HISTORIC SCOTLAND TAN 12 QUARRIES OF SCOTLAND
5.02 Carboniferous Sandstones of the Midland Valley of Scotland
worked, namely the Craigleith, Ravelston and Hailes sandstones. The Craigleith Sandstone attains a maximum thickness of over l OOm and comprises in the distributed beds of laid down main a highly siliceous, close-textured, fine-grained, mainly as river sands during the Carboniferous are grey sandstone. Beds vary from a few centimetres to present in the Midland Valley of Scotland. They 4m. The stone was described as .well nigh far the largest P ~ of consvuctional ~ P ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ imperishable9 and was used extensively as ashlar in stone in central Scotland. Often quarries would supply Edinburgh, particularly parts of the New Town, as well a variety of material from the best constructional stone, as in London, Europe and the United States. The traditionally referred to as 'liver rock', for ashlar as largest beds supplied stone for monolithic pillars. It well as more thinly bedded stone suitable for rubble was worked at many quarries notably Craigleith, work in walls. The best quany sources supplied a Ravelston, Craigcrook, Maidencraig (Blackhall) and flourishing export market to other parts of Britain and Granton (Sea and Land) quanies. abroad. Many of the once famous quarries around the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow ceased operations At Craigleith, the quarry face was said to have been several decades ago and have been used subsequently 110 m deep of which 104 m was solid rock. It is now as landfill sites. A selection from early engravings and infilled and only the top few metres are exposed and prints and the BGS photographic archive illustrate this preserved, courtesy of Sainsburys plc, as a Regionally Important Geological Site, a reminder of the once once thriving quarrying industry. famous workings. A second quarry to the north and separated from the main Craigleith Quarry by a fault r'i) Craigleith Sandstone was worked intermittently during the first forty years In the Edinburgh area three principal stratigraphic of the 20th Century. Latterly stone was worked for horizons within the Lower Carboniferous were once rubble and aggregate.
Craigleith Quarry, Edinburgh (Engraving, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh), 1834 An early 19th Century engraving illustrating a paper by H Witham shows the extent of working at the time of the building western extension of the New Town. The engraving shows one of the large specimens of fossil trees (Pitus wirhami)which were discovered, an example of which may be seen at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. Reproduced by permission of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.