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Mining in Roman Britain
Mining was one of the most prosperous activities in Roman Britain. Britain was rich in resources such as copper, gold, iron, lead, salt, silver, and tin, materials in high demand in the Roman Empire. Sufficient supply of metals was needed to fulfil the demand for coinage and luxury artefacts by the elite. The Romans started panning and puddling for gold. The abundance of mineral resources in the British Isles was probably one of the reasons for the Roman conquest of Britain. They were able to use advanced technology to find, develop and extract valuable minerals on a scale unequaled until the Middle Ages.
Tin mining in Britain has prehistoric roots, extraction and the alloying with copper being dated to c. 2000 BC. Tin ingots produced in Cornwall, during the second millennia BC, being found as far away as a shipwreck off the Israeli coast. The historic record of British tin extraction is credited to either Herodotus, his Histories describing the Tin Islands, as does Hecataeus of Miletus Journey round the World, both in the 5th century BC. The 4th century BC, Greek, Timaeus, also quoted by Pliny, and 1st century BC Diodorus Siculus and Posidonius all wrote on tin Mining in Cornwall and Devon. Tin production is also offered as one of the primary factors for the 1st century CE Roman invasion, conquest, and occupation of Britannia, tin, lead, iron, silver, and gold extraction increasing throughout the Roman period.
Lead was essential to the smooth running of the Roman Empire. It was used for piping for aqueducts and plumbing, pewter, coffins, and gutters for villas, as well as a source of the silver that sometimes occurred in the same mineral deposits. Fifty-two sheets of Mendip lead still line the great bath at Bath which is a few miles from Charterhouse (see below).
The largest Roman lead mines were located in or near the Rio Tinto (river) in southern Hispania. In Britannia the largest sources were at Mendip, South West England and especially at Charterhouse. In A.D. 49, six years after the invasion and conquest of Britain, the Romans had the lead mines of Mendip and those of Derbyshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire and Wales running at full shift. By A.D.70, Britain had surpassed Hispania as the leading lead-producing province. The Spanish soon lodged a complaint with the Emperor Vespasian, who in turn put limits on the amount of lead being produced in Britain. However British lead production continued to increase and ingots (or pigs) of lead have been found datable to the late second - early third century. Research has found that British lead (i.e. Somerset lead) was used in Pompeii - the town destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D.79.
The Romans mined lead from the Mendips, Derbyshire, Durham, and Northumberland. The silver content of ores from these areas was significantly lower than Athenian lead-silver mines and Asia Minor mines.
Smelting is used to convert lead into its purest form. The extraction of lead occurs in a double decomposition reaction as the components of galena are decomposed to create lead. Sulfide is the reducing agent in this reaction, and fuel is only needed for high temperature maintenance. Lead must first be converted to its oxide form by roasting below 800C using domestic fire, charcoal or dry wood. This is done easily as lead melts at 327C. Lead oxide (PbO) is the oxide form of galena which reacts with the unroasted form lead sulfide (PbS) to form lead (Pb) and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
Details on Roman lead smelting have not been published even though open hearths were found in the Mendips by Rahtz and Boon. These remains contained smelted and unsmelted ores. The remains of first-century smelting were found in Pentre, Ffwrndan. Although this discovery was valuable, reconstruction of the remains were impossible due to damage. An extracted ore from the site had a lead content of 3 oz. (5 dwt) per ton and another piece contained 9 oz. (16 dwt) per ton of lead.
The most important use of lead was the extraction of silver. Lead and silver were often found together in the form of galena, an abundant lead ore. Galena is mined in the form of cubes and concentrated by removing the ore-bearing rocks. It is often recognized by its high density and dark colour. The Roman economy was based on silver, as the majority of higher value coins were minted from the precious metal. British ores found in Laurion, Greece had a low silver content compared to the ores mined from other locations. The Romans used the term 'British silver' for these lead mines.
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Mining in Roman Britain
Mining was one of the most prosperous activities in Roman Britain. Britain was rich in resources such as copper, gold, iron, lead, salt, silver, and tin, materials in high demand in the Roman Empire. Sufficient supply of metals was needed to fulfil the demand for coinage and luxury artefacts by the elite. The Romans started panning and puddling for gold. The abundance of mineral resources in the British Isles was probably one of the reasons for the Roman conquest of Britain. They were able to use advanced technology to find, develop and extract valuable minerals on a scale unequaled until the Middle Ages.
Tin mining in Britain has prehistoric roots, extraction and the alloying with copper being dated to c. 2000 BC. Tin ingots produced in Cornwall, during the second millennia BC, being found as far away as a shipwreck off the Israeli coast. The historic record of British tin extraction is credited to either Herodotus, his Histories describing the Tin Islands, as does Hecataeus of Miletus Journey round the World, both in the 5th century BC. The 4th century BC, Greek, Timaeus, also quoted by Pliny, and 1st century BC Diodorus Siculus and Posidonius all wrote on tin Mining in Cornwall and Devon. Tin production is also offered as one of the primary factors for the 1st century CE Roman invasion, conquest, and occupation of Britannia, tin, lead, iron, silver, and gold extraction increasing throughout the Roman period.
Lead was essential to the smooth running of the Roman Empire. It was used for piping for aqueducts and plumbing, pewter, coffins, and gutters for villas, as well as a source of the silver that sometimes occurred in the same mineral deposits. Fifty-two sheets of Mendip lead still line the great bath at Bath which is a few miles from Charterhouse (see below).
The largest Roman lead mines were located in or near the Rio Tinto (river) in southern Hispania. In Britannia the largest sources were at Mendip, South West England and especially at Charterhouse. In A.D. 49, six years after the invasion and conquest of Britain, the Romans had the lead mines of Mendip and those of Derbyshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire and Wales running at full shift. By A.D.70, Britain had surpassed Hispania as the leading lead-producing province. The Spanish soon lodged a complaint with the Emperor Vespasian, who in turn put limits on the amount of lead being produced in Britain. However British lead production continued to increase and ingots (or pigs) of lead have been found datable to the late second - early third century. Research has found that British lead (i.e. Somerset lead) was used in Pompeii - the town destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D.79.
The Romans mined lead from the Mendips, Derbyshire, Durham, and Northumberland. The silver content of ores from these areas was significantly lower than Athenian lead-silver mines and Asia Minor mines.
Smelting is used to convert lead into its purest form. The extraction of lead occurs in a double decomposition reaction as the components of galena are decomposed to create lead. Sulfide is the reducing agent in this reaction, and fuel is only needed for high temperature maintenance. Lead must first be converted to its oxide form by roasting below 800C using domestic fire, charcoal or dry wood. This is done easily as lead melts at 327C. Lead oxide (PbO) is the oxide form of galena which reacts with the unroasted form lead sulfide (PbS) to form lead (Pb) and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
Details on Roman lead smelting have not been published even though open hearths were found in the Mendips by Rahtz and Boon. These remains contained smelted and unsmelted ores. The remains of first-century smelting were found in Pentre, Ffwrndan. Although this discovery was valuable, reconstruction of the remains were impossible due to damage. An extracted ore from the site had a lead content of 3 oz. (5 dwt) per ton and another piece contained 9 oz. (16 dwt) per ton of lead.
The most important use of lead was the extraction of silver. Lead and silver were often found together in the form of galena, an abundant lead ore. Galena is mined in the form of cubes and concentrated by removing the ore-bearing rocks. It is often recognized by its high density and dark colour. The Roman economy was based on silver, as the majority of higher value coins were minted from the precious metal. British ores found in Laurion, Greece had a low silver content compared to the ores mined from other locations. The Romans used the term 'British silver' for these lead mines.