gems, turquoise, Iran, Persian turquoise

The passion for gemstones is as old as the beginnings of human civilization, and turquoise of gem quality was among the first and most coveted treasures of early mankind. Archaeological finds inform us of prospectors, caravans, merchants and goldsmiths specializing solely in turquoise, so strong was the desire for its charms among the pompous kings, priests and nobles — particularly the ladies — of ancient societies. The Pharaohs of the third dynasty of the Old Empire (ca. 2600 B.C.) sent their slaves to work the turquoise deposits of the Sinai Peninsula, the first such occurrences known to history. A very well-preserved stone relief from Maghareh depicts Pharaoh Sechemchet swinging a bludgeon over the head of a captured, kneeling Bedouin sheik. This picture demonstrates well the difficulties the Egyptians must have encountered with the inhabitants of those areas where the turquoise mines were situated. Archaeological investigations have disclosed their exact locations to have been in the deep wadies of Maghareh and Sarabit-el-Khadim in the dreadful desert east of the Red Sea.