The Uses of Asphalt in Ancient times
The Uses of Asphalt in Ancient times
In the ancient Middle East, natural asphalt deposits were used for mortar between bricks and stones, to cement parts of carvings, such as eyes, into place, for ship caulking, and for waterproofing.The Persian word for asphalt is moom, which is related to the English word mummy. Asphalt was also used by ancient Egyptians to embalm mummies.[1][8] In the ancient Far East, natural asphalt was slowly boiled to get rid of the higher fractions, leaving a material of higher molecular weight which is thermoplastic and when layered on objects, became quite hard upon cooling. This was used to cover objects that needed waterproofing,such as scabbards and other items. Statuettes of household deities were also cast with this type of material in Japan, and probably also in China.
In North America, archaeological recovery has indicated that asphalt was sometimes used to adhere stone projectile points to a wooden shaft.
In North America, archaeological recovery has indicated that asphalt was sometimes used to adhere stone projectile points to a wooden shaft.