78 Shells as evidence of the Migrations. 
The inhabitants of the Island of Bahrein—the Tylos 
of Ptolemy—have been devoted to pearling from time 
immemorial, and the fishing to-day is carried on much as 
it was 2,000 years ago. . This island was in touch with 
Chaldean civilization, and one of the traditional sources 
of the Phcenicians, and whence came that fish-god who— 
according to the Babylonian myth—bore the ark over the 
deluge.” 
In Persia, pearls were almost certainly known in the 
seventh century b.Cc.; they are not mentioned in the 
extant fragments of ancient literature, but pearl ornaments 
of great antiquity have been found among Persian re- 
mains. Assyrian and Persian bas-reliefs show that pearls 
were used profusely for adornment by the sovereigns and 
great personages of those countries. The portraits of 
Persian queens on coins and gems commonly show ear- 
pendants of pearls.” Portraits of Sassanian kings show a 
pearl pendant of large size hanging from the right ear, 
and among Persian nobles it was the custom to wear in 
the right ear a golden ornament containing pearls. The 
women also wore a ring through the left nostril, upon 
which three pearls were strung, and round their heads 
was a band with pendent jewels or pearls. The kings of 
the Medes and Versians wore bracelets and necklaces of 
pearls, and these gems were employed lavishly in their 
trappings and equipages. At the present time pearls 
play a prominent part in great festivals in Persia.~ 
Among the ancient Persians a solar origin was 
attributed to the pearl. 
Babylonian dignitaries and _ priests, it is stated, wore 
#9 Kunz and Stevenson, of. c4., pp. 90 seg. 
*) Jbid., pp. § and 404. 
4* Streeter, of. cé/., pp. 30-31. 
23 Jbid., p. 48. 
