The Rasohe Quarry

Brač has long been famous for both the quality of its limestone and the skill of its stonemasons.  This is likely why the emperor Diocletian chose to get the stone (and no doubt some of the labour) for the retirement palace he was building in Split from the island. Rasohe was the principal quarry that supplied the stone, situated near the town of Splitska on the island, so named because the stone quarried near there ended up in Split.

The quarry would have been teeming with slaves 1,700 years ago. And no doubt their lot was unimaginably hard. As a source of consolation and encouragement, some slaves turned to the demi-god Hercules, at least to judge by the number of shrines and reliefs found on Brač.  One of the best is the crude image guarding the entrance to Rasohe quarry itself, likely carved by a slave.

Below the relief appears in its true weathered form, followed by an enhanced image that allows it to stand out.

This reputation for excellence in stone and stone carving continues to this day, in part aided by the stone mason school in Pučišća. Not only has the island’s limestone made its way all over Croatia, it can also be found in the Parliament in Budapest, the Parliament and the New Palace in Vienna, the Governor's Palace in Trieste, and the lobby of the United Nations building in New York. There are even rumours that some of the White House has been built with this stone.

More telling still, when Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was recently damaged, masons from the school were called upon to work on its reconstruction.

While visitors to the Rasohe quarry should be able to find Hercules’s relief, they will discover no infernal pillar at its centre, nor even any trace of its malevolent existence. Perhaps if they listen long enough and use their imaginations, however, they might be able to hear the ring of iron on iron on resisting rock and the disconsolate groans of those facing interminable labour.