Chlorite is a distinctive grey-green stone that
was utilized during antiquity for the fabrication of
luxurious containers and similar artefacts in the
greater Gulf region as well as around the area of
what is currently southern Iran.
Excavations at the archaeological site of Tepe
Yaya in the Kerman Province of Iran, dated to the
mid-third millennium B.C., unearthed the ruins of
workshops where such objects were discovered.
Around 2800 BC, chlorite or steatite stone bowls
and lock weights were manufactured in
considerable numbers in that area, though at a
distance of around a thousand kilometres from
the Mesopotamian centers of commerce of the
time. The fact that such objects turn up in
archaeological excavations at a greater number
than they appear near their respective centers of
productions is a clear testimony of the florid
commercial trade at the time and the evidence
suggests a regular production for export, in order
to meet the economic demand in Mesopotamia.
Other excavations on Iranian soil help illuminate
further such patterns of long-distance trade in
these preliterate centuries.
On the island of Tarut, in the Gulf close to the
Arabian coast, over six hundred complete and
fragmentary vessels and weights have been
unearthed. Because many partially formed
objects found on Tarut were discovered next to
chunks of unworked chlorite, it has been
surmised that this island was once a center of
production for these works.
Found throughout the ancient Near East, from
Syria to the Indus Valley, revealing the extensive
trade routes of the time, these works are
classified by modern historians as belonging to
the “Intercultural Style,” called so because they
derive iconographical elements from both Near
Eastern and Harappan traditions.
Much like the written cuneiform alphabet was
used by several distinct cultures throughout the
ancient Near East to dictate their individual
spoken languages, so such artefacts were
created by various cultures, each adorning the
works with their own distinct aesthetic style.
Many examples were discovered in the ruins of
palatial and temple structures or entombed in the
graves of the nobility, including Sumerian
Mesopotamia.
Clearly these objects were among the most
precious luxury items that could only be afforded
by the ruling elite.
- (LO.1288)
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