Geological Information

This rock was brought from a cave in Naples, Italy. Sybil’s Cave is located at a site in Naples called Cumae. Naples is located in a region of Italy known as Campania.

Naples is near the well-known volcano Mt. Vesuvius. The past eruptions from Mt. Vesuvius have caused much of the rock types in the area to be volcanic. In Campania, much of the land is covered with Mesozoic bedrock. This type of bedrock is mainly made up of limestones and subordinate dolostones.
Most caves in general are made of limestone. Considering this fact, and that there is limestone surrounding the cave, I have come to the conclusion that limestone is most likely what Sybil’s Cave is made of. I did not find any information on what exactly Sybil’s Cave is made of, so I am simple hypothesizing as to the actual material.

Limestone is made of calcite and is a sedimentary rock. Calcite comes from bodies of water and sea animal shells. Volcanic rocks are igneous rocks or extrusive igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are formed by heating and cooling, and extrusive igneous rocks are formed inside the earth.

Assuming that Sybil’s Cave is made of limestone, this would correspond with the typical rock found in the area. Since limestone is usually found in caves and Mesozoic bedrock contains limestone, there would be a match between the cave and its surroundings.

Mount Vesuvius and surrounding area

Digital ID: ppmsc 06564 Source: original
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsc-06564 (digital file from original)
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA