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How is Marble formed?

The word "marble" derives from the Ancient Greek meaning “crystalline rock”, "shining stone", perhaps from the verb "to flash, sparkle, gleam". This stem is also the basis for the English word marmoreal, meaning "marble-like."


Marble a metamorphic rock composed wholly or in large part of calcite or dolomite crystals, the crystalline texture being the result of metamorphism of limestone by heat and pressure. The term marble is loosely applied to any limestone or dolomite that takes a good polish and is otherwise suitable as a building stone or ornamental stone.


Marbles range in colour from snow-white to gray and black, many varieties being some shade of red, yellow, pink, green, or buff; the colours, which are caused by the presence of impurities, are frequently arranged in bands or patches and add to the beauty of the stone when it is cut and polished. Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of very pure limestone’s, White marbles, like Carrara, have been prized for sculpture since classical times. This preference has to do with the softness and relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Also, the low index of refraction of calcite allows light to penetrate several millimetres into the stone before being scattered out, resulting in the characteristic "waxy" look which gives "life" to marble sculptures of the human body.

What is Marble used for?


Marble is used as a material in statuary and monuments, as a facing stone in buildings and residences, and for pillars, colonnades, cladding, and floor tiles. Like all limestone’s, it is corroded by water and acid fumes and is thus ultimately an uneconomical material for use in exposed places and in large cities. The presence of certain impurities decreases its durability.

Marble was extensively used by the ancient Greeks; the Parthenon and other famous buildings were constructed of white Pentelic marble from Mt. Pentelicus in Attica, and the finest statues, e.g., the Venus de' Medici, from the remarkably lustrous Parian marble from Paros in the Cyclades. These same quarries were later used by the Romans. Among the famous marbles of Italy are the Carrara and Siena marbles of Tuscany, which were used by the Romans and the Italian sculptors of the Renaissance. Marbles are quarried in all parts of the world.

Taj Mahal

 Taj Mahal is made of Marble.

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