The history of human development is associated with stories of the product and creation of the use of stone as tools and raw materials. Stone is also one of the first and most essential elements in developing construction engineering and architecture. Greece is considered to have inexhaustible natural stone resources and has made its mark in history with impressive construction works using raw stone materials, especially marble stone.
With its charming and luxurious beauty, marble is not only popular in modern architecture, but from ancient times, Marble has appeared in classic and world-famous architecture: Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Temple of Taj Mahal in India, Parthenon in Greece… And many other structures.
Referring to natural stone in Greece, people often immediately think of the Parthenon marbles of antiquity, the prehistoric Cycladic figurines, or the works and monuments honoring the gods. Almost all Greeks use natural stone (marble type) as standard material; the stone is transparent, brilliant, and has many stone veins, delicate colors.
The simple, natural beauty and near-transparent quality of the natural stone used for the Cycladic figurines have long captivated viewers (e.g., the statue of the fertility goddess Artemis standing with her arms crossed and her head crossed slightly tilted back). However, at this same period (early Cycladic II, 2800-2300 BC) and later, based on the research work of scientists, people also found the Greeks as a result not only using white natural stone but also being creative by painting on natural stone statues.
Outstanding creativity and extraordinary labor marked an ancient Greek era with works considered wonders of the contemporary world such as Delphi, the Parthenon, etc. Sculptures’ decorations of these temples are all made from white marble, bringing their uniqueness and luxury, a symbol of prosperity and wealth, conquering the eyes of all subjects regardless of any era.
The perfection of natural stone structures of ancient Greece, typically the Parthenon, is something extraordinary that the ancient masons created. They achieved a final product with clear margins using hand tools, including various chisels, sharp tips, saws, hammers, wooden and iron wedges, squares, compasses, and graduated gauges. Error is only a few millimeters. The stoneworkers took great pride in their work and considered their efforts a gift to Athena or other gods.
Greek marble masons have extensive experience selecting the best marble for carving, ensuring the slabs are free of existing cracks, weaknesses, and defects. Then, with the combined labor of the labor group, they have to extract the stone from the mountain quarries and transport it to the construction site, using ropes and wooden winches, cranes, sleds, trolleys, and rollers. The building symbols of ancient Greece’s world wonders represent the inexhaustible mineral resources. Still, they also symbolize the beauty and labor strength of the people here – something that the world always has particular admiration for when it comes to this country.
Today, natural stone artisans follow age-old techniques, but they learn somewhat differently. For example, while a contemporary artisan might grind marble into straight lines with his chisel, the marks on ancient natural stone show that classical Greek predecessors used to sit on a block and chisel around himself in zigzag circles.
Over time, the demand for use and the development of ice-making techniques increased, and Greece became the kingdom that developed the world’s leading stone industry. In the 1960s and 70s, Athens built many apartments with traditional marble kitchens. They have even paved many of the sidewalks along the streets with marble.
In recent years, Greece, India, or Europe due to the increasing demand for stone materials and the significant annual productivity. It leads to the depletion of mineral resources, labor costs, and opening more production facilities have also increased, forcing them to look for major natural stone suppliers to ensure that supply and demand are not interrupted. Vietnam is one of the Asian countries prioritized and ranked in the top list in natural stone exports including Viet Home Stone. We have abundant mineral natural resources with many large quarries in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Yen Bai provinces. It goes hand in hand with owning a system of large-scale factories, and the productivity can reach 150 conts/month. This country ensures strict export conditions of significant markets in the world.
For more information, read more about the benefits that you can receive when cooperating with natural stone manufacturers and suppliers in Vietnam.