Quarries and Rock-cut Sites Through the Lens of Archaeology

The two-day conference, organised by the IRAAR group, will take place at the University of Edinburgh (UK). This conference explores the multifaceted relationships between humans and stone through an archaeological lens on quarrying, rock-cut architecture/site, and rock art. By addressing challenges of extraction, technological adaptation, and symbolic and practical engagements with rock, as well as heritage and recent research, the event fosters interdisciplinary dialogue on the transformation of rocky landscapes across time and space.

Theme 1 – Facing risks: challenges, adaptations, and transformations in quarrying and rock-hewing practices

The first theme addresses the challenges associated with stone extraction or excavation activities. This includes constraints of the physical environment, especially the geological landscape: how geological features influence human engagement with stone, and/or how quarries and rock-cut sites are integrated within their landscape, with an emphasis on the interplay between natural and cultural forces. This theme will also investigate technical adaptations in response to accidents, failures, or unforeseen circumstances, and will consider human resilience and innovation in overcoming challenges encountered in stone-cutting practices.

Theme 2 - Cutting into living rock: dialogue between quarries, rock-cut architecture and rock art studies

Archaeological research into stone quarrying, rock-cut architecture and rock art is diverse and multi-disciplinary. However, these sites share a common characteristic: they are rocky places altered by cutting/anthropic/human activities. Transformed by the irreversible removal of stone, they are places where people have engaged with the inner surfaces and character of rock at various scales and intensities. This theme seeks to draw out these relationships by providing a forum for dialogue between these three research areas.

Theme 3 – Heritage: archaeological quarries and rock-cut sites in the present

The third theme includes ways in which former quarries and sites of stone extraction are at risk from, or present opportunities for, actions in the mitigation of climate change. It will also consider the agency of stone itself in co-creating and influencing the identity and function of these sites over time.

Theme 4 - At the cutting edge: current research on quarries and rock-cut sites

The fourth theme welcomes presentations about methodological innovations in fieldwork or analysis as well as theoretical research dealing with the landscape setting, the technologies, and social practices associated with archaeological quarries and rock-cut sites.

Info: Call for papers until the 31 December 2025 More info: https://hca.ed.ac.uk/updates-events/events/cfp-3rd-iraar-conference

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