Rose Granite Quarry

Rose granite has been quarried in Aswan for millennia. This is the stone used in the pyramids, for bases under statues, and more. The most significant may be as the material from which obelisks were made.
The 1st 3 pictures look at the quarry and at some of the marks showing where the stone was worked. The figure to be cut was marked then drilled along the line with copper chisels. The drill holes were filled with wood then soaked. The wood then expanded and the rock cracked along the line. A similar procedure was used under to free the piece. In this case, a lot of wood was used, which at least partially floated during flooding, lifting the stone after breaking it free.
Probably the best known piece today is the unfinished obelisk in pictures 4, 5 & 6. The long crack was the problem. The transverse cracks occurred later during an earthquake. There are markings from the works that may be hard to see, including the beginning of the underneath cut.Read more