Zinc (Zn) is an essential metal of life and one of the four components in the Tetrasomia of Maria in alchemy. The 30th element on the...

The Almadén Mines in central Spain have an infamous past driven by profit and greed. The deadly history of ancient Almadén revolves...

Testing metals is a precise and varied process in the ancient world. It's a crucial skill in ensuring fair trade and preventing fraud....

In alchemy, science and mysticism intertwine. Among the practical alchemical skills is dyeing of metals and gems. Alchemists from early...

The Philosophers' Stone or lapis philosophorum is a miraculous legendary substance. It holds secrets to an elixir of life, a cure for...

Make non-toxic iron oxide pigments for painting, dyes, glazes, artistic to industrial uses. Iron oxide (Fe2O3) or rust exists on Earth...

Hematite, an iron ore with the chemical formula Fe2O3 (ferric oxide), is known for its metallic luster. In earthy form the stone offers a...

White pigments used in ancient art, spirituality and beauty include bone, limestone variations like chalk and other natural sources....

Limonite is an iron earth mineraloid among the first colors of the Stone Age palette. Grinding limonite produces yellow ochre. Other...

Carnelian (early: cornelean ) is already used in the Stone Age to make beads. Pebbles of the reddish orange gemstone might be polished by...

Nephrite jade is the foremost commodity to travel along the Pacific Coasts of the East. The seaway route is the original Jade Road named...

Ullikummi of ancient near Eastern mythology is a towering creature of stone. It's born of the union of Underworld creator god Kumarbi ...

With spiritual meaning as well as dusky allure, powdered black kohl (kajal, kajol, or tiro) is one of the oldest widespread types of...

Turquoise is beloved for thousands of years by people from royals to the richly challenged. The world's first known turquoise mine is...

One of the crystals known since ancient times, amethyst holds it own characteristics, magic and myth. Purple is hard to get ancient...

Asteria or Star Stones create a star-like inner glow. Star sapphires belong to this group. In the ancient world they're valued by Greeks...

Arsenic (As) has been called the King of Poisons and the Poison of Kings. This silvery metalloid appears abundantly in the Earth and...

The earliest people in Scandinavia come up the Volga River in Russia after the last Ice Age about 25,000 years ago. They settle along the...

The Metals of Antiquity are the seven metals identified and used by humans in Europe and the Middle East in prehistoric times. They are...

Beloved in gardens, gnomes bring blessings of Earth. Thought to dwell in underground tunnels, caverns, soil and rocks, chthonic gnomes...