The Many Uses of Marble

The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and famous buildings in the world. It was built between 1632 and 1653 as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, the third wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Marble was used extensively throughout the building, including the marble domes and towers. Photo copyright iStockphoto / standby.

Marble occurs in a very wide range of colors. Marble formed from the purest limestones is white in color. Iron oxide impurities in the limestone will produce a yellow, orange, pink or red color. Clay minerals can produce gray colors that often occur in bands after the compositional stratification of the original limestone. Abundant bituminous materials can produce dark gray to black marble. Marble that contains serpentine often has a green color. Photo copyright iStockphoto / Tina Lorien.

The Washington Monument was built of marble between 1848 and 1884. Initial work on the structure was done using marble from a quarry located near Texas, Maryland. The project was then delayed for nearly 30 years due to a lack of funds. When construction resumed in 1876, similar stone from the Texas quarry was not available, so stone from the Sheffield quarry near Sheffield, Massachusetts was used. The Sheffield quarry had problems delivering stone in a timely manner, and in 1880 their contract was cancelled. A new contract then went to the Cockeysville Quarry near Baltimore, Maryland which supplied a slightly darker dolomitic marble. These different stone sources can be seen in the monument as labeled in the photo above. Photo and annotation by the United States Geological Survey.

Marble is a translucent stone that allows light to enter and produce a soft "glow." It also has the ability to take a very high polish. These properties make it a beautiful stone for producing sculptures. It is soft, making it easy to sculpt, and when it is fine-grained it has uniform properties in all directions. Some of the world's most famous sculptures have been produced from marble. This bust of the Greek goddess, Artemis, is a copy of an original Greek work. Photo copyright iStockphoto / Diane Diederich.

Marble is often used as a cemetery marker. It is a very attractive stone. It is economical because it is relatively easy to cut and engrave. In comparison to rocks like granite, it is not as resistant to acid precipitation and tends to lose edges and detail over time. Photo copyright iStockphoto / JPecha.

A large-diameter diamond saw cuts a block of marble into dimension stone at a factory. Slabs and blocks of marble are used for stair treads, floor tiles, facing stone, cemetery stones, window sills, ashlars, sculptures, benches, paving stones and many other uses. Photo copyright iStockphoto / maskpro.

Marble cut into blocks and slabs of specific size is known as "dimension stone." Photo copyright iStockphoto / Thomas Lehmann.

Marble is composed of calcium carbonate. That makes it very effective at neutralizing acids. Highest purity marble is often crushed to a powder, processed to remove impurities and then used to make products such as Tums and Alka-Seltzer that are used for the treatment of acid indigestion. Crushed marble is also used to reduce the acid content of soils, the acid levels of streams, and as an acid-neutralizing material in the chemical industry. Photo copyright iStockphoto / NoDerog.

Marble is composed of calcite, a mineral with a Mohs hardness of three. It is softer than most bathroom and kitchen surfaces and can be used on them as a scrubbing agent without producing scratches or other damage.