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La fouille des sites d’Ayn Soukhna puis du Ouadi el‑Jarf sur la côte égyptienne de la mer Rouge a permis, ces vingt dernières années, de réévaluer l’implication de l’État pharaonique dans cette zone et sa participation aux réseaux d’échanges qui la traversent. Dès le début de l’Ancien Empire, la royauté égyptienne, dont les besoins en cuivre étaient considérablement accrus par la politique de grands travaux dans la vallée du Nil, a mis en place un système expéditionnaire permettant d’envoyer des équipes de mineurs dans la zone du Sud‑Sinaï, à la fois par voie terrestre et maritime. Cela a impliqué l’établissement de ports intermittents – occupés uniquement le temps des expéditions – sur la côte maritime, qui servaient de plateforme logistique pour les expéditions : Ouadi el‑Jarf d’abord, Ayn Soukhna ensuite. Les travaux récents menés sur ces deux sites permettent en outre désormais de mieux connaître le quotidien des expéditions, l’organisation de leur approvisionnement, ou encore d’étudier les activités artisanales qu’ils pratiquaient, ce qui constitue un apport notable à l’histoire des techniques de l’Égypte antique. The excavation of the sites of Ayn Sukhna and then Wadi el‑Jarf on the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea has made it possible, these last twenty years, to reassess the implication of the Pharaonic State in this area and its participation in the networks of exchanges in the Red Sea. From the beginning of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptian monarchy, whose need for copper was considerably increased by the policy of major works in the Nile Valley, set up an expeditionary system that allowed it to send teams of miners to the South Sinai zone, both by land and by sea. This involved the establishment of intermittent harbours – occupied only during the time of the expedition – on the maritime coast, which served as a logistical platform for the expeditions: Wadi el‑Jarf first, then Ayn Sukhna. The recent work carried out on these two sites also allows a better understanding of the daily life of the expeditions, the organization of their supply, or to study the craft activities they practiced, which is a significant contribution to the history of techniques in ancient Egypt.

The reliquary crown, hosted in the diocesan museum of Namur, was produced during the beginning of the 13th century to shelter a fragment of the holy crown of thorns. This beautiful piece of goldsmithery is made of eight gold plates, topped by round lobes, and connected to each other by hinges blocked with a pin decorated by a pearl. The crown is decorated by filigrees, flowers, and approximately 400 pearls and coloured (green, reddish pink, turquoise, red, blue) stones showing simple cutting with various sizes and shapes. Raman and portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) techniques have been used to determine the nature and sources of all samples, as well as the composition of filigrees. Analyses have identified emeralds from Pakistan, reddish pink spinels from Tajikistan, red almandine garnets from India, turquoise from Iran, blue sapphires from Sri Lanka or Myanmar, and European pearls. The filigrees contain approximately 86 wt % Au, 7 wt % Ag, and 7 wt % Cu, thus confirming a gold-rich composition. The gemstones, contemporary with the crown, probably arrived in Europe by the silk trade road.

The occurrence of nonlocal objects, raw materials, and ideas in the southwestern United States (U.S. SW) has long been recognized as evidence of interaction between prehispanic peoples of this region and those of greater Mesoamerica. Although many archaeologists have analyzed the directionality and potential means by which these objects and concepts moved across the landscape, few have assessed the degree to which Mesoamerican practices and traditional assemblages remained intact as the artifacts and ideas moved farther from their places of origin. The current study analyzes the distribution and deposition of blue-green stone mosaics, a craft technology that was well established in Mesoamerica by the Late Preclassic period (300 BC–AD 250) and spread to the U.S. SW by the start of the Hohokam Pioneer period (AD 475). We assess the spatial distribution, contextual deposition, and morphology of mosaics at sites within Hohokam Canal System 2, located in the Phoenix Basin of Arizona. We use these data to infer mosaics’ social value and function within Hohokam social structure. Analyses suggest that, although the technology of mosaic making may have originated in Mesoamerica, the contexts and ways in which mosaics were used in the Hohokam regional system were decidedly Hohokam.

