230 THE CURIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES
Among
the Assyrian texts giving the formulae for incantations and various
magical operations, there is one which treats of an ornament composed
of seven brilliant stones, to be worn on the breast of the king as an
amulet; indeed, so great was the virtue of these stones that they were
supposed to constitute an ornament for the gods also. The text, as
rendered by Fossey, is as follows: "
Incantation. The splendid stones! The splendid stones! The stones of abundance and of joy.
Made resplendent for the flesh of the gods.
The hulalini stone, the sirgarru stone, the hulalu stone, the sdndu stone, the uknu stone.
The dushu stone, the precious stone elmeshu, perfect in celestial beauty.
The stone of which the pingu is set in gold.
Placed upon the shining breast of the king as an ornament.
Azagsud, high-priest of Bel, make them shine, make them sparkle!
Let the evil one keep aloof from the dwelling!
The names of two of these gems, the hulalu and the hulalini, suggest
that they were of similar class. As the fundamental meaning of the root
whence the names are formed is "to perforate," it is barely possible
that we have here the long-sought Assyrian designation for the pearl,
which was commonly regarded in ancient times as a stone. In Arabic the
perforated pearl has a special name to distinguish it from the
unperforated, or "virgin pearl." All we know of the sdndu is that it must have been a dark-colored stone. The uknu, however,
is almost certainly the lapis-lazuli. It is often mentioned in the Tel
el Amarna tablets as having been among the gifts sent by the kings of
Babylonia and Assyria to the Pharaohs of Egypt, and also by the latter
to friendly Asiatic
11 Fossey, " La Magie Assyrienne," Paris, 1902, p. 301; see Raw-linson, " Cun. insc. of West. Asia," vol. iv, 18, No. 3.
