9 here: https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19299-revisiting-proto-sinaitic.pdf . Also shown are

22477-407: The reconstructed sound values and names. 𓃻 /ɬ/? ʾ b g d h w z ḥ ṭ y k l m n s ʿ p ṣ q r š Epigraphy Epigraphy (from Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή ( epigraphḗ )  'inscription')

22646-434: The resolution is passed by the senate ( Boule ) or the assembly of the people ( Ecclesia ), or both. The circumstances or the reason of the resolution are then given, and finally the decision itself. Some other cities followed Athens in the form of their decrees, with such local variations as were required; others were more independent in their development, and different magistracies or forms of government had various results. In

22815-530: The rite. An important class of documents is the series of calendars that have been found in Rome and in the various Italian towns. These give notice of religious festivals and anniversaries, and also of the days available for various purposes. The various colleges for religious purposes were very numerous. Many of them, both in Rome and Italy, and in provincial municipalities, were of the nature of priesthoods. Some were regarded as offices of high distinction and were open only to men of senatorial rank; among these were

22984-591: The rock and converted some of the minerals in the rock to alunite , which freed aluminum and phosphate to combine with copper from oxidized copper sulfides to form turquoise. This process took place at a relatively shallow depth, and by 1965 the mines had "bottomed" at a depth averaging just 9 meters (30 ft) below the surface. Turquoise deposits are widespread in North America. Some deposits, such as those of Saguache and Conejos Counties in Colorado or

23153-416: The rock. Deposition takes place mostly in the potassic alteration zone, which is characterized by conversion of existing feldspar to potassium feldspar and deposition of quartz and micas at a temperature of 400–600 °C (752–1,112 °F) Turquoise is a secondary or supergene mineral, not present in the original copper porphyry. It forms when meteoric water (rain or snow melt infiltrating

23322-422: The safety and due control of the State in all financial matters. As in the case of temple accounts, it was usual for each temporary board of officials to render to their successors an account of their stewardship, and of the resources and treasures which they handed over. In all cases of public works, the expenditure was ordered by the State, and detailed reports were drawn up and inscribed on stone at intervals while

23491-603: The same lines as Greek; but certain broad distinctions may be drawn at the outset. They are generally more standardised as to form and as to content, not only in Rome and Italy, but also throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire . One of the chief difficulties in deciphering Latin Inscriptions lies in the very extensive use of initials and abbreviations . These are of great number and variety, and while some of them can be easily interpreted as belonging to well-known formulae, others offer considerable difficulty, especially to

23660-407: The same lines as the Greek, except that certain categories are absent, and that some others, not found in Greek, are of considerable importance. These are very numerous; and the custom of placing the name of the dedicator in a conspicuous place on the building was prevalent, especially in the case of dedications by emperors or officials, or by public bodies. Restoration or repair was often recorded in

23829-415: The same manner. In the case of small objects the dedication is usually simple in form; it usually contains the name of the god or other recipient and of the donor, and a common formula is D.D. ( dedit, donavit ) often with additions such as L.M. ( libens merito ). Such dedications are often the result of a vow, and V.S. ( votum solvit ) is therefore often added. Bequests made under

23998-630: The scientific names kalaite or azure spar were also used, which simultaneously provided a version of the mineral origin of turquoise. However, these terms did not become widespread and gradually fell out of use. The finest of turquoise reaches a maximum Mohs hardness of just under 6, or slightly more than window glass . Characteristically a cryptocrystalline mineral, turquoise almost never forms single crystals , and all of its properties are highly variable. X-ray diffraction testing shows its crystal system to be triclinic . With lower hardness comes greater porosity . The lustre of turquoise

24167-503: The sculptures. Naval and military expenditure is also fully accounted for; among other information there are records of the galley -slips at the different harbours of the Piraeus, and of the ships of the Athenian navy, with their names and condition. In short, there is no department of state economy and financial administration that is not abundantly illustrated by the record of inscriptions. A set of records of high historical value are

24336-427: The signed ones, so as to make an exact and detailed record of this branch of Greek artistic production. The great majority of these fall into one of the classes already referred to. But there are some instances in which an inscription is set up merely as a record. For instance, a victor in athletic or other contests may set up a list of his victories. The most famous historical record is the autobiographical account of

24505-407: The silver and gold jewellery of Tibet and Mongolia , where a greener hue is said to be preferred. Most of the pieces made today, with turquoise usually roughly polished into irregular cabochons set simply in silver, are meant for inexpensive export to Western markets and are probably not accurate representations of the original style. The Ancient Egyptian use of turquoise stretches back as far as

