Las Médulas |
![]() | This article includes a |
![]() Panoramic view of Las Médulas | |
Includes |
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Inscription | 1997 (21st |
Area | 2,208.2 ha (5,457 acres) |
Coordinates | 42°28′9.8″N 6°46′14.7″W / |
Las Médulas is a historic gold-mining site near the town of
The spectacular landscape of Las Médulas resulted from the
The area
What happens is far beyond the work of giants. The mountains are bored with corridors and galleries made by lamplight with a duration that is used to measure the shifts. For months, the miners cannot see the sunlight and many of them die inside the tunnels. This type of mine has been given the name of
ruina montium . The cracks made in the entrails of the stone are so dangerous that it would be easier to find purpurine or pearls at the bottom of the sea than make scars in the rock. How dangerous we have made the Earth![7]
Pliny also describes the methods used to wash the ores using smaller streams on riffle tables to enable the heavy gold particles to be collected. Detailed discussion of the methods of underground mining follows, once the
The remains of such a system have been well studied at
Pliny also stated that 20,000