Natural blue pigments in the ancient world are uncommon, usually sourced from far away and difficult to process. Reviewing these shady characters, like lazurite and azurite, will shed light on ancient artisanal capabilities, technical knowledge, and even trade connections that reveal the extent to which ancient people would travel and experiment in order to find blue. The development in the late 4th millennium B.C. of a synthetic blue pigment, Egyptian blue, made it possible not only to paint in blue but even to use this material in ways beyond its primary state as a pigment. Experimental archaeology paired with ancient texts and archaeology, making it possible to understand the stages by which these materials were made makes it possible to understand with heightened appreciation the technical innovation of antiquity.