6
The Chemistry and Technology of Petroleum
It is most probable that, in both these cases, the pitch and the slime were obtained from the
seepage of oil to the surface, which was a fairly common occurrence in the area. And during biblical times, bitumen was exported from Canaan to various parts of the countries that surround the
Mediterranean (Armstrong, 1997).
In terms of liquid products, there is an interesting reference (Deuteronomy, 32:13) to bringing
oil out of flinty rock. The exact nature of the oil is not described nor is the nature of the rock. The
use of oil for lamps is also referenced (Matthew, 23:3), but whether it was mineral oil (a petroleum
derivative such as naphtha) or whether it was vegetable oil is not known.
Excavations conducted at Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Nal in the Indus Valley indicated that an
advanced form of civilization existed there. An asphalt mastic composed of a mixture of asphalt,
clay, gypsum, and organic matter was found between two brick walls in a layer about 25 mm thick,
probably a waterproofing material. Also unearthed was a bathing pool that contained a layer of
mastic on the outside of its walls and beneath its floor.
In the Bronze Age, dwellings were constructed on piles in lakes close to the shore to better
protect the inhabitants from the ravages of wild animals and attacks from marauders. Excavations
have shown that the wooden piles were preserved from decay by coating with asphalt, and posts
preserved in this manner have been found in Switzerland. There are also references to deposits of
bitumen at Hit (the ancient town of Tuttul on the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia), and the bitumen
from these deposits was transported to Babylon for use in construction (Herodotus, The Histories,
Book I). There is also reference (Herodotus, The Histories, Book IV) to a Carthaginian story in
which birds’ feathers smeared with pitch are used to recover gold dust from the waters of a lake.
One of the earliest recorded uses of asphalt was by the pre-Babylonian inhabitants of the Euphrates
Valley in southeastern Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, formerly called Sumer and Akkad and, later,
Babylonia. In this region, there are various asphalt deposits, and uses of the material have become
evident. For example, King Sargon Akkad (Agade) (ca. 2550 BC) was (for reasons that are lost in
the annals of time) set adrift by his mother in a basket of bulrushes on the waters of the Euphrates;
he was discovered by Akki the husbandman (the irrigator), whom he brought up to serve as gardener
in the palace of Kish. Sargon eventually ascended to throne.
On the other hand, the bust of Manishtusu, King of Kish, an early Sumerian ruler (about
2270 BC), was found in the course of excavations at Susa in Persia, and the eyes, composed of white
limestone, are held in their sockets with the aid of bitumen. 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 in 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 an asphalt mastic that still shows impressions
of reeds with which it must originally have been 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]), makes reference to the use of asphalt
The Chemistry and Technology of Petroleum
It is most probable that, in both these cases, the pitch and the slime were obtained from the
seepage of oil to the surface, which was a fairly common occurrence in the area. And during biblical times, bitumen was exported from Canaan to various parts of the countries that surround the
Mediterranean (Armstrong, 1997).
In terms of liquid products, there is an interesting reference (Deuteronomy, 32:13) to bringing
oil out of flinty rock. The exact nature of the oil is not described nor is the nature of the rock. The
use of oil for lamps is also referenced (Matthew, 23:3), but whether it was mineral oil (a petroleum
derivative such as naphtha) or whether it was vegetable oil is not known.
Excavations conducted at Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Nal in the Indus Valley indicated that an
advanced form of civilization existed there. An asphalt mastic composed of a mixture of asphalt,
clay, gypsum, and organic matter was found between two brick walls in a layer about 25 mm thick,
probably a waterproofing material. Also unearthed was a bathing pool that contained a layer of
mastic on the outside of its walls and beneath its floor.
In the Bronze Age, dwellings were constructed on piles in lakes close to the shore to better
protect the inhabitants from the ravages of wild animals and attacks from marauders. Excavations
have shown that the wooden piles were preserved from decay by coating with asphalt, and posts
preserved in this manner have been found in Switzerland. There are also references to deposits of
bitumen at Hit (the ancient town of Tuttul on the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia), and the bitumen
from these deposits was transported to Babylon for use in construction (Herodotus, The Histories,
Book I). There is also reference (Herodotus, The Histories, Book IV) to a Carthaginian story in
which birds’ feathers smeared with pitch are used to recover gold dust from the waters of a lake.
One of the earliest recorded uses of asphalt was by the pre-Babylonian inhabitants of the Euphrates
Valley in southeastern Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, formerly called Sumer and Akkad and, later,
Babylonia. In this region, there are various asphalt deposits, and uses of the material have become
evident. For example, King Sargon Akkad (Agade) (ca. 2550 BC) was (for reasons that are lost in
the annals of time) set adrift by his mother in a basket of bulrushes on the waters of the Euphrates;
he was discovered by Akki the husbandman (the irrigator), whom he brought up to serve as gardener
in the palace of Kish. Sargon eventually ascended to throne.
On the other hand, the bust of Manishtusu, King of Kish, an early Sumerian ruler (about
2270 BC), was found in the course of excavations at Susa in Persia, and the eyes, composed of white
limestone, are held in their sockets with the aid of bitumen. 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 in 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 an asphalt mastic that still shows impressions
of reeds with which it must originally have been 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]), makes reference to the use of asphalt