47G REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1886. 



stone way used by tlie iiiluibitants of Koine and Carthage for tlie in- 

 terior decorations of their houses, but for over one thousand years the 

 quarries were entirely lost sight of, and it was not until 1849 that they 

 were rediscovered by a French gentleman, M. Delmonte. The stone is 

 of a whitish, yellow, and amber color, and presents the peculiar banded 

 and wavy structure common to stones of this class. It is now shipped 

 in considerable quantities to Paris, where it is utilized in the maiui- 

 facture of candlesticks, timepieces, and similar articles. It is also im- 

 ported into this country and is used in the decorative work of soda 

 fountains and for small articles of household furniture. 



Nnmmulitic limestone. — The celebrated nununulitic limestone of Eo- 

 cene age from Northern Africa, and which was so extensively used by 

 the Egyptians in the construction of their pyramids, is represented in 

 the collections of the National Museum by a 7 inch cube, the gift of 

 Commander Gorringe, U. S, Navy. This particular block was formerly 

 a portion of the steps leading to tlie obelisk at Alexandria, and was 

 brought away at the same time as the obelisk itself. Hull states that 

 this stone was used in the construction of Baalbec, Aleppo, and some 

 of the cities of the Holy Land. The pyramid of Cheops is of the same 

 material.* 



(2) BELGIUM. 



This country is stated by Violet t to be exceptionally rich in colored 

 marbles, though white varieties are entirely w^anti ng. They are mostly 

 of a somber or dull color, and, like the marbles of Northern France, be- 

 long, according to Delesse,| to the Carboniferous and Devonian forma- 

 tions. The ])riucipal varieties now quarried for exportation, as repre- 

 sented in the collections of the National Museum, are tlie black of St. 

 Anne, from Busnie, province of Namur, the blue from Couillet, near 

 Charleroi province of Hainaut, the reds from Cerfontaine and Merlemont, 

 near Philii)peville, province of Namur, and the well-known " Belgian 

 black" from (juarries in Golzines, and the environs of Dinant, also in 

 the i^rovince of Namur.§ All of these are ver^^ fine grained and com- 

 pact, admitting of smooth surfaces and high polish. 



The St. Anne marble is of a deep blue-black color with many short 

 and interrupted veins of white; those of Couillet are much lighter in 

 color and with more white ; some of the varieties are breccias composed 

 of fragments of compact blue-gray limestone imbedded in a white crys- 

 talline matrix. The red marbles of Cerfontaine and Merlemont are 

 known as rouge griotte, rouge griottcjlcure, rouge impcnal, and rouge royal. 



* Op. cit., p. 236. 



tLes marbres, p. 44. 



tMatcriaux de construction, p. 1S)4. 



§ Violet gives the full list of Belgian marbles as follows : " Le niarbre Saint Anne, 

 le rouge royal, le rouge imperial, la griotte do Flandre, la griotte ibnirie, le granite 

 beige, le bleu beige, le Florence beige, bizantin beige, bleu autiqne, lo grand anti<£ue, 

 le jietit antique, et Ics marbres noira de Golzinnes et de Dinant." 



