Easily our most beloved stone from our Scottish range, Iona Marble is a real labour of love for Two Skies! Iona is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. It is only 1.5 miles wide by 3 miles long, with a population of around 170 permanent residents. Despite this, Iona has a special place in the heart of many people the world over. The geology of Iona is quite complex given the island's size, and quite distinct from that of nearby Mull.
Iona has been a place of welcome and hospitality for centuries. The island is also a sacred site and needs to be treated with utmost respect. Iona is world famous for the Abbey & Nunnery here, and for centuries the isle has been a site of pilgrimage, and is today known for its relative tranquillity and beautiful natural environment. The isle had an influence out of all proportion to its size on the establishment of Christianity in Scotland, England and throughout mainland Europe.
Iona’s place in history was secured in 563 AD when St. Columba arrived on its white sandy beaches with a mere 12 followers, who helped build his first Celtic church and established a monastic community. Once settled, the Irish monk set about converting most of pagan Scotland and northern England to the Christian faith. Iona’s fame as a missionary centre and outstanding place of learning eventually spread throughout Europe, turning it into a place of pilgrimage for several centuries to come. Iona became a sacred isle where Scottish, Irish and Norse kings were buried.
In-keeping with the Isle's special status, it is not permitted to take marble for commercial purposes from the Isle of Iona itself. The quarry there closed long ago, following concerns about preserving the area against further damage. So how does Two Skies do it? Adam does not do any digging or quarrying with tools - he gathers only loose pieces of stone which have been naturally washed out of the seam by tidal action. He also only gathers from beyond the high tide line (therefore, not the island itself). He achieves this by free-diving into the sea from a small boat and only bringing up what he can carry by hand. This is hazardous, cold and tiring work - but the temptation to seek out 'just one more stone' keeps him going!
In all our years of working with the local islanders, we have not come across anyone else gathering marble in this way (probably because the sea is so cold and treacherous and the work is so painstaking!) We were even featured on the BBC's 'One Show' a few years ago and they followed Adam on a marble-harvesting trip to showcase his ethical methods of supplying the market with fresh Iona material.
