8 PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICS
Fragments of a ring composed of asphalt have been unearthed
above the flood layer of the Euphrates at the site of the prehistoric city of Ur in southern Babylonia, ascribed to the Sumerians
of about 3500 BC.
An ornament excavated from the grave of a Sumerian king at
Ur consists of a statue of a ram with the head and legs carved out
of wood over which gold foil was cemented by means of asphalt.
The back and flanks of the ram are coated with asphalt in which
hair was embedded. Another art of decoration consisted of beating
thin strips of gold or copper, which were then fastened to a core
of asphalt mastic. An alternative method was to fill a cast metal
object with a core of asphalt mastic, and such specimens have been
unearthed at Lagash and Nineveh. Excavations at Tell-Asmar,
50 miles northeast of Baghdad, revealed the use of asphalt by the
Sumerians for building purposes.
Mortar composed of asphalt has also been found in excavations at Ur, Uruk, and Lagash, and excavations at Khafaje have
uncovered floors composed of a layer of asphalt that has been
identified as asphalt, mineral filler (loam, limestone, and marl),
and vegetable fibers (straw). Excavations at the city of Kish
(Persia) in the palace of King Ur-Nina showed that the foundations consist of bricks cemented together with an asphalt mortar.
Similarly, in the ancient city of Nippur (about 60 miles south of
Baghdad), excavations show Sumerian structures composed of
natural stones joined together with asphalt mortar. Excavation
has uncovered an ancient Sumerian temple in which the floors
are composed of burnt bricks embedded in asphalt mastic that
still shows impressions of reeds with which it must have been
originally mixed.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, written before 2500 BC and transcribed
on to clay tablets during the time of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria
(668 to 626 BC), make reference to the use of asphalt for building
purposes. In the eleventh tablet, Ut-Napishtim relates the wellknown story of the Babylonian flood, stating that "he "smeared the"
inside of a boat with six sar of kupru and the outside with three
sar..."
Kupru may have meant that the pitch or bitumen was mixed with
other materials (perhaps even a solvent such as distillate from petroleum) to give it the appearance of slime as mentioned in the Bible.
In terms of measurement, sar is a word of mixed origin and appears
Fragments of a ring composed of asphalt have been unearthed
above the flood layer of the Euphrates at the site of the prehistoric city of Ur in southern Babylonia, ascribed to the Sumerians
of about 3500 BC.
An ornament excavated from the grave of a Sumerian king at
Ur consists of a statue of a ram with the head and legs carved out
of wood over which gold foil was cemented by means of asphalt.
The back and flanks of the ram are coated with asphalt in which
hair was embedded. Another art of decoration consisted of beating
thin strips of gold or copper, which were then fastened to a core
of asphalt mastic. An alternative method was to fill a cast metal
object with a core of asphalt mastic, and such specimens have been
unearthed at Lagash and Nineveh. Excavations at Tell-Asmar,
50 miles northeast of Baghdad, revealed the use of asphalt by the
Sumerians for building purposes.
Mortar composed of asphalt has also been found in excavations at Ur, Uruk, and Lagash, and excavations at Khafaje have
uncovered floors composed of a layer of asphalt that has been
identified as asphalt, mineral filler (loam, limestone, and marl),
and vegetable fibers (straw). Excavations at the city of Kish
(Persia) in the palace of King Ur-Nina showed that the foundations consist of bricks cemented together with an asphalt mortar.
Similarly, in the ancient city of Nippur (about 60 miles south of
Baghdad), excavations show Sumerian structures composed of
natural stones joined together with asphalt mortar. Excavation
has uncovered an ancient Sumerian temple in which the floors
are composed of burnt bricks embedded in asphalt mastic that
still shows impressions of reeds with which it must have been
originally mixed.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, written before 2500 BC and transcribed
on to clay tablets during the time of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria
(668 to 626 BC), make reference to the use of asphalt for building
purposes. In the eleventh tablet, Ut-Napishtim relates the wellknown story of the Babylonian flood, stating that "he "smeared the"
inside of a boat with six sar of kupru and the outside with three
sar..."
Kupru may have meant that the pitch or bitumen was mixed with
other materials (perhaps even a solvent such as distillate from petroleum) to give it the appearance of slime as mentioned in the Bible.
In terms of measurement, sar is a word of mixed origin and appears