An old quarry just a few hundred metres from the quarry that supplied the famous red marble of the Chateau Versailles near Paris has been brought back into production.

Thirty high grade blocks of up to 17 tonnes each have already been exported to Italy, but as main production gets underway, AGE, the company that has re-opened the quarry, predict many top grade blocks of 1.5 x 2 x 1.6m will be in high demand.

Early production has primarily seen the excavation of second grade marble, mostly being crushed on site, although some of that has been purchased by Chateau Versailles authorities to renovate paths in the gardens, reflecting the rouge of the marble interiors.

The red marble in the grand rooms of the chateau (Marble Rouge de France) was quarried 500 miles south of the great Palace in the 17th century on a remote hillside near Carcassonne.

The quarry, chosen by Louis XlV, remains a site of French National Heritage, where visitors can still see one of the Versailles pillars lying on the ground. It never made it to the palace because it broke during production.

The marble was transported in basic shape by horse and cart to the Canal Du Midi at Carcassonne for its five-day barge journey up to the stonemasons at the Chateau.

The quarry has been closed for many years, but just a few hundred meters away lies Quarry Villerambert, which will soon be offering the same high quality of marble that adorns the Chateau Versailles.

AGE re-opened Villerambert on the edge of the Villerambert vinyard 18 months ago, after a survey revealed a sizeable amount of quality marble lay 4m below the original workings.

A walk through the undergrowth of the quarry reveals some of its history. There are 7-9 tonne blocks lying in the heather that, on closer inspection, reveal stoneworkers\' initials and dates carved into them when they were originally cut from the face in the early 17th century.

A walk a few more meters up the hillside reveals more red marble, this time showing evidence that this was once the site of a river bed. The marble is encrusted by the fossils of aquatic creatures. This area, too, is intended to be excavated in the not too distant future.

The three-man team at Villerambert, headed by Khalid Miassoud, will offer three shades of the marble, locally known as Rouge de Languedoc or Rouges de Caunes (a nearby village). A full blooded Rouge, a mid rouge with a little grey and a red/blue tone.

For more information call;