The enormous debris piles visible in the background of this image testify to the intensity of quarrying in this area. This debris is mainly chips of stone left over from the quarrying process. Around 50-60% of all the material extracted probably ended up as waste like this.
The photograph is taken from the quarry which is actually composed of three separate quarry faces. The first is directly in front of the photographer's position and is nearly vertical. The second, also vertical, starts just beneath this and stops where the grassy area in the middle of this image is visible. This grassy area leds down to the third quarry face which is tunnelled into and which drops away at the right of this image.
Notes
This is one of largest quarries of the more than seventy individual extraction points which constitute the so-called City Quarries at Aphrodisias, located roughly 2 km north of the city. White and grey marbles were quarried in this area.