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 Pure white marble is a metamorphic rock of very pure limestone. Marble is found extensively in various countries like Belgium, France, Great Britain, Greece, India, Spain and Italy. From classical times, pure white marble was considered as the best of its kind. In the beginning, only white marble was considered worthy and colored marble was considered impure. However, this belief was just short-lived because very soon, ancient civilizations appreciated colored marbles too and used colored marbles in various monuments and sculptures even though pure white marble is always regarded high. Freshly quarried marble is easy to sculpture and the stone hardens as it ages.
Ancient Greeks were very much advanced in civilization and they were really fascinated about marble. Finest architecture and sculpting are specialties of Greek architecture and marble has been used in various Greek buildings. Exquisite statues with detailed carvings were made out of marble. Buildings built using Marble lasted for several ages. The Parthenon which was built in 441-437 BC is considered as a symbol of ancient Greek civilization and this scintillating building was built using Pentelicon marble.
The Greek empire extensively used marbles in their constructions. Temple of Artemis is one of the ancient wonders of the world and it consists of 127 marble columns each of which is 5 stories tall. It was the first grand structure made using marble. The magnificent construction was destroyed by various civilizations that took over Greece, but you can still find foundation and a few columns of the wondrous marbles.
When natural stones were widely used in constructing monuments and temples, it was the Greek empire that brought marble to personal use. References to baths and pools lined with marble can be seen in ancient literature. Thassos marble was widely used in bathrooms and this type of marble is still quarried today for commercial uses. Building constructions using marble was popular in India too and the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World was constructed using pure white marble stones.
Marble and granite are available in various patterns and colors and it was not easy to find the same pattern of stones. This uniqueness of natural stones made people want for more use of natural stones. In the ancient periods, marble and granite were used for lining and decoration. People trusted durable stones and lay flooring using granite and marble. Apart from their baths, living room, bed room and other rooms in the home had natural stone flooring. |
