The stone from the sky
Sacred blues of the ancient world
The birth of ultramarine
The great chemistry race
Out of the blue
YOUR GOAL
Master of The story of ultramarine
andy Ultramarine Blue
Worth more than gold! (Way more than gold!) / Ground from the mountains of old! (Oh yeah!)
andy The Harappan civilization established a trading outpost at Shortugai specifically to control the lapis trade around 2000 BCE.
andy In the city of Ur around 2500 BCE, artisans crafted exquisite lyres and jewelry using imported blue stones.
andy Grind lapis lazuli to discover why this blue pigment was once worth more than gold.
Cleopatra's eyeshadow: Legend says Queen Cleopatra wore powdered lapis lazuli as eyeshadow, though modern tests suggest she actually used a copper-based green malachite.
A deep-blue semiprecious stone prized since antiquity for its rich, intense color. Ancient Egyptians famously inlaid this stone into the iconic golden funerary mask of King Tutankhamun.
Which ancient Mesopotamian city-state produced the 'Standard of Ur' decorated with lapis lazuli?
In which famous Egyptian artifact from 1323 BCE is lapis lazuli inlaid around the eyes?
What other precious material was lapis lazuli most frequently paired with in royal Egyptian jewelry?
What synthetic blue alternative did the Egyptians invent because lapis lazuli was so rare?
Where did the Indus Valley Civilization establish a trading colony specifically to acquire lapis lazuli?