LAPIS LAZULI SOURCES AND ITS DISTRIBUTION GEOGRAPHY

Аннотация

The study of the ancient sources of the lapis lazuli stone is one of the most important scientific directions in the history of the relations of the ancient oases of Central Asia with the Ancient Eastern civilizations. According to researches, The Badakhshan deposits in Afghanistan are commonly considered as the main source of lapis lazuli in ancient times. However, other quarries could have possibly been exploited since antiquity. In this article, through the analysis of lazurite finds which was found from the monuments of Ancient Eastern civilization (IVmillennium BC) and Sopolli culture(III-II millennium BC),It is provided information about the earliest and still existing deposits of lapis lazuli sources, as well as that the geography of distribution of lazurite which was mined from these deposits.