Limestone high quality quarried limestone, called Indiana limestone. Many famous buildings in London are built from Portland limestone. Limestone was also a very popular building block in the Middle Ages in the areas where it occurred, since it is hard, durable, and commonly occurs in easily accessible surface exposures. Many medieval churches and castles in Europe are made of limestone. Beer stone was a popular kind of limestone for medieval buildings in southern England. Limestone and (to a lesser extent) marble are reactive to acid solutions, making acid rain a significant problem to the preservation of artifacts made from this stone.
The Stonemason Ostracon The Stonemason Ostracon The Stonemason Ostracon is a figured-limestone ostracon from the Ramesside period of Ancient Egypt, 19-20th Dynasties. The figured-ostracon of "The Stonemason" is made in outline form with black and (faint)-red paint-(ink). It is a sketchpad ostracon, as sections of red lines remain unfilled, as well as finalized black lines show adjacent to the faint reds. Minor sections of a red frame line remain. The unflattering figured-character of the stonemason is: bald, paunched, with facial stubble, in a leaning-over, and awkward pose. It is a caricature scene, as in a cartoon. The Stonemason is holding his chisel in