Stonemason’s tools

Stonemason’s tools

It was well known to everybody working in construction in Cyprus, that the finest building stone came from the quarries of Yerolakkos, which opened in 1930, and operated until 1974. The tools to work the stone were the ‘matsa’, the ‘kouspos’, the ‘liveri’, the ‘sfina’, the ‘martelli’, and the ‘fkiari’ for the transfer of dirt.

  • ‘Sfines’ (Wedge): A wedge placed in a split in the stone, and hit with the ‘Matsa’ in order to split the stone.
  • Small ‘Matsa’: A type of mallet used to strike the ‘sfines’ (wedges) to separate the stone from the quarry.
  • ‘Liveri’ (Lever): Α lever like tool used for the movement of stone.
  • ‘Matsa’: A type of mallet used to strike the ‘sfines’ (wedges) to separate the stone from the quarry.