IRAAR: A project for promoting the study of rock‐cut sites and quarries

IRAAR, International ReseArch group on Quarries and Rock‐cut sites, is a research network launched in March 2021 during the international conference: “From quarries to rock‐cut sites: Echoes of stone crafting” (https://www.mappalab.eu/en/echoes‐of‐stone‐crafting/?fbclid=IwAR01c‐yjqWrH9D48oxl_qS3mwBnR3MDYxav1‐ MZbjmCjwVDV9uHjad9jrVE). The group aims to promote the theoretical and methodological debate around the study of rock‐cut sites and quarries in a diachronic and international perspective, bringing together specialists working on the subject. In rock‐cut sites and quarries, engraved features and tool marks testify of the specific know‐how related to the carving and exploitation of the rock. By documenting the tool marks on the rocky surface, we can better understand and define the set of technical skills of ancient workers. These practices reflect past and present human societies, their traditional knowledges, as well as their perceptions of the rock itself and of the underground world that we can better understand through archaeology and anthropology of techniques. IRAAR aims to encourage an interdisciplinary approach, through the promotion of dialogue and collaborations amongst researchers.