HISTORY OF AGATE

Agate was first discovered around the 3^rd or 4^th century BC by a Greek philosopher who named the stone after the river in which it was found; the Achates River in Sicily, Italy. The river has since been renamed and is now known as Dirillo River.

Greek Agate is a name given to pale white to tan colored agate found in Sicily back in 400 BC. The Greeks used it for making jewelry and beads. Even though the stone had been around centuries and was known to both the Sumerians and the Egyptians, who used Agate for decoration and for important ceremonial rites as early as 3ooo B.C, any agate of this color from Sicily, once an ancient Greek colony, is called Greek agate.

Bowls were created from Agate during the Byzantine Empire, and collecting Agate bowls was popular among royalty during the Renaissance era. Museums in Europe have many spectacular specimens of ancient Agate bowls.

Agate comes from all over the world, including Myanmar, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Botswana, India, Australia and the USA. Agates from the once plentiful mines of Idar-Oberstein in Germany, which are now depleted, were well-known for their vivid and strong colors, especially natural pink, red and brown.

Agate is one of the most common materials used in the art of hardstone carving, and has been discovered at numerous ancient sites.