Wednesday, August 8, 2012

6 Famous Stones in the World

Stone is a natural element whose existence is often overlooked. However, the stone could be very interesting. Both in terms of its beauty, its value is worth, or its functions are integral to human life that used to put up buildings or equipment.
Not just that, a stone can also be related to the history and spiritual side of man. At least six stone has its own story.


These six most famous stone in the face of the Earth:


1. Black Stone


in Mecca, in the middle there is the Kaaba Mosque - Muslims pray towards mecca of the world. In the corner there was a shrine Hajar Aswad, the black stone believed to come from heaven. That said, she initially white, but the sin of Adam's descendants who make it black.


Black Stone consists of eight pieces are gathered and tied with a silver circle. It has a unique scent. When the umrah or hajj, Muslims fight kiss - follow the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad.


Some people suspect, the rock is a meteorite, but from which the stone must have come from is still a debate.


2. Rosetta Stone


Rosetta Stone is a fragment of an ancient Egyptian inscription that reads an edict issued by the priests on the anniversary of the coronation of King Ptolemy V (204-181 BC). The decree contained in three letters: the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, ancient manuscripts of ancient Egypt and Greece.


Originally taped in a temple, then Rosetta Stone is used as a building material in a castle in the port city of el-Rashid or Rosetta. A French expedition in Egypt, found the stone in 1799.


What makes the famous Rosetta stone? Stone was instrumental in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics - which was then not able to be translated. Jean-Francois Champollion announced the first translation of the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta stone in 1822.


stone, which weighs about 760 pounds now on display at the British Museum - the most visited objects in there. The stone belongs to England in 1801 during the Napoleonic Wars. Later, the Egyptians asked the stone was returned.


3. Stone Ayers, Uluru


, or Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru is a large rock formation in the National Park Uluru-Kata Tjuta, about 350 km south-west of the city of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.


Uluru is sacred to the Aboriginal objects with many springs, caves, and primitive paintings. It is a monolith - a large formation that consists of a single stone or stones - the largest in the world. This object is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


4. Gibraltar Stone


Stone Giblartar also called by another name: the Pillars of Hercules or Calpe. Is a giant limestone promontory that looks over the Strait of Gibraltar, the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Located in Gibraltar, on the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This stone has a height of 426 meters.


According discoverGibraltar.com, the name 'Giblartar' believed to have originated from the Arabic "Jabal Tarik 'Tarik which means mountain.


5. Blarney Stone


Blarney Stone is a series of blue rocks found in Blarney Castle, which is located 8 kilometers from Cork, Ireland. Legend has it, who kiss the stone will receive the gift of eloquence.


However, it is not easy to kiss the stone. The pilgrims have to lean backwards while holding on to an iron fence.


There are many legends to explain the origin of this stone. According to the site Blarney Castle, the stone came from the island of Iona, Scotland. The stone is said to be a place to put the body of a saint who lived in exile, St Columba. The stone was then taken to the mainland Scotland.


When the King of Munster, Cormac MacCarthy Irish troops in support of Robert de Bruce and his army in the battle against the English at Bannockburn in 1314, part of the stone was given to the Irish as an expression of gratitude.


6. Stone Plymouth


Rock Plymouth used to mark the location of William Bradford and the Pilgrims found Plymouth colony. This stone is stamped with the year of their arrival to the New World, 1620. This stone is an important symbol in the history of the United States.


However, the truth of the story of the stone was undoubtedly due to the journal Bradford and other contemporary sources do not mention the rock. Writing about the stone was first made ​​a century later. Stone is now known as Plymouth Rock was ordained in 1774, when the city was moved by the spirit of the American Revolution.


Stone is currently estimated that only one third of its original size. The rest is lost is broken down into a souvenir in the 18th century and the 19th.