<P> The temple is built around a man - made pool ( sarovar ) that was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577 . Guru Arjan , the fifth Guru of Sikhism , requested Sai Mian Mir , a Muslim Pir of Lahore to lay its foundation stone in 1589 . In 1604 , Guru Arjan placed a copy of the Adi Granth in Harmandir Sahib , calling the site Ath Sath Tirath ( lit . `` shrine of 68 pilgrimages '' ) . The temple was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of persecution and was destroyed several times by the Muslim armies from Afghanistan and the Mughal Empire . The army led by Ahmad Shah Abdali , for example , demolished it in 1757 and again in 1762 , then filled the pool with garbage . Maharaja Ranjit Singh after founding the Sikh Empire , rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809 , overlaid the sanctum with gold foil in 1830 . This has led to the name the Golden Temple . </P>
<P> The temple is built around a man - made pool ( sarovar ) that was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577 . Guru Arjan , the fifth Guru of Sikhism , requested Sai Mian Mir , a Muslim Pir of Lahore to lay its foundation stone in 1589 . In 1604 , Guru Arjan placed a copy of the Adi Granth in Harmandir Sahib , calling the site Ath Sath Tirath ( lit . `` shrine of 68 pilgrimages '' ) . The temple was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of persecution and was destroyed several times by the Muslim armies from Afghanistan and the Mughal Empire . The army led by Ahmad Shah Abdali , for example , demolished it in 1757 and again in 1762 , then filled the pool with garbage . Maharaja Ranjit Singh after founding the Sikh Empire , rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809 , overlaid the sanctum with gold foil in 1830 . This has led to the name the Golden Temple . </P>
golden temple is made up of which type of rock
golden temple is made up of which type of rock
marble
marble