Panel 4.1 – Roman mining: dimensions, scale and social and territorial implications


Organiser/Chair:

  • Brais X. Currás  (Coimbra University)
  • Oscar Bonilla Santander (Universidad de Zaragoza)

External Discussant:

  • Almudena Orejas (Instituto de Historia, CISC)

Speakers:

Panel abstract

Research on ancient mining has evolved in recent decades from the traditional technological studies to a broader historical view. Nowadays, the study of Roman mining is carried out taking into account its territorial dimension, social and economic implications and juridical aspects. The purpose of this session is to bring together the different visions of Roman mining that are currently being developed in European research. We would like to create a space for discussion on ancient mining landscapes which addresses the current debate on the impact of mining on the economy of the Roman Empire. From a territorial approach we intend to advance in the study of the forms of work organization in the mines, the structure of settlement, and to understand how mining evolves between the end of the Republic and the High Empire.

 

Paper abstracts

1. Alfred Hirt (University of Liverpool)

Mining and Territory. Access to and Possession of Metal Resources in Roman Spain
The current reconsideration of mines and mining and their legal and historical contexts in post-conquest areas of the Iberian Peninsula have significantly evolved earlier scholarly views on the extractive industry in the Roman provinces of Hispania citerior, Baetica, and Lusitania. This discourse, however, has been limited to Spanish academia and not enjoyed wider reception beyond specialist circles. The aim of this paper is to critically question the present picture emerging from the summative analysis of archaeological surveys and finds and contrast this with current thoughts on post-conquest reshaping of conquered space, ownership of resources, and on legal concepts such as ager publicus. The focus of the paper will be on the Iberian Peninsula.

 

2. F. Javier Sánchez-Palencia Ramos (Instituto de Historia, CISC)

“Quod effosum est, tunditur, lauatur, uritur, molitur”. Roman gold mines of Hispania: the treatment of the primary mineral
In the gold mines on primary deposits of the Iberian Peninsula the mineral had to be treated next to the own mine. This phase of the mining process described by Pliny the Elder allowed the gold to be released from the rest of the ore and the waste rock. The material evidence and some of the instruments used in this part of the mining process have been documented in several mines of the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, such as Tresminas (Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Portugal) or Pino del Oro (Zamora, Spain). This paper discusses the current state of the issue and its implications in other technological and social aspects of mining areas.

 

3. Antonio Rodríguez Fernández (Institute of History, CSIC)

Metalla publica and Mining Manpower. Instruments of Social Control in Northwestern Hispania
We seek to provide a summarized view of different legal and administrative issues which affect gold mining management and development in Northwestern Hispania. Beyond the role of the local ciuitates, we will explore other administrative instruments used to manage and control the workforce using a comparative method with other personal fiscal obligations related with conventus framework.

 

4. Beatrice Cauuet (University Toulouse, CNRS)

Evolution and technical transfers in the Roman gold mines of Europa
Gold has been heavily exploited in Western part of Europa in the 1rst Century AD by the Romans, especially in the Iberia Peninsula. Then from the 2nd Century AD, this type of precious metal production has moved to Dacia and to the Eastern part of Europa.
We will present the similarity and the difference of technical practices between Western and Eastern world during the Roman domination, to see in the mining techniques what was transfered or simply adopted from local traditions.

 

5. Christian Rico, Sandrine Baron and Juan Antonio Antolinos (University of Toulouse, TRACES)

Roman mining in Cartagena (Spain). The “Cabezo del Pino” archaeological and archeometry Project (2007-2015)
Since 2007, archaeological works carried on the rich silver-lead district of Cartagena, south-eastern Spain, have bring new and original evidences on mining and metallurgical activity in what was the main Mediterranean centre for the production of lead and silver during the late Republic, IInd and Ist c. B.C. We will present a summary of the results of the archaeological study of a well-preserved Roman mine and that of the excavations carried in the meantime on a workshop complex for mineral treatment, including an ore washing plant, the first ever archeologically documented in Roman Spain. The project includes geochemical analysis, and especially LIA, on different material and artefacts (ore, washing sediments, litharge) uncovered on the excavations. Combined with archaeological and epigraphical data, the LIA can contribute to better know the organisation of Roman mining and metallurgy activity in Cartagena.

 

6. Brais X. Currás (University of Coimbra)

Indigenous settlements and Roman Gold Mining in Northwest Iberia: a Postcolonial approach
Along the most important gold mining areas of Northwest Iberia we find a particular type of settlement, situated halfway between indigenous tradition and the social breakdown introduced by the Roman Empire: the so called Roman mining castros. This kind of site keeps elements from Iron Age settlements, the castros (ditches and ramparts defining the perimeter, dwellings, pottery, etc.) but, at the same time, they are embedded within the Roman new world: "Mining castros" are located inside the gold mines, built using the new hydraulic technologies and having access to the commodities and goods arrived with Rome. This kind of site has an ambiguous character. They illustrate the survival of the indigenous settlement type, but within a completely transformed territorial structure that marks the total dissolution of the social and political organization from Iron Age.
The materiality of these settlements allows us to reflect on the process of the so called Romanization. From postcolonial theory and the new approaches in the study of Roman provincial societies, in this paper we will consider the ruptures and continuities, the cultural conflicts generated by the Roman conquest, and the agency of local groups in a context of domination.

