Quarry
Definition
Sites where stone was cut as building material.
Description
Due to the difficulty of transportation, quarries were regularly situated in close proximity to the coast, where the stone could be loaded onto water-craft. Ancient quarries are an important landscape element and reflect a historical trade network, which led to the rise of whole cities and metropoles.
In the Finnish-Russian BalticRIM pilot region, the network of quarries in the Virolahti municipality as well as a sea lane with a high concentration of shipwrecks on both sides of the border associated with the transport of building material to St. Petersburg have been designated as BalticRIM priority areas.
The Korpisaari island in Virolahti, Finland, near the Russian border is full of 18th and 19th century stone quarries. The stone was moved into ships from long jetties using pulleys and levers. Photo: Rami Kokko and Finnish Heritage Agency