Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli is one of the stones with the longest tradition of being considered a gem, with a history stretching back to 5000 BC. Deep blue in color and opaque, this gemstone was highly prized by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, as can be seen by its prominent use in many of the treasures recovered from pharaonic tombs. It is still extremely popular today.

Related Topics:
Gem - 5000 BC - Pharaohs - Egypt

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The finest lapis has traditionally come from the Badakshan area of Afghanistan. This source of lapis may be the oldest continually worked set of mines in the world, the same mines operating today having supplied the lapis of the pharaohs. More recently, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Afghani resistance fighters disassembled unexploded Russian landmines and ordnance and used the scavenged explosive to help mine lapis to further fund their resistance efforts.

Related Topics:
Badakshan - Afghanistan

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In addition to the Afghan deposits, lapis has been found in Pakistan and (in lower qualities) in the Andes Mountains of Chile.

Related Topics:
Pakistan - Andes - Chile

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Lapis is a rock and not a mineral because it is made up from various other minerals. To be a true mineral it would have one constituent only.

Related Topics:
Rock - Mineral

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The first part of the name is the Latin lapis, meaning stone. The second part, lazuli, is the genitive form of the medieval Latin lazulum, a loanword adapted from the Arabic (al-)lazward, itself a borrowed word from the Persian لاژورد lazhward. This was originally a place-name, but soon came to mean blue because of its association with the stone. The English word azure also derives from this source. Taken as a whole, lapis lazuli means stone of azure.

Related Topics:
Latin - Genitive - Arabic - Persian - English

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