Limestone

From ArchaeoWiki

Limestone was a common and widely-used building material of the ancient Near East and Egypt.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock largely composed of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃) and appears in two main variants that were employed for different construction purposes:

• an inferior quality stone, porous limestone was used mainly in foundations and the core masonry of walls. Specific gravity = 1.7—2.6.

• dense limestone, harder and better quality, was widely employed in visible surfaces, casings, facings and similar features. Specific gravity = 2.65—2.85.

Egypt

Limestone appears as one of the most frequently used building materials in Egypt from the First Dynasty onwards, becoming the stone of choice during the Old Kingdom in both mastabas and pyramids.

Sandstone emerged as a competitor material during the Middle Kingdom period, although limestone continued to be employed widely, as in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos. Perhaps the best use of hard, fine limestone as a building material of first rate quality is to be seen in the (painted) reliefs that decorate the interior walls of the Temple of Seti I, also at Abydos.

Limestone was occasionally employed during the Ptolemaic Period.