An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c14.s7.1

v1.c14.s7.1

Miliolite limestones or Porbandar stones, as they are popularly called, are white, porous rocks, sufficiently hard to be useful as building material. They are composed of large proportions of calcium carbonate (up to 99%) and detrital sand. The carbonate is made up of the tests of various Foraminifera, mainly Miliolids and Rotalids and hence the rocks are named miliolites. Deposits occur mainly in Kutch and Kathiawar. Within Kathiawar they are of wide extent in the coastal area near Porbandar and Veraval and frequently attain a thickness of 30 m or more. They also occur inland near Rajkot, Junagadh and Sihor.