Possible basin cut into the rock in the quarries on the Ardıçlı hill near Aphrodisias.
This shallow depression carved into the rock might be a quenching basin, that is a shallow basin which would have been filled with water, into which newly sharpened chisels would have been placed to cool down. Cooling down the metal to the right temperature following shaping in the forge was crucial to achieve the required strength. Blacksmiths would have to have been present in the quarries continually sharpening and re-shaping tools.
