In our today’s article – a concise one – we will quickly focus on one question: What is marble, actually?
Marble is what we call a metamorphic rock. That means marble does not start as marble itself but has a so-called parent rock.
In the case of marble, the parent rock is limestone or dolostone. Both these rocks are chemical sedimentary rocks (and not igneous rocks) that have themselves undergone the process of lithification.
How do these turn into marble, then? Under conditions of high pressure and temperature, the minerals of limestone and dolostone are compressed; however, foliation, i.e. the process of reshaping the minerals into elongated, linear forms, does not take place; instead, they become harder and form a smooth, continuous body: marble.
