Procurement sites, where raw material was either collected or quarried, represent a particular complex set of issues. To a degree, procurement sites form part of raw material exchange sensu largo, representing one end of the chain from source to end-user (see above), but they also need to be examined and analysed in their own right, where the technologies applied to extract the raw material, as well as the socio-economical organization behind the actual collection or quarrying processes are discussed.
The Burnetland Hill chert quarry pit under excavation by Biggar Archaeology Group 2007. Prior to excavation, the quarry pit was visible as a faint oval depression (courtesy of Tam Ward, Biggar Archaeology Group).
At present, few Upper Palaeolithic or Mesolithic procurement sites are known from Scotland. An undated, but probably post Mesolithic, quartz quarry from Lewis has been discussed in the archaeological literature (Ballin 2004). Chert quarry pits are known from southern Scotland (Warren 2007, 146), but these features are generally undated. However, the fact that some are associated with relatively narrow blades suggests that they were operational by the Late Mesolithic or Early Neolithic periods. At Early Mesolithic An Corran, baked mudstone may have been procured from an exposure immediately above the site (A. Saville, K. Hardy and S. Birch pers. comms.). Rùm bloodstone was probably procured from the scree or beach at the foot of Bloodstone Hill (N. Galou pers. comm.); prehistoric quarries (even in the simple form of quarry pits) have not yet been located on Rùm (Clarke and Griffiths 1990).