Marble

Marble is a metamorphosed limestone. It is composed of pure calcite and is extensively used for sculpture, and as a building material. The common term, faux marble or faux marbling is a wall painting technique which imitates the color patterns of real marble. The marble dusts are combined with cement or synthetic resins to make reconstituted or cultured marble.

The word "marble" has been derived from the Greek word "marmaros," which mean "shining stone." This is also the basis for the English word "marmoreal," meaning "marble-like."

Marble is associated with the astrological sign of Gemini. Pure white marble acts as an emblem of purity. Also it acts as an emblem of immortality, and an ensurer of success in education.

Types of marble

Some of the important kinds of marble, historically, named after their quarries locations are as follows:

• Paros (Greece)
• Panteli (Greece)
• Carrara (Italy)
• Proconnesus (Turkey)
• Macael (Spain)

Origins of Marble

Marble is a result over a period of time, the contact of metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, either in limestone or dolostone. This metamorphic process causes a full recrystallization of the original rock into an interlocking mosaic of calcite and/or the dolomite crystals.

Pure white marble is formed from the metamorphism of very pure limestones. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties are the result of various mineral impurities, like clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert that originally had the presence as grains or layers in the limestone. The green coloration is often because of serpentine which results from the originally high magnesium limstone or dolostone with silica impurities.