Gold has different shades of colour depending on the specific impurities. These can indicate region of origin. Golds level of purity also dictates it's hardness. Finest gold would not be well suited to functional items but would be good for hammering extremely thin to overlay.
" The textual evidence for the sources of gold used in Mesopotamia is irregular. The Sumerian texts name Aratta as a source while the Gudea records mention both the mountain of Ḫaḫḫum, near Samsat in modern Turkey, and Meluḫḫa. Other texts refer to a perhaps mythical place known as (Ḫ)arallu, supposedly located in the hinterland of Iran, as a source of gold. Other possible sources are named by Shu-Sin, such as 'Su-land', most likely in western Iran, and (Mar)daman in south-eastern Turkey. Texts referring to Dilmun mention that gold is traveling to Ur up the Gulf, perhaps originating in Meluḫḫa"
Gold has different shades of colour depending on the specific impurities. These can indicate region of origin. Golds level of purity also dictates it's hardness. Finest gold would not be well suited to functional items but would be good for hammering extremely thin to overlay.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored_gold
ReplyDelete" The textual evidence for the sources of gold used in Mesopotamia is irregular. The Sumerian texts name Aratta as a source while the Gudea records mention both the mountain of Ḫaḫḫum, near Samsat in modern Turkey, and Meluḫḫa. Other texts refer to a perhaps mythical place known as (Ḫ)arallu, supposedly located in the hinterland of Iran, as a source of gold. Other possible sources are named by Shu-Sin, such as 'Su-land', most likely in western Iran, and (Mar)daman in south-eastern Turkey. Texts referring to Dilmun mention that gold is traveling to Ur up the Gulf, perhaps originating in Meluḫḫa"
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imports_to_Ur