††A quarry is a place where stone, rock or metal ores are dug out of the ground. As architecture became more sophisticated it became necessary to find methods of obtaining and moving large blocks of stone. Some early structures, such as pyramids, required regularly-shaped blocks with a weight that could range from 2.5 to 150 tonnes. The rock was cut out of the ground by cutting notches and inserting wooden wedges. Water was then applied to make the wedges swell and crack the rock. Today explosives, powerful drilling machines and large excavators are used in quarrying.
