Abstract The appellation ‘Belgian black “marbles”’ usually designates dark fine-grained limestones present in the Paleozoic substrate of south Belgium. They have been extracted mostly in Frasnian (Upper Devonian) and Viséan (Lower Carboniferous) strata, in various different localities (Namur, Dinant, Theux, Basècles, Mazy-Golzinne among others). Nearly devoid of fossils and veins, they take a mirror-like polished finish, with a pure black colour. These limestones were already known during Antiquity but were only intensively exploited from the Middle Ages. Many different uses were made of these stones, for architecture, decoration or sculpture, in religious or civil contexts, following all the successive styles, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, baroque and so on. All these products, architectural, decorative and sculptural, were probably manufactured close to the quarries and were first exported to neighbouring countries (France and the Netherlands), then to all of Europe (Italy, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Baltic states, etc.) and, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, worldwide. They were always considered as high value-added objects, which allowed them to travel great distances from their origin. Thousands of references document the widespread use of these exceptional natural stones. They were employed, among other famous applications, as the black background of the Pietre dure marquetry of Florence. Some other lesser uses were either for musical instruments or lithographic stones. Today only one underground quarry exploits the black ‘marble’, at Golzinne (close to Namur). This prestigious material, with its dark aura, is suitable for recognition as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

Abstract Cape Town was founded in 1652 and many of its historical buildings are constructed of local natural stone. Malmesbury Group slate was exploited from 1666 and used to build Cape Town Castle, which is the oldest building in Cape Town. Two other local stones, Cape granite and Table Mountain sandstone were utilized for buildings from 1850. A medium-grained granite named Paarl Grey was exploited from an area adjacent to the town of Paarl, 50 km east of Cape Town, from 1890. This granite is the most extensively-used natural stone in Cape Town. The resource fields of natural stone near Cape Town, namely Malmesbury Group slate, Cape granite and Table Mountain sandstone, lie within the Table Mountain National Park and Robben Island World Heritage Site and can no longer be exploited, but similar resource fields occur outside Cape Town. Paarl Grey granite is still extracted at one quarry and, despite part of the resource field lying within the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve, there are still sufficient quantities of stone available. From an international perspective, the heritage stones of Cape Town, South Africa, are best considered as having national significance.

Abstract India has a great variety of natural stones that have been extensively used as dimension, ornamental and sculptural stone for numerous temples and monuments over many centuries. These temples and monuments, now heritage sites, have a major role in showcasing India's natural stone resources that occur in diverse geological formations of different geological systems across the Indian subcontinent. The formations contain a variety of stone, with colours and textures produced by varied geological processes thus providing a storehouse of diverse stone resources. This paper outlines four potential Global Heritage Stone Provinces where natural stones have been used in heritage monuments: the North and Northwestern Province, the Central and Western Peninsular Province, the Southern Peninsular Province and the Eastern and Northeastern Province. The geotechnical and aesthetic characteristics of the stones, and their response to weathering are discussed.

Abstract Heritage stone was initially considered in terms of building stone; however, the use of natural stone extends much more widely into utilitarian applications, implements by prehistoric humans as well as decorative stones and gemstones. Nevertheless, there are limits to heritage stone designation where it may seem that recognition of a Global Heritage Stone Resource is inappropriate despite some favourable aspects.