The History of Marble Stone
Exquisite marble has a long history. And there is no country with ancient history and civilization that has not used this beautiful stone in its old buildings. But where does this long story begin? Where in the past did our ancestors encounter charming marble stones?
The First Signs
It may be hard to believe, but contrary to what everyone expects, the initial origin of marble does not go back to Greece and Rome. The first giant marble statues or large and beautiful marble constructions were first seen in Greece in BC, but there is evidence to suggest that humans have used marble before. The use of marble on a small scale has been seen among Native American tribes, ancient Aztec pyramids, and ancient Egyptian. Small pieces of marble have been found alongside gold and other jewels to make small Egyptian statues placed inside tombs. It can be said that early marble was used in the field of jewelry.
Return to Marble's Undisputed Origins
But on this historical journey, we reach the land of Greece again. The first large-scale marble mining dates back to the third century BC in Paros and Naxos, the islands in the Aegean Sea, ancient Greek. After that, the first traces of marble use go back to Italy and dated to 155 BC and the Apuan era. The Greeks and Romans built from portable statues to massive buildings and temples with marbles this history. Of course, there are monuments in this geography and the land of Anatolia made of marble which is even older than the seventh century BC. Statues and buildings such as theaters, temples, and arenas have been built with the help of marble in this part of the world. Some of these structures are the Temple of Hephaestus, Temple of Artemis, Parthenon, and Kouros statues. Most of these buildings were made of white marble because the Greeks and Romans loved white marble; however, they also used colored marble as flooring.
Marble Comes to our Homes
Since ancient times, marbles have been used in Renaissance, Victorian Europe, and Asia for religious constructions such as churches and mosques and non-religious buildings such as schools, caravanserai, and baths. Marble has always been a symbol of wealth and beauty, but in sporadic cases in none of these times, it has been used for home use. One of the reasons is that it was difficult to extract and transport essential equipment. Marble was mined in the same traditional style until the 16th century. Gradually, with the innovations, the marble mining tool was developed until the beginning of the twentieth century; with the help of electronic instruments, large pieces of marble were extracted and cut for the first time. This was the beginning of more general use of the beautiful marble stone for a homeowner.
Interestingly, artificial marble has been on the market since 1960, but it has been popular since the ’90s. However, they never replaced exquisite marbles.
