The bead, exquisitely carved from a thin piece of white stone, takes the shape of a turtle. In ancient Mesopotamia, the turtle and tortoise were associated with the god Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology, Enki in Sumerian mythology. He was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Hittites and Hurrians. He was the deity of crafts, seawater, intelligence, and creation. Considered the master shaper of the world, god of wisdom and of all magic.