Buildings don't just come out of thin air and for this SLO I thought it would be interesting to look at some unique feats of architecture. Without rocks, structures would still be plausible, such as log cabins, but rocks being used for building was a great step forward for mankind. It allowed us to capture heat in the winter and cold in the summer, and protect us from the elements and our enemies whether that was other humans or animals. I am excited to see what kind of rocks were instrumental in building some of the most famous man-made structures in the world from the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt to the Great Wall of China.

One of the earliest forms of protection was walls. When you put a wall up, you are under the expectation that you are in an area that is safe. In our homes we have four walls, they keep out intruders ranging from humans to pests like flys. During the period of the Warring States in China, the Chinese began to build a large wall to use as a strategic advantage against each other. The wall was originally composed of what the Chinese called "rammed earth" as described in National Geographics article on the subject. Rammed Earth is just a mixture of soil, various rocks and clay all packed together. We start to see specific rocks later on after China had become more unified and could devote more resources to the extension and preservation of the wall. "Elsewhere, quarried granite or even marble blocks were used." (National Geographic).

When you think of the Statue of Liberty, it is very important in American history and the ideals and beliefs that we hold here. It is a beacon of freedom in the U.S and it shows what we're all about here. So, what is the Statue of Liberty made of? "The Statue of Liberty is made of copper 3/32 in. (2.4 millimeters) thick, the same as two U.S. pennies put together." (NPS) The whole reason that the statue is green, is because of the oxidization of the copper over the course of it's history. Now, how does oxidization work? Oxidization works in do to oxygen and weathering over time. The science behind it involves chemical reactions that are similar to rust forming on iron. Oxygen in the air changes copper into copper oxide. And as it continues this process, "the copper oxide continues to react with carbon dioxide and water in the air it coats the surface with that iconic blue-green patina colour." (AAS). An interesting fact about the Statue is that it's 305ft. and 1 inch tall and was the largest structure in New York until 1886, that's a lot of pennies! However, copper isn't the only thing that makes up this structure, and base is made of concrete and granite. The granite that was used for the base actually came from a quarry in Connecticut by the name of Beattie quarry. The quarry gets it's name from a Scottish immigrant named John Beattie. Given that Granite is an igneous rock, the granite that was found in this quarry probably formed millions of years ago do to high pressure on minerals far under the earth's surface. "On August 5, 1884, a 6-ton block of Beattie’s granite became the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty’s base." (ConnecticutHistory). An interesting tidbit that I would like to add is, at one point the quarry stopped it's shipments because of a lack of payment and Joseph Pulitzer helpe raise money ot ensure that the granite base was completed. They say that the torch lights the way to freedom, so what is that torch even made out of? "The Statue's current replacement torch, added in 1986, is a copper flame covered in 24K gold." (NPS)

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world are the Pyramids of Giza, they were originally built around 2550BC to 2559BC. But do to lack of written records we can't be too sure. From what historians have been able to gather though, we believe that the temples were built as tombs for Egyptian Pharohs, and were the result on tremendous work by thousands of slaves. When it comes to what the pyramids are made of, they are comprised of four different materials. "The materials used to build the pyramids included limestone, pink granite, basalt, and mud bricks." (WorldAtlas). The main material for the outer casings of the pyramid is the limestone. Basalt was mainly used on the floor of the pyramids, and mud bricks were used in much of the buildings in Egypt and were used to buld the walls. These mud bricks went through a special process where they were put in an oven to make them stronger. "In the pyramids it was used to build the walls, these were fired in an oven as a measure to make them last longer." (WorldAtlas). The limestone that was used in the pyramids was actually quarried from the Tura quarries southeast of Giza. "The white limestone used for the outer sides of the pyramid is found on the other shore of the Nile." (Forbes). Now,I wasn't able to find exactly how this Tura limestone was formed, do to my knowledge of how sedimentary rocks form, I can say with somewhat confidence, that the limestone has either two sources, the first being that the area of Egypt was once under water, or my preferred idea, lots of sediments used to create limestone were rushed in by the Nile when it opened up.

The Roman Colliseum is what everyone thinks of when they think of Italy and famous structures. However, it was just made of stone and that's not super helpful, so I decided to talk about the Leaning Tower of Pisa which is equally iconic. The tower, weighs over 14000 tons and construction on it was started in 1173 and took over 200 years to build. During it's construction there were no machines, so everything was done manually. "The Leaning Tower of Pisa is mainly made of white marble. This, together with its intricate pattern of columns, is what gives the Tower its characteristic and unique look." (LeaningTowerPisa). The majority of the marble used in the construction actually came from other cities such as Greece, Turkey, and Africa, because the citizens of Pisa did a lot of raiding. The marble that makes up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, was able to form over time, and it's parent rock is actually limestone and a few others. "Marble forms when a pre-existing limestone rock is heated to such extreme temperatures that the minerals grow larger and fuse together. The dark, foliated bands cutting through the marble are a different kind of metamorphic rock, such as slate. Slate forms when fine-grained sedimentary rocks like siltstone and shale are metamorphosed in response to intense heat and pressure." (Waketech). All of the parts in the midde however were actually Limestone which helped with structure to ensure the tower wouldn't collapse.

“Branford's History Is Set in Stone.” Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project - Stories about the People, Traditions, Innovations, and Events That Make up Connecticut's Rich History., 3 Aug. 2020, https://connecticuthistory.org/branfords-history-is-set-in-stone/.

Bronzini, Andrea. “What Materials Is the Leaning Tower of Pisa Made of?” Leaning Tower Pisa, https://leaningtowerpisa.com/facts/what-is-the-leaning-tower-of-pisa-made-of.

“Frequently Asked Questions about the Statue of Liberty.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2022, https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/get-the-facts.htm.

Sawe, Benjamin Elisha. “What Materials Were Used to Build the Pyramids of Giza?” WorldAtlas, WorldAtlas, 25 Oct. 2018, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-materials-were-used-to-build-the-pyramids-of-giza.html.

Society, National Geographic. “The Great Wall of China.” National Geographic Society, 19 May 2022, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-wall-china.

McKeachie, Manon. “Why Does Copper Turn Green?” Curious, 27 June 2022, https://www.science.org.au/curious/technology-future/why-does-copper-turn-green.

“Outdoor Geology Laboratory Virtual Tour – 2 Marble.” Wake Technical Community College, 13 Oct. 2022, https://www.waketech.edu/about-wake-tech/divisions/mathematics-sciences.

Shaw, Garry, and Name *. “What Did the Pyramids of Giza Look like 4,000 Years Ago?” Apollo Magazine, 4 Apr. 2019, https://www.apollo-magazine.com/great-pyramid-giza-egypt-casing-stone/.

Bressan, David. “Papyrus Reveals from Where the Rocks Used to Build the Great Pyramid Came From.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 Sept. 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2017/09/28/papyrus-reveals-from-where-the-rocks-used-to-build-the-great-pyramid-came-from/?sh=51fc15833a90.