Alabaster is a mineral or rock, soft used for carving, is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists; the former use is in a wider sense that includes varieties of two different minerals: the fine-grained massive type of gypsum and the fine-grained banded type of calcite. Geologists define alabaster only as the gypsum type. Chemically, gypsum is a hydrous sulfate of calcium. Both types of alabaster have similar properties, they are lightly colored and soft stones. They have been used throughout history for carving decorative artifacts; the calcite type is denominated "onyx-marble", "Egyptian alabaster", "Oriental alabaster" and is geologically described as either a compact banded travertine or "a stalagmitic limestone marked with patterns of swirling bands of cream and brown". "Onyx-marble" is a traditional, but geologically inaccurate, name because both onyx and marble have geological definitions that are distinct from the broadest definition of "alabaster".

In general, ancient alabaster is calcite in the wider Middle East, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, while it is gypsum in medieval Europe. Modern alabaster is calcite but may be either. Both are easy to work and soluble in water, they have been used for making a variety of indoor artwork and carving, they will not survive long outdoors. The two kinds are distinguished by their different hardnesses: gypsum alabaster is so soft that a fingernail scratches it, while calcite cannot be scratched in this way, although it yields to a knife. Moreover, calcite alabaster, being a carbonate, effervesces when treated with hydrochloric acid, while gypsum alabaster remains unaffected; the origin of "alabaster" is in Middle English through Old French "alabastre", in turn derived from Latin "alabaster", that from Greek "ἀλάβαστρος" or "ἀλάβαστος". The Greek words denoted a vase of alabaster; the name may be derived further from ancient Egyptian "a-labaste", which refers to vessels of the Egyptian goddess Bast.

She was represented as a lioness and depicted as such in figures placed atop these alabaster vessels. Ancient Roman authors, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy, wrote that the stone used for ointment jars called alabastra came from a region of Egypt known as Alabastron or Alabastrites; the purest alabaster is a snow-white material of fine uniform grain, but it is associated with an oxide of iron, which produces brown clouding and veining in the stone. The coarser varieties of gypsum alabaster are converted by calcination into plaster of Paris, are sometimes known as "plaster stone"; the softness of alabaster enables it to be carved into elaborate forms, but its solubility in water renders it unsuitable for outdoor work. If alabaster with a smooth, polished surface is washed with dishwashing liquid, it will become rough and whiter, losing most of its translucency and lustre; the finer kinds of alabaster are employed as an ornamental stone for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases and halls.

Alabaster is mined and sold in blocks to alabaster workshops. There they are cut to the needed size, are processed in different techniques: turned on a lathe for round shapes, carved into three-dimensional sculptures, chiselled to produce low relief figures or decoration. In order to diminish the translucency of the alabaster and to produce an opacity suggestive of true marble, the statues are immersed in a bath of water and heated gradually—nearly to the boiling point—an operation requiring great care, because if the temperature is not regulated the stone acquires a dead-white, chalky appearance; the effect of heating appears to be a partial dehydration of the gypsum. If properly treated, it closely resembles true marble and is known as "marmo di Castellina". Alabaster is a porous stone and can be "dyed" into any colour or shade, a technique used for centuries. For this the stone needs to be immersed in various pigmentary solutions and heated to a specific temperature; the technique can be used to disguise alabaster.

In this way a misleading imitation of coral, called "alabaster coral" is produced. Only one type is sculpted in any particular cultural environment, but sometimes both have been worked to make similar pieces in the same place and time; this was the case with small flasks of the alabastron type made in Cyprus from the Bronze Age into the Classical period. When cut in thin sheets, alabaster is translucent enough to be used for small windows, it was used for this purpose in Byzantine churches and in medieval ones in Italy. Large sheets of Aragonese gypsum alabaster are used extensively in the contemporary Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, dedicated in 2002 by the Los Angeles, California Archdiocese; the cathedral incorporates special cooling to prevent the panes from turning opaque. The ancients used the calcite type, while the modern Los Angeles cathedral is using gypsum alabaster. There are multiple examples of alabaster windows in ordinary village churches and monasteries in northern Spain.

Calcite alabaster, harder than the gypsum variety, was the kind used in ancient Egypt and the wider Middle East, is used in modern times. It is found as either a stalagmitic deposit from the floor and walls of limestone caverns, or as a kind of travertine deposited in springs of calcareous water, its deposition in successive layers give

Pinhoe is a suburb on the north eastern outskirts of Exeter in the English county of Devon, incorporated into the city in 1966. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,108 people resident within Pinhoe Ward, one of 18 wards comprising the City of Exeter; the population increased to 6,454 at the 2011 Census Historically Pinhoe formed part of Wonford Hundred. It falls within Aylesbeare Deanery for ecclesiastical purposes. A parish history file is held in Pinhoe Library. Pinhoe is mentioned as'Pinnoch' in the Great Domesday Book compiled in 1086. There have been several significant archaeological finds in the village over the past 100 years; these have included Roman coins and what is known as'the Pinhoe hoard' of Bronze age metalwork found in 1999. In 1001, the Danes, having landed at Exmouth, marched to Exeter, which they besieged, but unable to take the settlement, they laid waste the surrounding country. At Pinhoe, they were confronted by Cola, the Saxon King Ethelred's commander-in-chief, with a hastily assembled force: the Danes were victorious.

