MODE II. KONITB. 



Ryegate, and Godstone; which last is said to 

 have received its name because it was often used 

 in churches. They seem by his account to be 

 coarse sandstones with mica, now chiefly used 

 for ovens and hearths, and the like purposes. 



Konite is by the French called pierre de tallle 9 other kinds. 

 moellon, &c. The Italian maciggo seems an 

 argillaceous limestone with a little mica ; while 

 the travertine used in the ancient and modern 

 edifices of Rome strictly belongs to the cal- 

 careous tufas, under which it will be described. 

 The building stone chiefly used at Edinburgh, 

 especially in the beautiful new city, is from the 

 quarry of Craigleith, and is said to be an argil- 

 laceous limestone, perhaps sandstone, with black- 

 ish veins. The ancient Romans, whose buildings 

 are alike distinguished by magnificence and du- 

 rability, chiefly, like their successors, employed 



the travertino, which abounds on the banks of 



t 



the river Anio, and is reproduced by its depo- 

 sitions. To the lasting nature of this stone, and 

 of the mortar mixed with puzzolana, which also 

 abounds in the neighbourhood, that is, to cir- 

 cumstances merely accidental, may the preserva- 

 tion of the common sewers, and other works of 

 surprising antiquity, be ascribed. But the use 

 of konite in building ascends even to the earliest pyramids. 

 ages, the pyramids of Egypt being constructed 

 VOL. i r 2 F 



