The latomie are Greek stone quarries, once used to extract the material needed for the construction of temples and buildings. The great latomia of Paradise is the most easterly of those that bordered the ancient urban layout to the north. The blocks of rock here were quarried in the open air; but when the more compact layers extended below the surface crust, they were excavated inside the rocky ridge. This created enormous caverns, with walls up to 40 metres high supported by rock pillars saved from excavation. Over time, the roofs of these great caverns collapsed, so that today the latomia is open to the sky; but what remains of its original conformation are the large boulders that have collapsed onto the plane and the high rocky pillar that still stands in the centre of the latomia.