The actual site of the battle is said to be near Mincimore copse. The day after the battle, the invading Vikings burnt Pinhoe, Broad Clyst, other neighbouring villages. In 2001, the battle was commemorated in the village by a series of military re-enactments, a Viking-themed children's parade and summer fete; the local community centre – America Hall – is linked to a more recent conflict. It was built with funds donated by the families and friends of American Service persons who were stationed in and around Pinhoe during the Second World War in recognition of the community's hospitality; the National Blood Service used to run blood donor sessions at America Hall several times each year. The population in 1801 stood at 351, had increased to 952 by 1901. Overlooking the village sits St. Michael and All Angels church in its current form dating from the 15th Century, it is set in a neat church yard with an attractive 17th Century, thatched lychgate and a good view of Exeter. The village's other amenities include one pub rebuilt primary/junior school, popular pre-school – in a brand new building from September 2008 but still on the same site at Pinhoe School, doctor's surgery, several shops, an estate agency, sub Post Office, two Chinese take-aways, a cocktail bar, two hairdressers.

In November 2013, there was a proposal from a housing developer to destroy the village centre and create a large roundabout rather than the current joined mini-roundabouts. This proposal would have involved the loss of the Po Lee Chinese takeaway and the restored historic Poltimore Arms pub and caused a public outcry; the Poltimore Arms has now been demolished. For several years, the annual Great West Run has extended out to Pinhoe; the toughest part of the course used to be the uphill section along Chancel Lane, the most easterly part of the course, which competitors had to tackle twice during the race. The change to the route in 2006 retained the'Pinhoe loop' but only as part of the first lap. To the relief of most runners, the route went down Chancel Lane. In 2013, the Run transferred to new organisers, was rebranded as Exeter's Great West Run and became a single loop event beginning and ending in Exeter City Centre; the closest that the course comes to Pinhoe is a switch-back near Sainsbury's on Pinhoe Road.

Pinhoe station lies on the main rail route from Exeter St Davids station to London Waterloo. It is unstaffed. During the Autumn of 2007, much of the undergrowth behind platform 1 – Eastbound – was cleared to improve station security. In September 2008, a ticket machine was installed on platform 2. New shelters, security cameras and dot matrix departure boards have been installed. Journey times to London are around 3 hours 20 minutes; the service is operated by South Western Railway. A link road costing £3.9m opened in December 2006. The much delayed new household waste recycling centre off Exhibition Way was opened by Devon County Council on 21 June 2011; this cost £ 3.8 m to construct. It is intended to serve the east of Exeter and communities further east. In 2012, the site was named as Recycling Centre of the Year in the Letsrecycle.com awards. There are several significant housing development proposals for Pinhoe; these include the redevelopment of the clay pit off Harrington Lane and the former brick works off Chancel Lane.

These follow the development of the former coldstore site off Chancel Lane. John Rainolds, English Puritan academic and churchman Kevin Brooks, British writer Pinhoe library Pinhoe C of E combined school

Hanover is a census-designated place and the main village in the town of Hanover in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population of the CDP was 8,636 at the 2010 census, out of 11,260 people in the entire town of Hanover; the CDP includes the campus of Dartmouth College. The CDP is in the southwestern corner of the town of Hanover, bordered to the south by the city of Lebanon and to the west by the Connecticut River, which forms the New Hampshire–Vermont boundary. To the north the CDP extends upriver as far as the outlet of Storrs Pond; the eastern border of the CDP follows the outlet brook upstream to Storrs Pond continues up Camp Brook and Reservoir Road to Grasse Road at the outlet of the Lower Hanover Reservoir. The eastern border continues south on Grasse Road west on Wheelock Street to a line east of Low Road; the CDP border runs over Velvet Rocks and down an unnamed brook to Mink Brook west to New Hampshire Route 120, which it follows south to the Lebanon city line. New Hampshire Route 10 passes through the center of Hanover, leading north 10 miles to Lyme and south 4 miles to West Lebanon.

Route 10A leaves Route 10 at the town center and leads west across Ledyard Bridge 1 mile to Interstate 91 in Norwich, Vermont. New Hampshire Route 120 leads southeast from Hanover 5 miles to Interstate 89 and 6 miles to the center of Lebanon. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the Hanover CDP has a total area of 5.0 square miles, of which 4.5 square miles are land and 0.5 square miles, or 9.43%, are water. The population of the Hanover CDP is influenced by the presence of Dartmouth students living in dormitories and in off-campus housing; as of the census of 2010, there were 8,636 people, 2,095 households, 1,016 families residing in the CDP. There were 2,276 housing units, of which or 8.0 %, were vacant. The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.5% white, 4.3% African American, 1.0% Native American, 12.4% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.9% some other race, 3.9% from two or more races. 4.6 % of the population were Latino of any race. Of the 2,095 households in the CDP, 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were headed by married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 51.5% were non-families.

36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, 20.6% were someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28, the average family size was 2.96. 3,861 people in the CDP lived in group quarters rather than households.10.9% of residents in the CDP were under the age of 18, 49.6% were from age 18 to 24, 14.2% were from 25 to 44, 12.2% were from 45 to 64, 13.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. For the period 2011-15, the estimated median annual income for a household was $88,164, the median income for a family was $156,776. Male full-time workers had a median income of $81,667 versus $52,111 for females; the per capita income for the CDP was $30,497. 18.4% of the population and 7.6% of families were below the poverty line, along with 14.3% of people under the age of 18 and 7.4% of people 65 or older