HISTORY AND TERMINOLOGY OF CRUDE OIL 9
to mean an interwoven or wickerwork basket. An approximate
translation is:
The inside of the boat was smeared (coated, caulked) with six
baskets full of pitch and the outside of the boat was smeared
(coated, caulked) with three baskets full of pitch.
There are also indications from these texts that that asphalt mastic was sold by volume, or by the gur. On the other hand, bitumen
was sold by weight — by the mina or shekel — for which there is
no recorded price, although the word shekel is often used to mean
a particular type of coinage as well as the weight of a commodity.
In fact, the use of petroleum in seepages and bitumen from surface
tar sand deposits seems to have been widely used and it is very
likely that there was a ready trade for the raw material and the
products made from petroleum and bitumen were actually looked
upon as commodities (Barton, 1926; Sperber, 1976; Steinsaltz, 1977;
Stern et al, 2007). This is a situation that did not occur again until
the 1980s (Chapter 5).
For example, use of asphalt by the Babylonians (1500 to 538 BC)
is also documented. In fact, the Babylonians were well versed in
the art of building, and each monarch commemorated his reign and
perpetuated his name by the construction of a building or other
monuments. The use of bitumen mastic as a sealant for water pipes,
water cisterns, and in outflow pipes leading from flush toilets cities
such as Babylon, Nineveh, Calah, and Ur has been observed and
the bitumen lines are still evident (Speight, 1978).
Bitumen was used as mortar from very early times, and sand,
gravel, or clay was employed in preparing these mastics. Asphaltcoated tree trunks were often used to reinforce wall corners and
joints, for instance, in the temple tower of Ninmach in Babylon. In
vaults or arches, a mastic-loam composite was used as mortar for
the bricks, and the keystone was usually dipped in asphalt before
being set in place. The use of bituminous mortar was introduced
into the city of Babylon by King Hammurabi, but the use of bituminous mortar was abandoned toward the end of Nebuchadnezzar's
reign in favor of lime mortar to which varying amounts of asphalt
were added. The Assyrians recommended the use of asphalt for
medicinal purposes, as well as for building purposes, and there is
some merit in the fact that the Assyrian moral code recommended
to mean an interwoven or wickerwork basket. An approximate
translation is:
The inside of the boat was smeared (coated, caulked) with six
baskets full of pitch and the outside of the boat was smeared
(coated, caulked) with three baskets full of pitch.
There are also indications from these texts that that asphalt mastic was sold by volume, or by the gur. On the other hand, bitumen
was sold by weight — by the mina or shekel — for which there is
no recorded price, although the word shekel is often used to mean
a particular type of coinage as well as the weight of a commodity.
In fact, the use of petroleum in seepages and bitumen from surface
tar sand deposits seems to have been widely used and it is very
likely that there was a ready trade for the raw material and the
products made from petroleum and bitumen were actually looked
upon as commodities (Barton, 1926; Sperber, 1976; Steinsaltz, 1977;
Stern et al, 2007). This is a situation that did not occur again until
the 1980s (Chapter 5).
For example, use of asphalt by the Babylonians (1500 to 538 BC)
is also documented. In fact, the Babylonians were well versed in
the art of building, and each monarch commemorated his reign and
perpetuated his name by the construction of a building or other
monuments. The use of bitumen mastic as a sealant for water pipes,
water cisterns, and in outflow pipes leading from flush toilets cities
such as Babylon, Nineveh, Calah, and Ur has been observed and
the bitumen lines are still evident (Speight, 1978).
Bitumen was used as mortar from very early times, and sand,
gravel, or clay was employed in preparing these mastics. Asphaltcoated tree trunks were often used to reinforce wall corners and
joints, for instance, in the temple tower of Ninmach in Babylon. In
vaults or arches, a mastic-loam composite was used as mortar for
the bricks, and the keystone was usually dipped in asphalt before
being set in place. The use of bituminous mortar was introduced
into the city of Babylon by King Hammurabi, but the use of bituminous mortar was abandoned toward the end of Nebuchadnezzar's
reign in favor of lime mortar to which varying amounts of asphalt
were added. The Assyrians recommended the use of asphalt for
medicinal purposes, as well as for building purposes, and there is
some merit in the fact that the Assyrian moral code recommended