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Travertine is one of the world's oldest building
materials and certainly has stood the test of
time - just look at the Coliseum in Rome. In today's
construction, travertine is used for flooring,
cladding on buildings, wall coverings, counter
tops, fireplaces, pavement and many other places.
Travertine is a calcium carbonated rock that
belongs to the limestone family. It is formed
by minerals that dissolved into the ground water
and then being deposited on the earth by riverbeds,
springs and geysers. The hot water passes through
the limestone beds and takes the calcium to the
surface. When the water evaporates the calcium
crystals are left on the surface. The characteristic
holes in travertine are the result of gas bubbles
trapped as the stone was being formed.
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