Mining operations determine a long-term production schedule, often to maximize net present value. For a time horizon of between years and decades, optimization models seek the extraction times—with monthly or yearly fidelity—of three-dimensional, notional blocks of ore and waste within a deposit to satisfy spatial precedence constraints, as well as resource constraints on the amount of material extracted and sent to the mill. With algorithmic advances, as well as those in mine planning software and in hardware, we are able to solve instances with a decade-long horizon at daily fidelity. The resulting objective, repeatable, and defensible schedules inform production and maintenance supervisory decisions based on resource availability, that is, loaders, shovels, haul trucks, and mineral processors. We implement our solutions at the Turquoise Ridge underground gold mine in Nevada, United States. These solutions indicate more than a 2% increase in total ounces extracted over a decade while decreasing development footage by as much as 11% over the same time horizon. Furthermore, we are able to incorporate rules governing a shared resource and to evaluate binding versus nonbinding capacity constraints.

This note describes the detection of two contemporaneous mass feeding events of a total of ~1000 parrots. After a report of large numbers of Turquoise Parrots Neophema pulchella being found on 8 May 2021, the next day we encountered flocks totalling ~300 Turquoise Parrots and ~700 Eastern Rosellas Platycercus eximius feeding on seeding grasses on a cattle property on the North-west Slopes of New South Wales. The two species, which congregated separately from each other, showed a preference for different species of introduced grasses, neither of which had been reported previously in the diets of these parrots: Turquoise Parrots fed on Purple Pigeon Grass Setaria incrassata and Eastern Rosellas fed on Premier Digit Grass Digitaria eriantha. Sometime between 10 and 21 May, the feeding event was over, before the supply of seeds was exhausted; neither before nor after the event has either species been observed in these large numbers in the region.

The article reveals the semantic role of the architectural landscape of the capital in the process of searching for national identity and self-determination on the example of the new capital of Kazakhstan – Nur-Sultan. The genesis of the semantic code of the architectural element is determined – the turquoise dome, the features of its work in the structure of the semantic framework of the architectural environment of Nur-Sultan are analyzed. The author presents her own interpretation of the blue dome symbol as a phenomenon of the new Kazakh cultural and ideological paradigm.

Turquoise is a blue-green phosphate gem used for millennia in the lapidary artwork of numerous past societies. It was one of the first gemstones, and has proved to be a valuable material that was part of long-distance exchange networks on every continent where it is available. Nonetheless, provenance studies for this material is absent from gemological literature, and scarce in the archaeological literature. This work reviews the mineralogy, geology, geographical and archaeological distribution of this gemstone, and presents different mineralogical, geochemical and spectroscopic approaches used in provenance studies. Sophisticated methods are needed to reconstruct the origin of turquoise and the commercial networks in the ancient times for this lapidary raw material, and we show that, even with these methods, a lot of work still remains to be done.

Elemental distribution of turquoise gemstone is investigated using micro-PIXE technique. The RGB maps of the elements characteristic for turquoise gemstone were produced by means of PyMCA software. The experiments were performed on a suite of samples from different origins. The results show that both copper and phosphorous had already been collected in the aqueous solution of turquoise before its final positioning within aluminum bearing host minerals. Moreover, it is shown that the elemental composition of the host matrix could be considered as a distinguishing factor for determining the origins of the samples. Such information could shed light on the complicated formation process of turquoise gemstone and its provenance investigation, as this gemstone was a valuable commodity on the ancient trade markets.

This paper proposes a revised interpretation of the recurring sequence ḏ t b ṯ n m ṯ found in the early alphabetic inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem, an Egyptian turquoise mining facility located...

