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про золотые рудники
History
Landscape of Las Médulas, Spain, the result of hydraulic mining on a vast scale by the Ancient Romans
Late 15th and early 16th century mining techniques, De re metallica
Annual world production of mined gold, 1940-2012
It is impossible to know the exact date that humans first began to mine gold, but some of the oldest known gold artifacts were found in the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria. The graves of the necropolis were built between 4700 and 4200 BC, indicating that gold mining could be at least 7000 years old.<1> A group of German and Georgian archaeologists claims the Sakdrisi site in southern Georgia, dating to the 3rd or 4th millennium BC, may be the world's oldest known gold mine.<2>
Bronze age gold objects are plentiful, especially in Ireland and Spain, and there are several well known possible sources. Romans used hydraulic mining methods, such as hushing and ground sluicing on a large scale to extract gold from extensive alluvial (loose sediment) deposits, such as those at Las Medulas. Mining was under the control of the state but the mines may have been leased to civilian contractors some time later. The gold served as the primary medium of exchange within the empire, and was an important motive in the Roman invasion of Britain by Claudius in the first century AD, although there is only one known Roman gold mine at Dolaucothi in west Wales. Gold was a prime motivation for the campaign in Dacia when the Romans invaded Transylvania in what is now modern Romania in the second century AD. The legions were led by the emperor Trajan, and their exploits are shown on Trajan's Column in Rome and the several reproductions of the column elsewhere (such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London).<3> Under the Eastern Roman Empire Emperor Justinian's rule,
N.B. gold was mined in the Balkans, Anatolia, Armenia, Egypt, and Nubia.<4>
In the area of the Kolar Gold Fields in Bangarpet Taluk, Kolar District of Karnataka state, India, gold was first mined prior to the 2nd and 3rd century AD by digging small pits. (Golden objects found in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro have been traced to Kolar through the analysis of impurities — the impurities include 11% silver concentration, found only in KGF ore.) The Champion reef at the Kolar gold fields was mined to a depth of 50 metres (160 ft) during the Gupta period in the fifth century AD. During the Chola period in the 9th and 10th century AD, the scale of the operation grew. The metal continued to be mined by the eleventh century kings of South India, the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1560, and later by Tipu Sultan, the king of Mysore state and the British. It is estimated that the total gold production in Karnataka to date is 1000 tons.<5>
The mining of the Slovak deposit primarily around Kremnica was the largest of the Medieval period in Europe.<6>
During the 19th century,...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_mining
Some 1,900 years ago the Romans hit the jackpot when they managed to conquer Dacia and spoil it of 5 million pounds of gold and 10 million pounds of silver. Hardrock gold mines were subsequently opened up in the Transylvanian Alps.
“Mines existed in many parts of the empire, Gaul, Britain, Spain, the Balkan peninsula, Asia Minor, Egypt. When these countries were taken over, the Romans seem to have taken over the mines then in existence, or most of them, without however, interfering with the mines subsequently discovered. The methods of exploitation of the mines seems to have been various: Leasing to large capitalists; leasing of single pits to small contractors whose rent was collected either by tax farmers or by state officials; exploitation of quarries by contractors who received fees proportionate to the amount of material extracted; extraction of minerals by convicts condemned to the mines, these convicts coming from the plebeian class, and lastly by the use of compulsory labor, as mentioned in law 7 of this title. During the later empire, public mines seem to have been exploited mainly through convict and compulsory labor. Law 4 of this title, however, seems to indicate that the contract system, perhaps not on a large scale, was still in existence.
Side by side with the public mines, there were private mines, the extent of which is not known.”
Then let’s open Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts:
“Cyprus was one of the world's important mining centres in ancient times, but for reasons still unknown the Romans halted operations there and sealed the tunnels. Many of the tunnels were found and reopened in the 20th century, thanks to clever detective work by an American mining engineer, D. A. Gunther. In the New York Public Library, he had happened to find an ancient account of the mines. Years of ingenious search in Cyprus led him to the tunnels, which he found complete with usable support timbers and oil lamps. Cyprus became an important mining centre again”
Note: Cyprus hosts massive sulphide deposits associated with precious metals vein and stockwork mineralization; some of them were mined by Romans.
In The Age of Justinian, James Allan Stewart Evans writes that:
” Gold and silver mines in the Balkans and Anatolia continued to be worked, and there were gold-bearing mountain streams in Armenia which were a bone of contention between the empire and Persia. Outside the empire, there was gold in Nubia, and in the Caucasus and Ural mountain ranges, which helps explain Justinian’s interest in both areas.”
So gold came from Armenia and mines and streams in Thrace, while silver came from mines in Armenia and Cyprus.
What about Nubia? Nubia (Ethiopia) was one of the main sources of gold for Egyptians, Romans and Byzantines alike. To further your knowledge read the Texts relating to Axum, Christianity, and relations with the Roman Empire article.
Large amounts of gold also came from Egypt. The Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine article provides an excellent account of ancient mining in Egypt. A must read
http://technology.infomine.com/articles/1/3707/justinian-gold.roman-mines.egypt-gold/justinian%E2%80%99s.gold.mines.aspx
http://www29.homepage.villanova.edu/christopher.haas/Ethiopia-txts.htm
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