Rocks and Stones

The Earth crust is made up of rocks. Rock is the portion of earth’s crust having no definite shape and structure. Rocks are made up of minerals and organic matter. Rocks possess definite chemical composition.               

Stone can be defined as the naturally occurring hard substance. The earth materials and minerals present in the rocks form the stones. Solid massive rocks are quarried to obtain the stones which in turn are used for construction purposes. Before the use of concrete, stones were used for heavy engineering works like seaside walls, bridge piers, harbour walls and facing works. Stone has been used in the construction of most of the important structures since prehistoric age as they remain stable with time.

Famous Stone Buildings

The historic buildings constructed using stones still proves that stones are an excellent construction material.  Few of the examples of stone buildings are: 

• The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt constructed roughly between 2550 and 2490 B.C
• Temple of Artemis, Western Turkey constructed in 550 B.C
• Pont du Gard, France constructed around 40 to 60 A.D
• Colosseum, Italy completed in 80 A.D
• The Great Wall of China
• Charles Bridge, Prague constructed in 1402 A.D
• Taj Mahal, India constructed in 1648 A.D
• St Paul’s cathedral, England constructed in 1710 A.D
• Washington Monument, United States completed in 1884 A.D

Stone lost its popularity ?

Stones found its use in almost all the elements of building structures. The stones act as load carrying units in a building. Also, stones enhance the beauty and elegance of the structure. As building material, stone has gradually lost importance due to the following reasons:

• The dressing of stones is tedious, time consuming and requires more labour.
• In plain areas, the availability of strong and good quality stones is less.
• The materials that are alternate to stones (like Steel, reinforced cement concrete) gives more flexibility and durability.
• The flexibility and freeness in design is comparatively lesser when using stones as a building material.

Modern Stone Buildings

The use of stones as building material has decreased tremendously. Yet, the stones find its way in the construction of modern buildings. Some of the buildings constructed in modern era using stones are as follows:

• The Church of San Giovanni Battista, Switzerland opened in 1996.
• Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, United Arab Emirates constructed in 2007
• Nevsehir Bus Terminal, Turkey constructed in 2010.
• KAFD Grand Mosque, Saudi Arabia constructed in 2017.

Read More for other topics related to Rocks & Stones:

• What are rock forming minerals ? – Click Here
• What is rock cycle ? – Click Here
• How are the rocks classified ? – Click Here
• What does quarrying of stone mean ? – Click Here
• What is stone seasoning ? – Click Here
• How the dressing of stones are carried out ? – Click Here
• What are the characteristics of good building stones ? – Click Here
• What are the tests on stones? – Click Here
• Describe the factors causing deterioration of stones. – Click Here
• How to preserve stones. – Click Here
• What are the uses of stones ? – Click Here
• What are the considerations while selecting a stone ? – Click Here
• What are the commonly used stones ? – Click Here

To Know more about Other Construction Materials – Click Here