Egyptian alabaster

Description

A white, translucent, limestone onyx stone with golden-brown stripes. Egyptian alabaster is a dense, calcium carbonate stone that has been quarried near Hatnub, Egypt since the 1st century. Egyptian alabaster is not, as its name indicates, a true alabaster (i.e. gypsum) stone.

See also travertine.

Synonyms and Related Terms

cotognino; limestone onyx; travertine; calc-sinter; calcareous sinter; Ägyptischer Alabaster (Deut.)

Additional Information

B.Aston, J.Harrell, I.Shaw, "Stone" in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, P.Nicholson, I.Shaw (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 59-60.

Authority

• Jack Odgen, Jewellery of the Ancient World, Rizzoli International Publications Inc., New York City, 1982

• Luciana and Tiziano Mannoni, Marble: the history of a culture, Facts on File Publications

• Frank A. Lent, Trade names and Descriptions of Marbles, Limestones, Sandstones, Granites and Other Building Stones Quarried in the United States Canada and other Countries., Stone Publishing Co, New York, 1925