The remains of the alum quarry at Boulby, although the pyramid shape at the top of the photograph is such a prominent feature of this part of the site, it is not in fact anything special. It appears to be sitting on top of a general quarrying level but is only composed of earth and stones from above the alum shale layer. It is a tip of overburden dumped here to allow the sandstone from beneath its original position to be removed and thus expose the alum shale. It has probably been a larger tip originally which has been eroded to its current distinctive shape. It was probably formed by building out a wooden gantry from the cliff face so that the removed material could be dumped well clear of the intended quarry face.
Image courtesy of Alan Richardson and information kindly supplied by Simon Chapman.
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