About the Stones

Stone has been used for many years as a building material. It has been recognised as a material of great durability and superior artistic quality. It is the first choice for buildings associated with status, power and religion. For example, the pyramids of Giza, burial chambers in the UK and temples in Malta were all built from stone over 4000 years ago and are still standing well and strong. The use of stone in construction has decrease over the last hundred years but it remains an aristocrat of building materials.

  Natural stones are categorised according to the mineral content and the process of the formation. The stones that are characterised by durability, hardness, strength, amenability to dressing, appearance, weight, fineness of grain, compactness, porosity and absorption are good stones.

  In order to be used as a building material, a stone should have certain qualities like capacity to stand the ravages of time and weather, requisite strength to bear strain and super-incumbent weight, attractive colour and general appearance. The structure must also be such as to allow quarrying into good sized blocks or planes. Here are some pictures for stone.