Naxian marble is a large-crystaled white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

which is quarried from the Cycladic Island of

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It was among the most significant types of marble for

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

and it continues to be quarried in modern times.

Creation, mineralogy, properties

The marble's creation is owed to high level metamorphic processes in a contact zone with dome-like bulges of

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an older metamorphic rock th ...

. The two types of stone alternate in layers and the marble has a thickness of up to 30 metres in old fissures. The layers

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in a northeasterly direction. Naxian marble is over 98%

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

. Other component minerals as

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

, silicate and traces of

graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

and

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...

. Calcite crystals are randomly distributed and usually transparent. This transparence gives the stone an appearance of depth and is the cause of the blue-grey shimmer of the marble, which is more or less noticeable depending on the angle of the light source. The crystals are up to 15 millimetres in diameter and it is thus one of the largest grained marbles on Earth. In the assessment of Raymond Perrier, it has a resistance to frost and other weathering. Other parts of the deposit have a grey colour and are clearly striped, which indicates a higher level of impurities. This variant includes the unfinished Kouros of Apollonas in a quarry near at the north end of the island. In many parts of the deposit, there are grey, black and coloured mineral grains in the calcite crystals of the stone at a microscopic scale, making the crystals appear cloudy. Minor organic impurities are the cause of the slightly bitumen-like smell emitted while the marble is worked; it disappears after working.

Quarries

Ancient marble quarries are located in the north part of Naxos and near Apollonas, as well as in the central region of . Some unfinished ancient pieces, like the Kouros of Apollonas or the two Kouroi of Flerio are found in these quarries. Modern quarries are located near the village of in the central part of the island.

History

The use of this marble began in antiquity and has continued ever since. It was among the first types of Cycladic "island marble" to be used. It is the largest-grained marble which was used in ancient times. It was already suggested by in 1890 that Naxian marble was used for the creation of ancient

roof tile A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

s at Olympia and on the

Athenian Acropolis The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

, which subsequent research affirmed. In Roman times, Naxian marble has ceased to play an important role and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

does not mention it once.

Use and shaping

Naxian marble is used for sculpture and decoration. In the Mediterranean region it is often employed for outdoor purposes. During the quarrying process, whiter parts of the stone are preferred. This preference has a direct impact on the price of Naxian marble in commerce. On the island it is used as a construction material for window and door frames as well as marble plaster; tailings are used as gravel and in road construction. About 5,000 m³ of high value Naxian marble is exported annually.Trianet: Gestein und Bergbau
. Numerous practical and artistic deployments of Naxian marble can be found on the island. These include a modern Sphinx statue in front of the city council building of the city of

, the remains of the Temple of Demeter at Sangri, the (the emblem of Naxos) and many masonry constructions in the villages.

References

Bibliography

* C. Colotouros: ''Marmor & Technologie''. Vol. 2. Athen (no date) * K. Germann,

Gottfried Gruben Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century. The name is composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with ) a ...

et al.: "Provenance Characteristics of Cycladic (Paros and Naxos) Marbles — A Multivariate Geological Approach." In: ''Classical Marble: Geochemistry, Technology, Trade. '' 1988, pp. 251–262. * : ''Griechische Marmorstudien''. Verlag der Königl. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1890
Full text)
* Friedrich Müller: ''Internationale Natursteinkartei kompakt''. Vol 82.4. * Raymond Perrier: ''Les roches ornementales''. Edition Pro Roc, Ternay 2004, {{ISBN, 2-9508992-6-9. Marble Quarries in Greece Mining in Greece Naxos Building stone