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calcite - multiplicity in stone
As one of the most common materials on earth, calcite has been gathered or mined since Paleolithic times.
Ancient Egyptians quarried many types of stone, including limestone, calcite, granite, and diorite.
Almost all of the ' alabaster ' artifacts from ancient Egypt are really calcite. The 'alabaster' used there was a very distinct material of similar appearance to alabaster (calcium sulfate), but was mostly made up of calcium carbonate. So from a geological point of view, Egyptian alabaster was calcite.
Egyptian alabaster calcite is found in two places, a few miles behind the Valley of the Kings in Luxor (ancient Thebes) and the Malawi area.
True alabaster is mostly made up of calcium sulphate (gypsum).
In ancient Egypt, calcite was believed to have a mystical solar connection -- a powerful concept in a land whose people worshipped the sun.
 edifying egypt
Some of the best examples of the use of calcite in the ancient world come from Egypt. In a country that has yielded a diverse treasure trove of exquisitely fashioned calcite items over the centuries, the mineral's workability coupled with its aesthetic appeal ensured its use as one of Egypt's primary artisan materials from the earliest Pharaonic times.
Home to what seems to have been a nearly unlimited supply of translucent, opaque-yellowish mineral material with waves of ivory, white, cream, orange or brown, Egyptian 'alabaster' calcite was considered to be one of its most beautiful natural resources.

calcite kohl container; 6th dynasty 2268-2228 bc
photo: kunsthistorisches museum

Used to line passages, rooms and shrines in Egypt, this fine translucent stone was also used in the production of ornamental and ceremonial object: cylinder seals; small household objects such as cosmetic containers and perfume jars, dishes, vases, bowls, boxes, lamps and lampshades; as well as sculpture and statuettes.
These domestically 'manufactured' items, as well as the raw material were also traded with nearby civilizations such as ancient Ur in Sumer (modern-day southern Iraq), Babylon and Assyria where they have been discovered in archeological digs.
Some nineteen miles south of Cairo, in a partially open-air museum in the city of the great creator-god Ptah -- ancient Memphis, which has all but disappeared under the modern village of Mit Rahina -- one can observe an eighty-ton alabaster calcite sphinx from the period of the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC), when Memphis was the much celebrated capital of Egypt.
Carved in honor of an unknown Pharaoh, the Alabaster Sphinx is 26 ft. long, 13 ft. tall, and weighs around 90 tons. Sometimes referred to as the Calcite Sphinx, it was sculpted from a single piece of alabaster calcite quarried at a place east of Amarna called Hatnub.
Modeled after the Yeni Mosque in Istanbul, the Alabaster Mosque's twin minarets each rise 270 ft., making them visible from much of Cairo. Its Ottoman-style dome rises 170 ft. Originally, alabaster calcite covered the entire mosque but now only the bottom 40 ft. are covered -- the rest was stripped off and used for the palaces of Mohammed Ali's grandson, Abbas I (r. 1848�1854 ).
Inside the Mosque is a large French clock, a "gift" from French king Louis Philippe in 1845 in exchange for an obelisk, one of a pair erected at the Temple of Luxor in the thirteenth century BC. It now stands at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The other obelisk remains at the original site in Luxor.
The art of carving alabaster calcite into beautiful objects d'art still exists today, especially in Egypt, where the waves of subtle color in the translucent material imparts to each object its own delicate beauty.
 material of mosques

the 'alabaster mosque', cairo
photo: tour egypt

Egypt's use of 'alabaster' calcite is not confined to ancient history. Between 1830 and 1848, one of the last absolute rulers of Egypt, Mohammed Ali (r. 1805-1849) -- widely regarded as the founder of modern Egypt -- built a mosque of awe-inspiring beauty within the Citadel of Cairo�s fortressed enclosure (where he lived).
The imposingly designed building, known as the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, is also known as the Alabaster Mosque since large portions of the inner and outer walls and pillars have been lined with magnificent alabaster calcite. The mosque stands on the same hilltop on which the Citadel was built, and is one of the major tourists sights of Cairo.

the citadel, ca.1856, when the mohammed ali mosque was still being built
photo: tour egypt

While the best alabaster carvings are said to come from Luxor (Thebes), very good specimens can be found in the Khan al-Khalili Bazaar in Cairo, as well as the better souvenir shops of Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, and Hurghada.
Egyptian reliance on a wide range of spells, tokens, ushebtis, shabtis, amulets, and charms was heavily influenced by the emphasis on the afterlife and dire implications of improper preparation in this life.
Calcite canopic chests and jars represent some of the most beautiful artwork of the ancient Egyptians.
The most common form of canopic jars was four jars held within a canopic chest, but canopic equipment could also comprise miniature coffins and masks.
The sarcophagus of Seti I (r. 1291-1278 BC is formed out of a single block of semi translucent calcite.
Tutankhamen's Tomb:
Found on the mummy of Tutankhamen was a magnificent pectoral with the Sun god represented by a large translucent calcite scarab; and a gold, lapis lazuli, and turquoise falcon.
Each of Horus's sons were represented on a lid of Tutankhamen's four canopic jars, which together, were contained in a canopic chest. The four heads are actually the tops of four cylindrical chambers drilled into the calcite matrix that held the " four sons of Horus ," as the mummified organs were known.

