What is marble?

Marble is a kind of lime stone which is available in many colours. White marble has been in use for construction of buildings since ancient times. The people of Greece and Egypt used this stone for construction of temples. The Taj Mahal of Agra is also made from the white marble. It is unaffected by heat, cold, rains etc.

                 Marble is found in nature in the form of rocks. You may not be aware as to how these rocks are formed? These rocks are formed from lime-stones. The tremendous heat and pressure beneath the earth’s surface converts lime-stone into marble rocks. If you analyze the chemical composition of marble, you will find that it is mostly calcium carbonate. Some varieties of marble contain ninety-nine per cent calcium carbonate. Marble acquires a variety of colours due to the presence of some salts of aluminium and magnesium in it. Pure marble is snow white.

                  It is cut into big pieces from the rocks by machines. These big pieces are brought to workshop where they are cut into convenient desired sizes. Marble obtained from rocks is initially coarse. To smoothen its surface, it is polished with the help of special machines. After this it is ready for use. Italy has some of the vast and well known marble quarries in the world. About one lakh tonnes of marble is obtained in Italy every year. The longest marble quarry of USA is located in Vermont.

                  Because of its beauty, it has always been a favourite material for sculpture, architecture and many other purposes. Famous sculptors, like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci used marble for many of their works.

                  In India, Bheraghat in Jabalpur (M.P.) is such a place where rocks of marble are found in abundance. Rocks of marble are also found in Rajasthan. Marble of Makrana is very famous.