The Chavanon metamorphic sequence in the Variscan French Massif Central contains marble lenses that have been exploited since at least the 18th century to produce lime. They provided an opportunity to some major pioneers among nineteenth century French geologists to understand how metamorphic rocks are formed. The intimate association between marbles and gneisses led them to propose that the initial pile of rocks was deposited as a single unit under water. They thoroughly described the attitude, folding and mineralogy of the marbles, making their works of great historical value. Originally written in French, their translation into English and the reproduction of original figures from the works they published will be very useful to the international community of geologists interested in the history of their science.

Variscan French Massif Central 中的 Chavanon 变质层包含大理石透镜，至少从 18 世纪开始就被用来生产石灰。它们为 19 世纪法国地质学家中的一些主要先驱提供了一个机会，以了解变质岩是如何形成的。大理石和片麻岩之间的密切联系使他们提出最初的岩石堆是作为一个整体沉积在水下的。他们对大理石的姿态、折叠和矿物学进行了详尽的描述，使他们的作品具有很高的历史价值。最初以法文撰写，将其翻译成英文并复制其出版作品中的原始人物，对于对其科学史感兴趣的国际地质学家社区非常有用。