The human-headed Imset looked after the liver; Hapi , a baboon, guarded the lungs; Duamutef , a jackal, protected the stomach; and Kebechsenef , a falcon, cared for the intestines.
All but three of the seventy-nine stone vessels found in the tomb of Tutankhamen (c.1340 BC) were made of alabaster -- Egyptian calcite.
Lord Carnarvon, sponsor and financier behind the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb, once called the Golden Throne of Tutankhamen: ". . .one of the most marvelous pieces of furniture that has ever been discovered." Of gold and silver, it also has colored glass paste, glazed ceramic and inlaid calcite.
A figure of Anubis guards the Treasure Room.' Carved from wood with a covering of black resin, the inside of the ears and collar are of gold leaf, with inlaid eyes of calcite and obsidian set into gold, and nails of silver.
Found at the entrance to his tomb was a calcite drinking cup in the shape of a lotus flower with flanking stem and bud handles. The blue lotus, nymphaea caerulea , was the floral symbol of Upper Egypt. (Opening each morning and closing each evening, it was strongly linked with the rising and setting of the sun.) Dubbed the "Wishing Cup" by tomb excavators, the invocation incised around the rim reads in part, "mayst thou spend millions of years ... sitting with thy face to the north wind, and thy eyes beholding happiness."
 funery finery

funerary canopic jars of the young pharaoh tutankhamen
photo: canopic chests & jars

In no sphere of ancient life was calcite more important than in the creation of funerary objects, critical in a culture with an emphasis on elaborate and meticulous preparation for the afterlife. Egyptian craftsmen frequently used calcite to create canopic jars designed to hold a body's internal organs that had been removed during the process of mummification; it was also a favored material for the creation of inner sarcophagi (within the larger wood or limestone outer sarcophagi) as well as unguent vessels.

detail, one of tutankhamun's canopic jars

(Only two major organs were not put into canopic jars: the first was the heart; left in the body, Egyptians believed the heart was the center of the soul, intelligence, and emotion. The other organ not put into canopic jars was the brain; of little importance to the Egyptians, using a pick it was removed via the nostrils, after which it was discarded.)
egyptian afterlife
Believing in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting, Egyptian belief was rooted in what they observed each day. The sun fell into the western horizon each evening and was reborn the next morning in the east. New life sprouted from grains planted in the earth, and the moon waxed and waned. As long as order was maintained, everything was highly dependable and life after death could be achieved provided certain conditions were met.

one of two calcite lamps discovered in tutankhamun's tomb
photo: egyptian museum

Death was not seen as a cessation of life, simply as a temporary interruption in which one was at rest, awaiting rebirth. However, the successful achievement of eternal life followed a somewhat treacherous path bounded by proper piety to the gods, compliance with elaborate processes to preserve the physical form through embalming and mummification, the provision of statuary and other funerary equipment, and the proper rituals performed by priests.

Since after 'death' the 'deceased' would continue the occupations of this life, tools of one's trade were included --although often model tools rather than full size ones were provided since models were cheaper and took up less space and in the after-life would be magically transformed into the real thing.

In addition, writing materials were often supplied along with clothing, wigs, and hairdressing supplies, a headrest, glass or calcite vessels of perfumes and unguents, kohl (which served both cosmetic and amuletic protective needs) and a slate palette for grinding make-up.

funerary headrest, calcite; 4th-5th dynasties, ca. 2575-2323 bc
photo: emory university

Food was provided for the deceased; and, as insurance -- should the expected regular offerings 'run out' -- pictures of food were depicted on the walls of the tomb that would be magically transformed to the real thing if supplies ran out before the 'deceased' had successfully negotiated its journey to the Hall of Judgment. Images on tombs might include the Egyptians' most important food -- bread -- as well as beer, the other Egyptian food staple. Supplementary images might represent food items that the tomb owner would like to have eaten in his lifetime and hoped to eat in the after-life.

Having passed through seven gates, aided by the magic spells inscribed upon the funerary objects, the dead arrived at Amenthes -- the Egyptian version of Hades -- in the presence of Osiris, god of the netherworld, to face judgment. Justifying oneself was not easy.

Face-to-face with forty-two gods, the heart of the 'dead' was weighed in the presence of the ancient jackal-headed god Anubis, against a feather representing Maat, goddess of truth. Balancing the scale meant immortality. Should the heart not balance perfectly, Amemet -- sometimes called the "Great of Death," annihilator of criminal souls -- devoured it, and Seth, murderer of Osiris, ate the rest of the body.