Industrial environmental management includes reutilizing waste by transforming solid bio-waste into a valuable resource, e.g. a bioadsorbent. This study aimed to mitigate two environmental local problems: the disposal of fishing biowaste and the removal of dyes from textile wastewater. For this purpose, fishing industry waste (shrimp exoskeleton – SE and mussel shell-MS) was used as adsorbent material to remove dye from textile wastewaters. Adsorption efficiency was evaluated by general, kinetic and thermodynamic physico-chemical parameters in adsorption isotherms, using Reactive Turquoise Blue 15 (RTB15) and Reactive Red 120 (RR120) dyes as adsorbate models, as these dyes are commonly used in the local textile industry. The isothermal data from the batch experiments were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Langmuir-Freundlich (SIPS) equations, with the best fit shown by the Freundlich isotherm equation. The thermodynamic parameters showed that adsorption of the dyes on the bioadsorbents was an endothermic yet spontaneous processes in the case of SE waste. Both bioadsorbents adsorbed both tested dyes, but the SE showed better results. Due to its abundant availability SE and MS biowaste can be employed as a low-cost alternative adsorbent for dye removal.

The materials uncovered in excavations in several provinces of the Roman empire provide important evidence to the frequent use of glass in most precious opera sectilia. Glass pieces imitating a dozen of ancient marbles and exotic stones have been identified in the collection belonged to Evangelista Gorga, samples of which were selected for analysis in order to obtain valuable information on the Roman glassmaking technology of the 2nd century AD, especially on coloration techniques. The monochrome and polychrome glass tesserae replicating precious marbles and rare stones were: porfido verde antico, litomarga verde, turquoise, pavonazzetto, gabbro eufotide, diaspro nero e giallo, semesanto, alabastro tartarugato, rosso antico, cipollino rosso, giallo antico, and onyx. XRF quantitative chemical composition was determined allowing the types of glass used and the colouring techniques to be identified. Results have been compared with similar data obtained by studies on coloured Roman glass and mosaic tesserae. Similarities and discrepancies are discussed and hypotheses are suggested on the technology of this extraordinary Roman production.

Turquoise, CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O, belongs to the turquoise group, which consists of turquoise, chalcosiderite, aheylite, faustite, planerite, and UM1981-32-PO:FeH. In order to study turquoise-group solid solutions in samples from the Neyshabour and Meydook mines, 17 samples were selected and investigated using electron probe microanalysis. In addition, their major elements were compared in order to evaluate the feasibility of distinguishing the provenance of Persian turquoises. The electron microprobe data show that the studied samples are not constituted of pure turquoise (or any other pure endmember) and belong, from the chemical point of view, to turquoise-group solid solutions. In a turquoise–planerite–chalcosiderite–unknown mineral quaternary solid solution diagram, the chemical compositions of the analyzed samples lie along the turquoise–planerite line with minor involvement of chalcosiderite and the unknown mineral. Among light blue samples with varying hues and saturations from both studied areas, planerite is more abundant among samples from Meydook compared with samples from Neyshabour. Nevertheless, not all the light blue samples are planerite. This study demonstrates that distinguishing the deposit of origin for isochromatic blue and green turquoises, based on electron probe microanalysis method and constitutive major elements, is not possible.

In nature, copper silicate minerals generally have a turquoise color between the blue and green color spectrum. Turquoise color tones may vary depending on the stoichiometry and crystal structure in these minerals. In this study, the variation of color tones in copper silicate mineral with different turquoise colors was investigated. The causes of color change were investigated by chemical and mineralogical analyzes of copper silicate mineral in four different tones. Turquoise color becomes more vivid visually with increasing CuO and decreasing SiO2 ratios. With changing stoichiometry, the crystal lattice parameters also change. The turquoise color of the minerals containing the highest (~16%) CuO and the lowest (~70%) SiO2 has the best visual appearance compared to the others. For the same sample, the crystallite size was observed as 171 Å, which is the smallest crystallite size among the samples. In addition, SEM images and EDX analyzes of these samples were made and they were found to be consistent with mineralogical analyzes.

