7
History and Terminology
for building purposes. In the eleventh tablet, Ut-Napishtim relates the well-known 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 to mean an interwoven
or wickerwork basket. Thus, an approximate translation is that
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 (by the gur).
On the other hand, bitumen was sold by weight (by the mina or shekel).
Use of asphalt by the Babylonians (1500 to 538 BC) is also documented. The Babylonians were
well versed in the art of building, and each monarch commemorated his reign and perpetuated his
name by construction of building or other monuments. For example, 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. Asphalt-coated 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 perhaps there is some merit in the fact that the Assyrian moral code recommended that asphalt, in the molten state, be poured onto the heads of delinquents. Pliny, the
Roman author, also notes that bitumen could be used to stop bleeding, heal wounds, drive away
snakes, treat cataracts as well as a wide variety of other diseases, and straighten out eyelashes
that inconvenience the eyes. One can appreciate the use of bitumen to stop bleeding, but its use
to cure other ailments is questionable and one has to consider what other agents were being used
concurrently with bitumen.
The Egyptians were the first to adopt the practice of embalming their dead rulers and wrapping
the bodies in cloth. Before 1000 BC, asphalt was rarely used in mummification, except to coat
the cloth wrappings and thereby protect the body from the elements. After the viscera had been
removed, the cavities were filled with a mixture of resins and spices, the corpse immersed in a bath
of potash or soda, dried, and finally wrapped. From 500 to about 40 BC, asphalt was generally used
both to fill the corpse cavities and to coat the cloth wrappings. The word mûmûia first made its
appearance in Arabian and Byzantine literature about 1000 AD, signifying bitumen. In fact, it was
through the spread of the Islamic Empire that, it is believed, brought Arabic science and the use of
bitumen to Western Europe.
In Persian, the term bitumen is believed to have acquired the meaning equivalent to paraffin wax
that might be symptomatic of the nature of some of the crude oils in the area. Alternatively, it is also
possible that the destructive distillation of bitumen to produce pitch produced paraffins that crystallized from the mixture over time. In Syriac, the term alluded to substances used for mummification.
In Egypt, resins were used extensively for the purpose of embalming up to the Ptolemaic period,
when asphalts gradually came into use.
History and Terminology
for building purposes. In the eleventh tablet, Ut-Napishtim relates the well-known 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 to mean an interwoven
or wickerwork basket. Thus, an approximate translation is that
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 (by the gur).
On the other hand, bitumen was sold by weight (by the mina or shekel).
Use of asphalt by the Babylonians (1500 to 538 BC) is also documented. The Babylonians were
well versed in the art of building, and each monarch commemorated his reign and perpetuated his
name by construction of building or other monuments. For example, 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. Asphalt-coated 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 perhaps there is some merit in the fact that the Assyrian moral code recommended that asphalt, in the molten state, be poured onto the heads of delinquents. Pliny, the
Roman author, also notes that bitumen could be used to stop bleeding, heal wounds, drive away
snakes, treat cataracts as well as a wide variety of other diseases, and straighten out eyelashes
that inconvenience the eyes. One can appreciate the use of bitumen to stop bleeding, but its use
to cure other ailments is questionable and one has to consider what other agents were being used
concurrently with bitumen.
The Egyptians were the first to adopt the practice of embalming their dead rulers and wrapping
the bodies in cloth. Before 1000 BC, asphalt was rarely used in mummification, except to coat
the cloth wrappings and thereby protect the body from the elements. After the viscera had been
removed, the cavities were filled with a mixture of resins and spices, the corpse immersed in a bath
of potash or soda, dried, and finally wrapped. From 500 to about 40 BC, asphalt was generally used
both to fill the corpse cavities and to coat the cloth wrappings. The word mûmûia first made its
appearance in Arabian and Byzantine literature about 1000 AD, signifying bitumen. In fact, it was
through the spread of the Islamic Empire that, it is believed, brought Arabic science and the use of
bitumen to Western Europe.
In Persian, the term bitumen is believed to have acquired the meaning equivalent to paraffin wax
that might be symptomatic of the nature of some of the crude oils in the area. Alternatively, it is also
possible that the destructive distillation of bitumen to produce pitch produced paraffins that crystallized from the mixture over time. In Syriac, the term alluded to substances used for mummification.
In Egypt, resins were used extensively for the purpose of embalming up to the Ptolemaic period,
when asphalts gradually came into use.