24674-457: The state's zone of thrust faulting . It strikes at a bearing of about 15° and extends from the northern part of Elko County , southward down to the California border southwest of Tonopah . Nevada has produced a wide diversity of colours and mixes of different matrix patterns, with turquoise from Nevada coming in various shades of blue, blue-green, and green. Some of this unusually-coloured turquoise may contain significant zinc and iron , which

24843-480: The stone is not backed it will often crack. Backing of turquoise is not widely known outside of the Native American and Southwestern United States jewellery trade. Backing does not diminish the value of high quality turquoise, and indeed the process is expected for most thinly cut American commercial gemstones. A proprietary process was created by electrical engineer and turquoise dealer James E. Zachery in

25012-528: The stone sides of an ancient high-desert military and trade road linking Thebes and Abydos , in the heart of literate Egypt. They have been dated to somewhere between 1900 and 1800 BC. They are in a wadi in the Qena bend of the Nile, at approx. 25°57′N 32°25′E  /  25.950°N 32.417°E  / 25.950; 32.417 , among dozens of hieratic and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Rock inscriptions in

25181-605: The subject of epigraphy, is a matter quite separate from the nature of the text, which is studied in itself. Texts inscribed in stone are usually for public view and so they are essentially different from the written texts of each culture. Not all inscribed texts are public, however: in Mycenaean Greece the deciphered texts of " Linear B " were revealed to be largely used for economic and administrative record keeping. Informal inscribed texts are " graffiti " in its original sense. The study of ideographic inscriptions , that

25350-748: The texts have superseded it. The second, modern corpus is Inscriptiones Graecae arranged geographically under categories: decrees, catalogues, honorary titles, funeral inscriptions, various, all presented in Latin, to preserve the international neutrality of the field of classics . Other such series include the Corpus Inscriptionum Etruscarum (Etruscan inscriptions), Corpus Inscriptionum Crucesignatorum Terrae Sanctae (Crusaders' inscriptions), Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum (Celtic inscriptions), Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum (Iranian inscriptions), "Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia" and "Royal Inscriptions of

25519-461: The three crystal axes, with birefringence 0.040, biaxial positive, as measured from rare single crystals. Crushed turquoise is soluble in hot hydrochloric acid . Its streak is white to greenish to blue, and its fracture is smooth to conchoidal . Despite its low hardness relative to other gems, turquoise takes a good polish. Turquoise may also be peppered with flecks of pyrite or interspersed with dark, spidery limonite veining. Turquoise

25688-654: The time of the Gracchi . Sanskrit epigraphy is the study of ancient inscriptions in Sanskrit . The inscriptions offer insight into the linguistic , cultural , and historical evolution of South Asia and its neighbors. Early inscriptions , such as those from the 1st century  BCE in Ayodhya and Hathibada , are written in Brahmi script and reflect the transition to classical Sanskrit . The Mathura inscriptions from

25857-575: The trade reconstituted turquoise is often called "block turquoise" or simply "block". Hardness and richness of colour are two of the major factors in determining the value of turquoise; while colour is a matter of individual taste, generally speaking, the most desirable is a strong sky to robin egg blue (in reference to the eggs of the American robin ). Whatever the colour, for many applications, turquoise should not be soft or chalky; even if treated, such lesser material (to which most turquoise belongs)

26026-413: The two parties must swear is prescribed. Commercial clauses were sometimes added to treaties of alliance, and commercial treaties are also found, agreeing as to the export and import of merchandise and other things. In later days, especially in the time of the Hellenistic kings, treaties tend to become more complicated and detailed in their provisions. Another series of records of great historical interest

26195-400: The universal domination of Rome, and consequently the documents relating to them are concerned with reference to the central authority, and often take the form of orders from the emperor. This custom belonged to Greece. What most nearly corresponded to it in Roman times was the adoption of some distinguished Roman as its patron , by a city or state. The relation was then recorded, usually on

26364-463: The valley appear to show the oldest examples of phonetic alphabetic writing discovered to date. The inscriptions are graphically very similar to the Serabit inscriptions, but show a greater hieroglyphic influence, such as a glyph for a man that was apparently not read alphabetically: The first of these ( h 1 ) is a figure of celebration [Gardiner A28], whereas the second ( h 2 ) is either that of

26533-435: The various municipalities of the empire. There was also a distinction drawn between offices that might be held only by persons of senatorial rank, those that were assigned to persons of equestrian rank, and those of a less distinguished kind. It follows that when only a portion of an inscription has been found, it is often possible to restore the whole in accordance with the accepted order. When these are attached to statues, it

