Quarrying

• ·  To start with the quarrying, the source of a site's stone, and its method and mode of transport had a highly technical and administrative element to it
• ·  When at the quarry, even if quarrying marble of a high quality, there will still be fissures, cracks, discolouration and the like which will make it unsuitable for building with, either due to it being unsafe in terms of structural integrity, or because it is not aesthetically proper
• · Therefore, the Greeks being masters of common sense, avoided any areas in the quarry and avoided any poor areas
• ·  however, whilst cracks would equate to danger, if building with a cracked block of marble, if the cracks were wide enough then they could be used to split the rock, along what is its natural weak-spot
• · the actual method of how these blocks were then extracted is less than easy to imagine, but I shall try my best to describe it; the system which was used employed a selection of sockets, splints, wedges, and then the ever present hammer comes into play. Along the block of marble (if it had a natural crack which could be exploited), sockets were cut, and these were square holes cut along the block's edges. Then wedges (wooden pegs, effectively) were hammered into the sockets. At the same time as this, splints would be placed under and around the block so as to gain leverage, and by continuing this process the block of marble could be freed from its surrounding quarry
• · if there was no natural crack, then deep trenches were cut around the marble from which a block was wanted, and it was got out in this, more labour intensive, fashion
• · at this point, what happens to the roughly-cut-block varies depending on if it is going to be made into a column capital, a column drum
• ·  however, to move the block over so that all sides can be worked, a system of levers and pulleys is used to move or push the block away from the quarry face, it is after this has happened that, either using the same cutting technique as above, or with pickaxes, that the block is cut into a usable shape
• · to reach the underside of the block, a timber support is put in place so that the block does not drop, and marble chips are placed on the floor so as to minimise any damage from falling. then a similar system of rollers, leavers, and winches is used to turn it over
• ·  it is then, after the block has been squared or formatted into a column capital that it starts the process of being transported to the temple site.
• ·  the reason why the blocks are squared and formatted at the quarry is that it makes them all that more lighter for transport, which was the most expensive part of the quarrying, making up to around 70% of the costs, also the left overs of 'brushing-up' process can be used for smaller pieces of architecture
• ·  However, no block would be 'finished' at  the quarry, despite this making it even lighter, because of any potential damage that may occur to it whilst in transit, as such, they are only ever transported in a half-finished state