 

7. Rubén Rubio (Universidad de Salamanca)

Hillforts and gold mines: the landscape of the upper Sil (Northwest Iberian Peninsula) between protohistory and the Roman world
In the framework of a research project focused on the evolution of the landscapes between the Early Iron Age and the Late Roman period in the river Sil upper basin (NW Iberian Peninsula), a wide range of archaeological prospections and excavations have been carried out. The surface field surveys have allowed to recognize a large set of Roman gold mines as well as seventeen hillfort settlements which precise chronology remains uncertain in many cases.
The implementation of new exploitation policies of the territory at the beginning of the Roman Imperial time, especially the systematic gold mining, caused great transformations in the ancient landscapes. These visible changes were linked to the creation of new settlements and the disappearance of some of existing ones. At the same time, the pre-Roman astures communities would have suffered significant social stress due to the transition from a model of self-sufficient and apparently non-hierarchical settlements to a global scale in which economic orientation followed the guidelines of imperial interests.
The execution of several campaigns of excavations in seven archaeological sites of the mentioned zone (six hillforts and a mining reservoir) allow us to have a better comprehension of these phenomena. In this way, we are able to identify the changes in the environment and the evolution of the occupation and exploitation strategies of the territory.

 

8. Linda Gosner (University of Michigan)

Mining, Mobility, and Movement: Regional and Imperial Connectivity in the Mining Landscapes of Roman Iberia
From the American gold rush to Spanish colonial silver mining in Peru, the exploitation of metal resources has often stimulated episodes of migration to support mining and related industries. Mining in the Roman Empire was no exception. In this paper, I explore diachronically the changing patterns of movement—both of people and the goods that accompanied them—in and out of major mining districts in the Iberian Peninsula, a place long known as a rich source of metals in antiquity. Following Roman conquest of this region beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, the scale of mining increased dramatically and this growth catalyzed episodes of migration of people and movement of materials in ways that stimulated both regional and empire-wide connectivity. I argue that the migration of Italians into Iberia soon after Roman conquest contributed to the diversification of communities in mining landscapes, and the development of lasting connections between these areas and other parts of the empire. By contrast, in later centuries, increased movement of people and goods within the peninsula stimulated regional connectivity, cementing intra-provincial ties and connections between mining districts. Understanding connectivity brought about by the demands of mining ultimately sheds light on the organization of labor, the complexities of local and imperial economies, and the lived experience of empire in the mining landscapes of Roman Iberia.

 

9. Emmanuelle Meunier (University of Toulouse, TRACES)

Mining during the 1st c. BC in South-Western Gaul. Discussing the Roman implication from the case of the Arize Mountains district (Ariège, Pyrenees)
The recent archaeological investigations carried out in the argentiferous copper mines of the Arize Mountains allowed to review the chronology of their exploitation. If the activity during the Ist c. BC is confirmed, we now know that the mines were first opened during the IVth-IIIrd c. BC and probably interrupted during the IInd c. The resumption of the exploitation at the end of IInd or beginning of the Ist c. BC, in the context of increasing regional contacts with Roma, leads to a reflexion about the identity of the managers of the mines. The involvement of Italians is recognised in other mining districts, closer to the Mediterranean coast at the same period. Could they play an active role in the resumption of the Arize Mountains district?
In this area, apart from the main communication axes, it does not seem that the roman presence could have been very strong during the Ist c. BC. Furthermore, the way of mining does not show major changes between the IVth-IIIrd c. and the Ist c. This make plausible that the descendants of the first miners went back to the mines on their own. The role of Roma, in this context, would have been to stimulate the demand for metals, allowing these small exploitations to work with a relative autonomy. However, the interruption of mining at the beginning of the Ist c. AD could be related with a political decision. Indeed, a new stage of activity recorded in two of these mines in the XIVth c. AD refutes a general exhaustion of the mineral deposits.

 

10. Oriol Olesti (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Mining in the Roman Pyrenees, from Late Republican period to Late Antiquity
The research in the Oriental Pyrenees in the last 15 years has pointed out the importance of mining activities in the zone from Late Republican period to Late Antiquity. The importance of the Iron exploitation (identified in several Pyranean regions, from the Pallars to the Canigó zone), specially in Late republican and Late Antiquity period, shows the occupation of high lands and the setting up of different strategies of production. More recently, the identification of silver and gold activities in the zone shows again these diverse and complementary strategies of production, and their relation with the forms of control and exploitation of local communitites and the natural ressources.

