gems, turquoise, Persia, Nishapur, Iran, Neishabur, Firuzeh, Northeast Iran, old mining

Turquoise, one of the ancient minerals, is known as Iran. The most famous and oldest turquoise mine in Iran is the Nishapur mine. Turquoise has been mined for seven thousand years. Although turquoise extraction in Nishapur initially took place at surface level using manual tools, it gradually expanded, and tunnels were constructed to follow the mineral veins, with extraction also carried out underground. Many sources mention the hammer and chisel as the tools used for extraction. In the 1950s, gunpowder was used for the first time in these mines. Although this increased the speed of mining, it reduced the value of the turquoise by diminishing the size of the stones extracted. Turquoise from Nishapur was mined by the government until the end of the Safavid period, following a regular and scientific method. However, with the start of the Qajar period, and the mining of the deposits by local governments and private individuals in a completely unscientific manner, these mines began to fall into ruin. The result was that by the end of the Qajar period, almost all the mines had been filled with water and rock, and Iranian turquoise gradually lost its place in the global markets. These beads date to the Neolithic period (6000 to 6750 years BC) belong to the Neolithic Age (6000 to 6750 BC) and indicate that turquoise mining in Iran is even much older than the instances mentioned. In Clavijo's travelogue, written in 1412 during the Safavid era, we read: 'Near Nishapur are the famous turquoise mines. The mine in the mountain is very dangerous; the remaining waste has been left in a very poor state with the help of stones and pieces of wood, and over the years many novice miners have been buried inside it. Good-coloured and large turquoise have been found in this mine, but their colour fades quickly and turns to a dirty green (Dirty Green) with white and grey spots. The turquoise from the Ardalan mine is not of good quality; in the Jewhar-nameh, a book written in the 7th century AH, its turquoise is described as the worst type of Nishapur turquoise. Due to the limited information available on turquoise mining methods in pre-Qajar sources, it is not possible to speak with certainty on the matter. However, based on the discussions by Juwahri Nishaburi (592 AH), it appears that the use of appropriate tools for breaking rock, such as a hammer and crowbar, was common practice in mining.