(October 2012) „Heritage in the Crosshairs“ was the title of an article with which the World Monuments Fund hoped to raise awareness of the Aleppo heritage and its fragility in light of the Syrian civil war back in August. Among the treasures are a number of stone artifacts from the era of the Hittites and Ottomans. The text closes with the words: „We can only hope against the odds for the survival of Aleppo and its people“ (1, 2).
Emblems for Football teams and small stone reliefs are the subject of Spanish artist Joan Mateu Guias.
Natural rubber and chips of granite are included in flooring by the name of noraplan unita by Nora Company of Germany and won one of this year’s Red-Dot-Design prizes. Among the winners also frames for eyewear made of wood but looking like slate by Austrian Rolf Spectacles Company (1, 2).
No room for the Parliament of India was the conclusion reached by New Delhi’s politicians in regard of the historic sandstone building. Others want to conserve the historic house and modernize it (1, 2).
Tuff as a building material was the theme of the magazine „Earth“ (June 2012) all about the fire-resistant stone: varieties with a high percentage of zeolites are easily destroyed according to the article.
The earthquake zones of the Earth’s crust are depicted as light spots on a map.
An amphitheater made of stone from the Maya era was discovered by archeologists in the Mexican province Chiapas.
Antique statues in bright white marble are some of the exhibits of „Aphrodite and the Gods of Love“, a travelling show by the San Antonio Museum of Art in Texas through February 17th 2013.
Video of the Month: in England the stone skimmers from everywhere sought to win the world stone skimming awards. The object is to toss a flat stone just above the water’s surface and make it skip as often as possible before it sinks (Video, 1, Video).