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Shales have undergone a complex burial diagenesis that involved a severe modification of the pore structure. Reconstituted shales can provide new insights into the nature of the pore structure in natural materials. The effects of diagenesis on the microfabric, pore size distribution, and porosity of Opalinus shale were measured by comparing the behavior of natural and reconstituted specimens. The parent material (Opalinus shale) was reconstituted through multiple grinding operations, sedimentation from a dispersed slurry, and one-dimensional isothermal consolidation. This process produced uniform specimens that were not cemented and had replicable microfabric and engineering properties. The microfabric and mineralogy of the materials were examined using high-resolution scanning/backscattered electron microscopy (SEM/BSEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for specimens with broken …