Panoramic view of Las Medulas gold mines
by RicardMN Photography
Title
Panoramic view of Las Medulas gold mines
Artist
RicardMN Photography
Medium
Photograph
Description
Las Médulas is a historic gold-mining site near the town of Ponferrada in the comarca of El Bierzo (province of León, Castile and León, Spain). It was the most important gold mine, as well as the largest open-pit gold mine, in the entire Roman Empire. Las Médulas Cultural Landscape is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Advanced aerial surveys conducted in 2014 using LIDAR have confirmed the wide extent of the Roman-era works.
The spectacular landscape of Las Médulas resulted from the ruina montium (wrecking of the mountains), a Roman mining technique described by Pliny the Elder in 77 AD. The technique employed was a type of hydraulic mining which involved undermining a mountain with large quantities of water. The water was supplied by interbasin transfer. At least seven long aqueducts tapped the streams of the La Cabrera district (where the rainfall in the mountains is relatively high) at a range of altitudes. The same aqueducts were used to wash the extensive alluvial gold deposits.
The area Hispania Tarraconensis was conquered in 25 BC by the emperor Augustus. Before the Roman conquest, the indigenous inhabitants obtained gold from alluvial deposits. Large-scale production did not begin until the second half of the 1st century AD.
Uploaded
August 9th, 2020
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Viewed 271 Times - Last Visitor from Wilmington, DE on 03/19/2024 at 2:09 PM
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Comments (5)
Nancy Lee Moran
Your viewpoint, combined with the sun angle and the cool background, reveals the warmth and solidity of these rock formations. Your description is excellent, too. L/F
Luther Fine Art
Congratulations! Your fantastic photographic art has been chosen as a Camera Art Group feature! You are invited to archive your work in the feature archive discussion. There are many other discussions in the group where you can promote your art even further more.
Nisah Cheatham
Congrats! This photo has been featured on the •UNESCO World Heritage Sites• group on FAA/Pixels. ||| Featured images are capped around 30, so you are invited to archive your photo to the "2020 Features!" discussion topic.