marble in egypt: White Marble Information

White marble is a metamorphic rock formed from limestone. Quarried throughout history and used as a building material since antiquity, remains of classical buildings constructed with white marble can be seen throughout Europe, particularly in Athens and Rome.

Formation

Coming from the Greek word marmaros, meaning shining stone,marble is formed from limestone that has undergone recrystalization from the heat of Earth's crust. This process changes the composition of the limestone forming large coarse grains of calcite. Once recrystalization has finished, the resulting stone is considerably harder and more dense than limestone. The color of the marble depends on its impurities, with white marble being the purist.

Appeal

White marble has been used throughout history because of its appearance and durability. It was used in ancient Greece to build temples such as the Parthenon in Athens and for the many sculptures that adorned the public buildings. Once sculpted, marble can be polished up to create a very smooth and bright surface. The blue lines that you normally find in marble are caused by the impurities, such as silt or clay, that were in the limestone when the marble formed.

Locations

White marble is found mostly in Europe and the United States. The most famous quarry is in Carrara in Italy, which provided the marble for not only the Pantheon of Rome, but for Michaelangelo's David. In the United States, quarries in Colorado and Georgia provide high-quality white marble used in construction and for sculptural purposes.

Uses

Today, marble is used in the construction industry as a building material as well as a finishing material for flooring, in fireplaces and in bathrooms and kitchens. In addition, marble is also crushed and used as a filler in concrete and in the construction and repair materials of roads and highways.

Expert Insight

Cleaning marble can be a hazardous task. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London recommends against using abrasives and domestic cleaning products such as bleach on marble, which can change the color of the marble through chemical reaction. The museum suggests using distilled water, white spirit and non-ionic detergent. For general cleaning, use either white spirit or create a mixture of the distilled water with 2 percent of non-ionic detergent added.