TURQUOISE: OCCURRENCE IN SINAI 397 



and some of the finest and largest stones found were shown in London at the Exhibition of 

 1851. One in the possession of Major Macdonald was as large as a pigeon's egg, but in a 

 very short time lost its colour and became greenish-white and, compared with its original 

 value, quite worthless. The same fate overtook many of the stones exhibited in 1851 ; one 

 which had been sold for a high price became, in the course of a year, perfectly colourless. 

 Specimens presented by Major Macdonald to the British Museum in 1862 still "retain their 

 fine blue colour although they have been exposed to a strong light for many years. 



These ancient mines are situated on the northern slope of the Meghara valley, ISO feet 

 above its floor. This side of the valley is of red sandstone, while in the porphyry, of which 

 the opposite side is formed, no turquoise is found. The precious stone fills up crevices and 

 fissures in the rock, and is found in tabular pieces of about the same dimensions as in 

 Persia; the mode of occurrence is therefore similar to that of the stone in the latter 

 country. 



The turquoise of the Sinai Peninsula is not, however, confined to the sandstone of the 

 Wadi Meghara, but is found in porphyry outside the valley. In the form of thin plates it 

 penetrates the porphyry, which forms part of the Serbal, and differs from the turquoise 

 found in the sandstone in that its beautiful blue colour is permanent. These stones ar& 

 collected and sent to market by the Bedouins ; moreover, some of the stones sent to Europe 

 by Major Macdonald are said to have come not from the mines in the Meghara valley but 

 from the porphyry of Serbal. The exact situation of the mines in this region is carefully 

 hidden by the natives, and no details concerning the occurrence are known. A locality 

 apparently of special importance is Moses' Well ; also Neseb or Nasaiph Well between Suez 

 and Sinai. The occurrence of turquoise at this locality is probably distinct and definite in 

 character, since the stones show under the microscope a peculiar structure different from 

 that of turquoise from other localities. It is impossible to definitely locate the place, since 

 every well which supplies drinking water is called Moses' Well by the Bedouins ; according 

 to H. Fischer, however, it is situated in latitude 29° N., about five miles from the Serbal. 

 Adhering to the stones which come from this place is a brownish-red, ferruginous powder 

 formed of friable, granular quartz ; it is probable, therefore, that the stones occur in 

 sandstone as at Wadi Meghara. 



The best turquoises from the Sinai Peninsula are quite equal to Persian stones, and 

 some even surpass these in beauty and depth of colouring. As a rule, however, the colour 

 of these stones is of a more whitish-blue, the lustre is more glassy, and the material rather 

 more brittle. Fine stones from this locality appear on the markets as Egyptian or 

 Alexandrian turquoises ; they were formerly regarded as artificial products, but detailed 

 examination has shown them to be the natural mineral. 



Arabia proper is another turquoise locality ; at least three mines are stated to be 

 situated in the " Midianite country "; two of these are supposed to be still worked, but the 

 stones found there very soon lose their colour. 



Despite certain statements to the contrary, turquoise has not hitherto been found in 

 any of those Asiatic countries which are remarkable for their wealth of precious stones ; that 

 is to say, neither in India, nor in Burma, nor in the Island of Ceylon. 



In the new world the principal turquoise deposits are situated in the south-western 

 states of the North American Union. These are not unimportant even now, but in former 

 centuries they were of much more prominent interest. The most important mines are in 

 the State of New Mexico, which formed a portion of the ancient kingdom of the Aztecs. 

 The precious stone was much admired by the ancient Mexicans ; they prized it more highly 

 than gold, and used it in the decoration of all kinds of objects as well as for a gem. It. 



