Ornamental stone has contributed significantly in shaping our rural and urban landscapes, through its use in our built heritage from different historical periods. Ornamental stone is today a raw material produced with great skills all over Europe, exploiting the vast diversity of European natural stone resources. Yet, the actual use of local and regional stone resources in Europe is decreasing, and so is the knowledge of the resources, traditions and skills.
The EuroLithos project was founded on the idea that increased knowledge of the geology, quality and history of use of natural stone in Europe will stimulate both more sustainable use of stone resources in Europe for the benefit of SME’s and our cultural heritage, and a sound land use management for the safeguarding of ornamental stone deposits. EuroLithos addressed several aspects of the scope: identify and map the type and quality of construction materials, and provide tools and protocols for the assessment and comparison of deposits. EuroLithos also addressed cultural heritage and building preservation aspects, since the maintenance of European heritage and a living stone industry are mutually dependent. EuroLithos resulted in an ornamental stone knowledge base under the umbrella of EGDI, covering harmonised spatial data on European stone resources, atlas of resources and use, a directory of ornamental stone properties and guidelines for valorising ornamental stone heritage.
Project facts:
Project duration: 1 July 2018 – 31 October 2021.
Project Lead: Tom Heldal, Geological Survey of Norway (NGU).
Project page on GeoERA website: https://geoera.eu/projects/eurolithos1/
GIS viewer for EuroLithos results
Through this viewer the results of the EuroLithos project are accessible.