Location:
Spain
Coordinates:
42.4606, -6.7686
Events at Las Médulas (9)
25 BC
ID: 5327
Las Médulas gold mining begins - Romans start largest gold mining operation in empire using ruina montium technique
ID: 5327
1
ID: 5328
Peak of Las Médulas production - 20,000 pounds of gold annually, 60,000 workers, 600 kilometers of canals for hydraulic mining
ID: 5328
60
ID: 5348
Ruina montium perfected at Las Médulas - Romans collapse entire mountains using water pressure, Pliny calls it 'victory over nature'
ID: 5348
77
ID: 5330
Pliny describes Spanish mining - Elder Pliny records 20,000 pounds gold annually from northwest Spain, environmental destruction
ID: 5330
200
ID: 5334
Roman mining techniques spread empire-wide - drainage wheels, Archimedes screws, fire-setting, and hydraulic mining used from Britain to Egypt
ID: 5334
200
ID: 5360
Peak Roman mining employment - estimated 100,000+ slaves and workers in Spanish mines alone, millions empire-wide
ID: 5360
250
ID: 5341
Las Médulas abandoned - gold exhausted after producing 1,635,000 kg, landscape permanently scarred, mountains collapsed
ID: 5341
350
ID: 5343
Decline of Roman mining - barbarian invasions disrupt operations, sophisticated drainage and extraction technology lost
ID: 5343
400
ID: 5344
End of systematic ancient mining - collapse of Western Empire ends large-scale mining until medieval period
ID: 5344