An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Stone Quarrying Techniques in Historical Anuradhapura

Abstract

Ancient rock quarries in the surroundings of the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka provide evidence of quarrying by splitting stone blocks. Bedrock outcrops with natural foliations or weathering fractures were preferred starting points for stone quarrying. Additionally, fractures were created artificially, removing bedrock material by channeling or heating the bedrock surface and imposing pressure on the rock through percussion. These quarrying techniques are mainly based on a series of chiselled holes set along the part of the block to be separated. These holes frequently appear as half holes in the separated rock fragments. This investigation explores the working procedure related to the chiselled holes and wedge quarrying technique, and aims to identify the tools used and to estimate the time necessary for the splitting. Investigations are based on observations of a stone craftsman still applying traditional techniques of quarrying.

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