Celts, of the usual late neolithic type, were generally of green jasper; hoe-blades (looking almost exactly like palaeolithic haches a main) of chert or coarse limestone; hammers of granite; mace-heads, of identical type with the early Egyptian, of diorite and limestone; nails of obsidian or smoky quartz, often beautifully made.
Lastly, from the Altai region, as well as from the Nerchinsk Mountains, precious stones, such as jasper, malachite, beryl, dark quartz, and the like, are exported.
The accounts of the palaces of the native kings must be taken with some reserve, from the tendency to use descriptive terms not actually untrue, but which convey erroneous ideas taken from European architecture; thus what are called columns of porphyry and jasper supporting marble balconies might perhaps be better described as piers carrying slabs, while the apartments and terraces must have been more remarkable for number and extent than architectural grandeur, being but low one-storied buildings.
Both the St Francois and Jasper ores yield from 70 to 75% of metal in final product, and assay even higher.
There are important quarries in Franklin (disambiguation)|Franklin county (at Swanton), the stone being a dark Chazy limestone, in which pink and red ("jasper," "lyonnaise" and "royal red") marbles of Cambrian age are found.