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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
Photograph showing three quarrymen splitting and dressing slate by hand outside one of the gwaliau (an open-fronted shed where slates were split and trimmed) at Dinorwig Quarry. The quarryman on the left is reducing the size of a large block of slate using a ‘cowjian’ (a type of chisel) and a ‘mwrthwl dragio’ (a hammer, usually weighing three and a half pounds). The quarryman in the centre is sat on a ‘trafael’ (a bench with a fixed iron blade), dressing a roofing slate using a ‘cyllell naddu’ (a slate trimming knife). The quarryman on the right is sat on a ‘blocyn tîn’ (a slate splitter’s seat), splitting a block of slate using a ‘Rhys Bach’ (a mallet made of African Oak) and a cŷn manhollt (a wide and slim chisel).