26702-468: The wills of rich citizens are frequently recorded by inscriptions; these might either be for religious or for social purposes. A priesthood was frequently a political office and consequently is mentioned along with political honours in the list of a man's distinctions. The priesthoods that a man had held are usually mentioned first in inscriptions before his civil offices and distinctions. Religious offices, as well as civil, were restricted to certain classes,

26871-531: The winter of 1904–1905 in Sinai by Hilda and Flinders Petrie . These ten inscriptions, plus an eleventh published by Raymond Weill in 1904 from the 1868 notes of Edward Henry Palmer , were reviewed in detail, and numbered (as 345–355), by Alan Gardiner in 1916. To this were added a number of short Proto-Canaanite inscriptions found in Canaan and dated to between the 17th and 15th centuries BC, and more recently,

27040-465: The work was being carried out. In many cases there is a detailed specification of building work which makes it possible, not only to realise all the technical details and processes employed, but also the whole plan and structure of a building. A notable instance is the arsenal of Philon at the Peiraeus which has been completely reconstructed on paper by architects from the building specification. In

27209-569: The workmen employed by the Egyptians, probably the Aamu or Retennu – Syrians – who are often named, had this system of linear signs which we have found; they naturally mixed many hieroglyphs with it, borrowed from their masters. And here we have the result, at a date some five centuries before the oldest Phoenician writing that is known. Such seems to be the conclusion that we must reach from the external evidence that we can trace. The ulterior conclusion

27378-480: Was first developed in the 1950s and has been attributed to Colbaugh Processing of Arizona, a company that still operates today. Perhaps the most extreme of treatments is "reconstitution", wherein fragments of fine turquoise material, too small to be used individually, are powdered and then bonded with resin to form a solid mass. Very often the material sold as "reconstituted turquoise" is artificial , with little or no natural stone, made entirely from resins and dyes. In

27547-523: Was initially named by Iranians " pērōzah " meaning "victory", and later the Arabs called it " fayrūzah ", which is pronounced in Modern Persian as " fīrūzeh ". In Iranian architecture, the blue turquoise was used to cover the domes of palaces because its intense blue colour was also a symbol of heaven on earth. This deposit is blue naturally and turns green when heated due to dehydration. It

27716-592: Was later brought to India following the establishment of the Mughal Empire there, its influence seen in high purity gold jewellery (together with ruby and diamond ) and in such buildings as the Taj Mahal . Persian turquoise was often engraved with devotional words in Arabic script which was then inlaid with gold. Cabochons of imported turquoise, along with coral, was (and still is) used extensively in

27885-535: Was mined. Her titles included "Lady of Turquoise", "Mistress of Turquoise", and "Lady of Turquoise Country". In Western culture, turquoise is also the traditional birthstone for those born in the month of December. The turquoise is also a stone in the Jewish High Priest 's breastplate , described in Exodus chapter 28. The stone is also considered sacred to the indigenous Zuni and Pueblo peoples of

28054-504: Was once mined in large quantities—specifically for its use as a substitute for turquoise—in southern France . These fakes are detected by gemologists using a number of tests, relying primarily on non-destructive, close examination of surface structure under magnification; a featureless, pale blue background peppered by flecks or spots of whitish material is the typical surface appearance of natural turquoise, while manufactured imitations will appear radically different in both colour (usually

28223-404: Was the character [REDACTED] , to which Gardiner assigned the ⟨b⟩ sound, on the grounds that it derived from the Egyptian glyph for 'house' [REDACTED] , and was very similar to the Phoenician letter [REDACTED] bet , whose name derives from the Semitic word for “house”, bayt . Using his hypothesis, Gardiner was able to affirm Petrie's hypothesis that the mystery inscriptions were of

28392-523: Was used continuously from 6,000 or 7,000 B.C., until out of it was crystallized the alphabets of the Mediterranean – the Karians and Celtiberians preserving the greatest number of signs, the Semites and Phoenicans keeping fewer... The two systems of writing, pictorial and linear, which Dr. Evans has found to have been used in Crete, long before the Phoenician age, show how several systems were in use. Some of

28561-550: Was widely thought to be the only source of distinct crystals; there are now at least 27 other localities. In an attempt to recoup profits and meet demand, some American turquoise is treated or enhanced to a certain degree. These treatments include innocuous waxing and more controversial procedures, such as dyeing and impregnation (see Treatments ). There are some American mines which produce materials of high enough quality that no treatment or alterations are required. Any such treatments which have been performed should be disclosed to

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