Poros stone is a lightweight, soft, marly limestone that was widely used in construction and statues of Ancient Greece.[1] There is no precise definition of the term, although its roots go to antiquity,[2] when it was used to designate any porous building rock,[3] regardless of its origin,[4] mostly in contrast with marble. In the 20th century the archeologists continued to use the term in the similarly loose way: "poros [was] made to include almost all light-coloured stones" that were not definitely marble or hard limestone.[3]
The poros stone is one of the chief formations of the Neogene (Miocene or Pliocene) in Greece and it occurs at many places in the Peloponnese, making poros a common construction stone there.[2]
Even when hardened by exposure to the elements, poros is much more readily cut with a knife than is an ordinary limestone. The ease of working with poros is the reason for its extensive use as a building stone, especially for foundations and other architectonic parts that are not exposed to view.[2]
- ^ Rhodes 1987, p. 545.
- ^ a b c Washington 1923, p. 445.
- ^ a b Frazer 1913, p. 503.
- ^ Hadjidakis, Matarangas & Varti-Matarangas 2003, p. 274.