Tag Archives: Berner Sandstein

The old quarry that was reused as a beer brewery

Posted on February 2, 2013 by

Working with the Berne Minster Workshop on mapping the quarries used for the cathedral, I visited the Wabern quarry just outside the city centre yesterday. Though it is unclear to what extent it was employed for the cathedral in the Middle Ages, it is a most remarkable quarry: For it was reused as a brewery for “Gurten Beer” from the 1860s on. Since I have noted the link between stone extraction and beer drinking through history (see last part of this story), I thought I ought to post the photo above of a wonderful old horse cart with a beer barrel remaining in the quarries. Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, New projects, Old quarries, Switzerland | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

With pickaxe into modern times: Quarrying of Bernese sandstone (CH)

Posted on January 11, 2012 by

Even until the 1950s the quarrymen in Berne extracted their sandstone using pickaxes. They carved out trenches around the blocks to be removed, not unlike the way their colleagues did 5.000 years ago in ancient Egypt. Why so? Join me … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Old quarries, Switzerland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments