476 



stone was used by the inhabitants of Koine and Carthage for the 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. Delmoiite. 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 tbe manu- 

 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. 



Nummulitie limestone. — The celebrated nummulitic 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, II. S. Navy. This particular block was formerly 

 a portion of the steps leading to the 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 hy Violet t to be exceptionally rich in colored 

 marbles, though white varieties are entirely wanting. 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 principal varieties now quarried for exportation, as repre- 

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

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

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

 near Philippeville, province of Namur, and the well-known "Belgian 

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

 the province of Namur.§ All of these are very line 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 wiiite ; 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 griotte fleure, rouge imperial, and rouge royal. 



* Op. cit., p. 236. 



tLcs marbres, p. 44. 



iMat6riaux de construction, p. 194. 



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

 le rouge royal, le rouge imperial, la griotte de Flandre, la griotte fleurie, le granite 

 beige, le bleu beige, le Florence beige, bizantin beige, bleu antique, le grand antique, 

 le petit antique, et les marbres noirs de Golzinnes et de Dinant." 



