Marble

Marble is metamorphosed limestone, composed of very pure calcite?. The softness of marble and relative isotropy? and homogeneity make marble very desirable for sculpture and building stone. Although marble comes from limestone, the temperatures and pressures necessary to form marble usually destroy any fossils that may have been present in the limestone.

Kinds of marble:

Carrera? (Italy)

Pentelicus? (Greece)

Proconnesus? (Turkey)

In the building trades, the term "marble" is used for any massive, crystalline calcitic rock (and some non-calcitic rocks) useful for building stone. For example, [Tennessee Marble]? is really a massive, highly fossiliferous gray to pink to maroon Ordovician dolostone?, known as the [Holston Formation]? by geologists.

A "marble" is also a small glass sphere used for playing games and for decoration.