HISTORIC SCOTLAND TAN 12 QUARRIES OF SCOTLAND
5.05 Jurassic Sandstone of the north of Scotland Jurassic sedimentary rocks are found on the Moray Firth coast and in small isolated outliers of the Inner Hebrides. Sandstones which could b e easily worked and sculpted such a s those at Carsaig, Mull have been worked in medieval times. M o r e extensive quarrying took place in the Clynekirkton Sandstone Formation (Upper Jurassic) a t Brora.
Clynelish Quarry, Brora (C238-239), c.1899 Some of the earliest photographs in the BGS collections illustrate the working of fine-grained, siliceous, white sandstones, known as 'Clynestone', of the Clynekirkton Sandstone Formation. The Quany Register of 1899 records the quarry owner, Andrew Murray employing 16 men "inside" and 14 "outside". When worked the sandstone was relatively soft, parts of it could be crushed between the fingers, but upon exposure it became hard and tough, a quality which made it valuable as building stone. The top 3 m or so of the sandstone at the quarry are silicified and the rock resembles a fine-grained quartzite.The quarry yielded many important marine fossils during the 19th century. From the photographs it is noticeable that a large thickness of overburden comprising boulder clay (till) on sands was present. Sandstone blocks were retrieved by a manually operated crane and dressed at the surface. Photographs courtesy of the British
Geological Survey.