Global Heritage Stone: Worldwide Examples of Heritage Stones
Heritage stones are building and ornamental stones that have special significance in human culture. The papers in this volume discuss a wide variety of such materials, including stones from Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia. Igneous (basalt, porphyry, granite), sedimentary (sandstone, limestone) and metamorphic (marble, quartzite, gneiss, soapstone, slate) stones are featured. These have been utilized over long periods of time for a wide range of uses contributing to the historical fabric of the built environment. Many of these stones are of international significance and potential Global Heritage Stone Resources – stones that have the requisite qualities for international recognition by the Heritage Stones Subcommission of the International Union of Geological Sciences. The contributions in this volume bring together diverse information on these stones, ranging from their geological setting and quarry locations to mechanical properties, current availability and uses over time. As such, the papers can serve as an entry into the literature on these important stones.
Échaillon stone from France: a Global Heritage Stone Resource proposal
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Published:October 21, 2020
Abstract
Échaillon stone, a Mesozoic platform limestone from SE France, is proposed as a Global Heritage Stone Resource. The Échaillon stone quarries are located at the western termination of the Alps, near the city of Grenoble. Stone from the main Échaillon quarries is an Upper Jurassic to Berriasian bioclastic near-reef limestone, renowned for its two characteristic white and pink colours. Two ancillary quarries nearby, the Lignet and Rovon quarries, provided the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian) Yellow Échaillon stone, of lagoonal origin. Échaillon stone's unique characteristics, resistance to weathering and high aesthetic values made it a prized building and ornamental material used in many significant historical buildings in Europe, North Africa and the USA. Although the first use of Échaillon stone in buildings dates from the Gallo-Roman period, the industrial use ranges from the mid-nineteenth century, during the heyday of the Beaux-Arts architecture period in France, to the mid-twentieth century. The reputation of Échaillon stone was bolstered by world-renowned architects, sculptors and artists who used it for historical building ornament and sculptures. By the turn of the twentieth century, production started to decline and it ceased by the middle of that century.
- Alps
- Berriasian
- building stone
- buildings
- carbonate platforms
- carbonate rocks
- Cenozoic
- color
- construction materials
- Cretaceous
- dimension stone
- engineering properties
- Europe
- France
- geologic sites
- Grenoble France
- Holocene
- Isere France
- Jurassic
- lagoonal environment
- limestone
- limestone deposits
- Lower Cretaceous
- Mesozoic
- mineral composition
- ornamental materials
- production
- quarries
- Quaternary
- reef environment
- Roman period
- sedimentary rocks
- upper Holocene
- Upper Jurassic
- utilization
- Western Europe
- Global Heritage Stone Resources
- Echaillon Quarry
- Lignet Quarry
- Rovon Quarry