 

11. Joan Oller Guzmán (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Wadi Sikait and the emerald mining in Roman Egypt: some questions on the productive process
The current area of Wadi Gemal, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, can be identified with the ancient emerald mining region of “Mons Smaragdus”, quoted by several ancient authors as Strabo, Pliny the Elder, etc. Although different archaeological studies have been conducted on the sites located on this area, still little is known about the organization of this production that had an important economic impact in the area during Roman times. This study will offer an approach to several questions regarding the productive process involved in the emerald mining as, for instance, how the emeralds were extracted, who worked in the mines, who was in charge of this production or how the emeralds were distributed through the Empire. We will take as a starting point the data available from the most important of these sites: the mining town of Sikait, the ancient Senskis, a huge Roman mining settlement where several houses, buildings and even temples are preserved. The analysis of these structures, combined with the data coming from the mining shafts identified in situ during the archaeological campaigns conducted by the Berenike Project, provides basic information for trying an approach to the emerald production in this area, densely documented by the existence of other mining settlements near Sikait, as North and Middle Sikait, Nugrus, Wadi Umm Harba, Umm Kabu, etc. Finally, this information will be compared with other examples of Roman mines and quarries from the Egyptian area.

 

12. Dragana Mladenovic (University of Southampton)

Roman Gold and Silver Mining in the Central Balkans and its Significance for the Roman State
This paper offers a reassessment of the archaeological evidence for the organization, scale and significance of the Roman silver and gold mining in the Central Balkans, an area thus under-represented in the syntheses of mining in the Roman Empire. Though the significance of the local mining industry has been hinted at by the editors of the Oxford Studies in Roman Economy first volume, Quantifying Roman Economy (1), a delay in publication of the 5th volume on Mining, has led to this evidence still being largely unknown and the scale and importance of Roman mining activities in the region continue being critically underestimated. The aim of the paper is thus to present and raise awareness of this evidence, while making a case for the Central Balkans being the empire’s main source of silver bullion from the second half of the second century AD onward.

(1) Bowman, Alan, and Andrew Wilson. "Quantifying the Roman Economy: Integration, Growth, Decline?" In Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods and Problems, by Bowman, Alan, and Andrew Wilson, eds., edited by Alan Bowman, and Andrew Wilson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009

 

13. Marco Conti (Sapienza, Università di Roma)

Roman Mining in Asia Minor
The study of the roman mining system is dramatically troubled by inescapable factors such as the scarcity of ancient literary and epigraphic information, the erasure of ancient and early Byzantine evidence due the reuse in later periods of the same extracting sites, and the loss of memory caused by the abandonment of the mines, be they caved, water-filled or simply exhausted. Nevertheless, in the past it was possible to reconstruct how the system worked in the western half of the Empire, at least in a general way. This paper’s aim is focused on giving a tentative answer to some questions about key elements of the metal-acquiring process in the eastern provinces. Combining data from different sources it was built a working hypothesis about the management system of the extractive operations in the East, that appears to have peculiar characteristics. The changes in the complex relationship between cities, landowners, social elites and the imperial authority were the main elements that forged this strong identity, close-knit to its historical background. In this system, during the first three centuries AD, the role of the imperial officers constitutes the most striking feature in the eastern regions, especially because it is very different from what is known about their counterparts in the west. Besides the public officers, the cities and the local elites had a role in the mining industry, with a relevance unheard of in the west.

"La Gestione Mineraria Dell’asia Minore In Epoca Romana" (Fulltext)

 

14. Oscar Bonilla Santander (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Ancient mining landscapes in the Iberian System (Spain)
The Iberian System is located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula in the region named in ancient Celtiberia. The region has important mineral deposits of iron, copper, lead and silver that were exploited from the Iron Age until the present time. The mountainous territory was organized by the Roman state in republican time and during the high empire for the exploitation of the mining resources of the territory transforming radically the productive landscapes.
Large-scale production begins in the second century BC. after the conquest of the territory by the Roman state with the creation of new fortified mining villages that will manage the production of metal for long distance commercialization. With the restructuring of the territory in time of the emperor Augustus and the concession of the title of municipality to the cities of Turiaso, Bilbilis, Calagurris and Clunia the production continued until the beginning of the second century AD. when the mining towns that structured the mining operation were dismantled.

 

15. Mátyás Bajusz (University Babes-Bolyai)

Roman quarries on the north-western border of Dacia Porolissensis
The scientific research of stones, as prime building material and the provenience of these have been almost totally neglected throughout the scientific research of Dacia province. Only three or four researchers could be enumerated starting from the end of the 18th century and 19th century who were intrigued to study and note the most important quarries of the region. Currently I am studying the stone as the base building material in Dacia and the process of its mining. My actual project is to map all the quarries serving the settlements and fortifications of the north-western border of Dacia Porolissensis, and based on the location of each site I am trying to model the possible roman routes of the transportation of the mined stone. In addition to these my interest is widened to the social background and human resources of the process of quarrying. Concerning the aforementioned area, I managed to identify 18 quarries of four different kinds of stone. The situation is complicated by the fact that a certain percent of the quarries are currently active, or have been used throughout the centuries, so during the research has rise a need for the methods of geology and ethnography too.