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That’s interesting. Thanks. I was certainly not aware of that and I imagine few if any of the protesters were as well. I suppose the question is why no one from the Capitol maintenance staff weighed in before this. Maybe none of them knew either?

As another poster mentioned, marble is primarily calcium carbonate...essentially limestone that has been compressed in a process similar to that which turns coal into diamonds. As such it's pretty reactive to acid etching, and I would imagine the number of sweaty, smelly agitated protestors in the building raised the humidity levels well above what it normally is.

I'd doubt your average maintenance staffer would be familiar with the concept as it's probably never been much of an issue before.

What makes it visually damaging is that part of the allure of marble is it's translucency. Some sculptures have details that are so thin you can see light through them. Even on flat wall or floor panels, the translucency allows some light to penetrate the outer layer of marble which is then reflected in a very diffuse manner giving marble its warm glow. It's the same effect a layer of wax has on wood furniture or flooring. Any etching or scuffing of the surface will be highly evident, and I'd imagine we're talking about quite a bit of tape, posters and bumperstickers from this crowd.