How did structures such as the Temple of Artemis, which was made of pure marble, burn?

Question

"Pliny describes the temple as 377 feet (115 meters) long and 180 feet (55 meters) wide, made almost entirely of marble"...yet it was burned in 356 BC. I can see the contents burning, but how would the structure burn?

Answer 1

When material is heated anything is combustable. How it was probably burned was by throwing some sort of other highly combustable material on it which burns long enough to heat the stone enough to catch it on fire. I tried to find the combustion rate of such material but I couldn't

Answer 2

You answered your own question it was made "almost" of marble...the furnishings that they got from Rooms To Go were made of wood and formaldehyde....but seriously the marble contained moisture which under the intense heat would have expanded inside the molecular structure and caused the marble to explode.....for a real-life demo....take a blowtorch to concrete and see what happens.

Answer 3

Marble won't burn, meaning bursting into flame. However great heat changes and high temperatures will cause marble to shatter. The different composites of marble react to heat differently, sometimes causing what could be considered mini-explosions. The structure would fall as if burned.