During the Iron Age, ancient Near Eastern stone vessels served a narrow range of functions, including ritual practices and religious purposes. It is believed that a stone mortar, taking a bowl shape supported by a wide variety of different bases, originated in the Assyrian royal banqueting contexts. These stone vessels, usually accompanied with a pestle, were used on tables to crush and grind aromatic herbs.
Locusts have been known to form plagues since prehistory and etchings of locusts were often found on Egyptian tombs to ward off locust plagues as the body makes its journey to the underworld. Locusts are also mentioned in a number of Ptolemaic texts as a metaphorical way to describe the rapidly expanding Egyptian army. Locusts also appear in religious texts such as the Bible and the Quran in which they represent divine punishment. It was a symbol used across many cultures often holding negative connotations.
