BUILDING AND ORNAMENTAL STONES. 475 



C— LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 



(1) AFRICA. 



Numidian Marbles. — Within a very few years there have been re- 

 opened in Algeria and Tunis the famous quarries of "Numidian" mar- 

 bles, from whence the ancient Romans are stated to have obtained the 

 celebrated " Giallo Antico" and other stones for the decoration of their 

 houses and temples. 



According to Playfair,* the name Numidian is incorrect, as the mar- 

 bles are not found in Numidia proper, but in the provinces of Africa 

 and Mauritania. " Most of the Giallo Antico," says this authority, 

 "used in Rome was obtained from Simittu Colonia, the modern Chem- 

 tou, in the valley of Medjerda, the quarries of which are now being 

 worked by a Belgian company ; but the most remarkable and valuable 

 marbles are found near Kleker, in the province of Oran, in Algeria. 

 There, on the top of Montague Grise, exists an elevated plateau, 1,500 

 acres in extent, forming an uninterrupted mass of the most splendid 

 marbles and breccias which the world contains. Their variety is as 

 extraordinary as their beauty. There is creamy-white, like ivory; 

 rose color, like coral 5 Giallo Antico. Some are variegated as a pea- 

 cock's plumage, and on the west side of the mountain, where there has 

 been a great earth movement, the rock has been broken up and re- 

 cemented together, forming a variety of breccia of the most extraordi- 

 nary richness and beauty." 



There are in the Museum collections a series of these,! which range 

 in color through many shades of gray, drab, siena, yellow, and rose-red, 

 and which are designated in our markets under the names of jaune, 

 antique dore, paonazzo rosso, jaune chiaro ondate, jaune rose, rose clair, 

 breclie sanguin, and jaspe rouge. All are extremely compact and hard 

 and acquire a surface and polish of wonderful beauty. The United 

 States, at present, produces nothing that can compare with them for 

 interior decorations. 



Egyptian onyx or " Oriental alabaster." — This beautiful stone, which, 

 like the onyx marbles of Mexico, is a travertine, occurs, according to 

 Hull,f in extensive beds amongst the Tertiary limestones of Blad Recam 

 (marble country) near the ravine of Oned Abdallah, Egypt. The 



* Geol. Mag., Dec, 1885, p. 562. 



tThe gift of Mr. E. Fritsch, of New York, by whom they were imported. 



X Building and Ornamental Stones, p. 179. There is confusion here among authori- 

 ties. Hull, as above noted, sets down the Egyptian onyx as from Blad Recam. De- 

 lesse (op. cit., p. 155), on the other hand, states thjit the Egyptian rock comes from 

 Beni-Souef, about 25 leagues south of Cairo'on the Nile, and from Syout, still farther 

 south, while the Algerian stone is stated to occur at Ain-Tembalek, near the river 

 Isser, in the province of Oran. As the imported stone is known altogether as Egyp- 

 tian onxy, it seems probable that it comes from either Beni-Souef or Syout. To judge 

 from samples in the Museum collections the Egyptiaa stone is much superior to that 

 of Algeria. 