In the Neolithic Gavà mines, variscite and turquoise were exploited for ornaments manufacturing, although some prospective pits and tunnels were dug on other similar greenish minerals such as smectite or kandite. A 3D study of the distribution of mineral phases allows us to determine the parameters involved in variscite colours. Methods are comprised of quantitative colourimetry, thin section petrography, SEM-BSE-EDS, EMPA, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. Mapping of the mines indicates that colour is not directly dependent on depth. Although variscite from Gavà is poor in Cr3+ and V+3 compared with gemmy variscite from other localities, the deep green samples content has the highest values of Cr3+. In the case of cryptocrystalline mixtures with jarosite, phosphosiderite, or goethite, variscite tends to acquire a greenish brown to olivaceous hue. If white minerals such as quartz, kandite, crandallite, or alunite are involved in the mixtures, variscite and turquoise colours become paler., This paper has been granted by the projects 2014 SGR 1661, 2014/100820, 2017 SGR 995, and CLT009/1800044 of the Generalitat de Catalunya; by the project RYC2016-21108 of MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ESF Investing in your future” (EU).

As a novel blue pigment, various hydrated copper aluminum phosphate imitating turquoise, CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8.4H2O, were prepared by mixing copper nitrate solution, aluminum nitrate solution, phosphoric acid, and sodium hydroxide solution. Samples with similar chemical composition with turquoise were prepared. The obtained powders were evaluated with X-ray diffraction, infrared spectra, ultraviolet-visible reflectance spectra, and L*a*b* color space. Further, other related compositions were also investigated. Samples heated at low temperature were light blue powder. By heating at 700 ºC, the color of materials changed to deep green. Samples with high copper ratio indicated lower L* value and small a* and b* values. The low copper ratio was suitable to obtain light blue and deep green phosphate pigments. Resumo Como novo pigmento azul, vários fosfatos hidratados de cobre e alumínio imitando turquesa, CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8.4H2O, foram preparados misturando solução de nitrato de cobre, solução de nitrato de alumínio, ácido fosfórico e solução de hidróxido de sódio. Amostras com composição química semelhante à turquesa foram preparadas. Os pós obtidos foram avaliados com difração de raios X, espectros de infravermelho, espectros de refletância no ultravioleta-visível e espaço de cores L*a*b*. Além disso, outras composições relacionadas também foram investigadas. Amostras aquecidas a baixas temperaturas resultaram em pós de cor azul claro. Ao aquecer a 700 ºC, a cor dos materiais mudou para verde intenso. Amostras com alta proporção de cobre indicaram menor valor de L* e pequenos valores de a* e b*. A baixa proporção de cobre foi adequada para obter pigmentos de fosfato azul claro e verde escuro.

Gemstones are minerals of gem qualities used for adornment and decoration with the attributes of beauty, durability and rarity. Traditionally, although China has been regarded as the most important source for nephrite, over the past decades, a large variety of gemstone resources have been newly discovered in China owing to continuous exploration works. The vast land with various geological and geochemical backgrounds is rich in gemstone resources with potential for new deposits discoveries. In pegmatites, gemstones are related to granitic magma events and mainly occur in pegmatitic cavities, such as tourmaline, aquamarine, spodumene, spessartine, moonstone, quartz, apatite, and topaz. The eruption of Tertiary basaltic magma provides gem-quality sapphire, spinel, olivine, garnet, and zircon. The supergene oxidation zones of some copper and iron deposits in Hubei and Anhui province host gem-quality turquoise and malachite. Moreover, the formation of the nephrite deposit in China is mostly related to the carbonatite and serpentinite rocks involved in the metamorphic-metasomatic processes. This paper comprehensively introduces the distribution of gemstones deposits, as well as the gemological and mineralogical characteristics of gemstones in China. Our present investigation provides insights into the gemstone potential of China for further exploitation.