The beads in this necklace (33 in) were made of two kinds of semiprecious stone. The blue stone is lapis lazuli and the red is carnelian, both of which came from the far-off mountains of Afghanistan, a country with which the city-state of Mari maintained relations. These materials were often used to make pieces of jewelry, which were luxury items reserved for a political elite, worn as an expression of social status. These necklaces were part of the ” Treasure of Ur.