A modern example of an old classic seen in books and old collections! This is from a find of ruby crystals collected in modern exploration of these truly ancient mines (per Mindat.org: One of the whitest dolomite marbles, with exploitation having started at around 500 BCE and being at full peak during Roman times.). One imagines ancient ruby jewelry with such stones in them but we have often only seen them in old European museums. However, recent pockets produced some large, well-developed crystals such as this - a large, rarely intact example. Note that they also fluoresce a stunning hue under UV light.