58 events with tag "mining"
3000 BC
ID: 5335
Cyprus copper mining begins - island becomes primary copper source for Bronze Age, name 'copper' derives from 'Cyprus'
ID: 5335
2500 BC
ID: 5336
Nubian gold mines established - Eastern Desert mines supply Egyptian wealth, inscriptions describe waterless 12-day journeys
ID: 5336
2000 BC
ID: 5358
Cornwall tin mining begins - essential for bronze production, traded across Europe to Mediterranean
ID: 5358
1500 BC
ID: 5337
Peak of Nubian gold production - thousands die in Eastern Desert mines, gold funds Egyptian empire and monumental architecture
ID: 5337
1200 BC
ID: 5338
Tin trade disruption - Bronze Age collapse disrupts Cornwall-Mediterranean tin routes crucial for bronze production
ID: 5338
900 BC
ID: 5317
Rio Tinto mining begins - Tartessians extract copper and silver from massive sulfide deposits, creating first large-scale mining operation in Iberia
ID: 5317
800 BC
ID: 5339
Hallstatt salt mining wealth - salt mining prosperity funds elaborate Celtic burials, traded across Europe
ID: 5339
700 BC
ID: 5340
Etruscan iron mining in Elba - advanced smelting technology, iron traded throughout Mediterranean
ID: 5340
600 BC
ID: 5318
Phoenicians expand Rio Tinto operations - introduce cupellation for silver extraction, export metals throughout Mediterranean
ID: 5318
500 BC
ID: 5319
Laurion silver strike saves Athens - rich vein discovered, Themistocles convinces assembly to build 200 warships instead of distributing windfall
ID: 5319
483 BC
ID: 5320
Laurion silver funds Athenian fleet - 100 talents annually from mines employing 20,000 slaves, decisive for Salamis victory
ID: 5320
480 BC
ID: 5351
Laurion silver victories - Athenian fleet built with mining profits defeats Persians at Salamis, saving Greek independence
ID: 5351
400 BC
ID: 5361
Celtic iron mining expands - Noricum (Austria) becomes famous for high-quality steel, Celtic smiths supply Mediterranean
ID: 5361
300 BC
ID: 5353
Archimedes screw invented - revolutionizes mine drainage, later used throughout Roman mines for water lifting
ID: 5353
227 BC
ID: 5321
Carthaginians develop Cartagena silver mines - Hasdrubal founds New Carthage near richest silver deposits in Mediterranean, 40,000 slaves at peak
ID: 5321
218 BC
ID: 5322
Spanish silver funds Hannibal's war - Cartagena mines produce 300 pounds silver daily, financing invasion of Italy
ID: 5322
210 BC
ID: 5355
Romans capture Syracuse silver mines - Sicily becomes major silver source after conquest, funds continued war effort
ID: 5355
206 BC
ID: 5323
Scipio captures Cartagena mines - Romans seize Spanish silver mines, immediately restart production with 40,000 workers
ID: 5323
195 BC
ID: 5324
Rome reorganizes Spanish mining - establishes state monopoly, mines produce 25,000 drachmas daily according to Polybius
ID: 5324
150 BC
ID: 5325
Rio Tinto under Roman control - massive expansion using hydraulic mining, 10,000+ workers, slag heaps reach 30 meters high
ID: 5325
140 BC
ID: 5347
Diodorus Siculus describes mine horrors - children carry ore through tunnels, prisoners worked to death, bodies left where they fall
ID: 5347
100 BC
ID: 5326
Slave uprising at Spanish mines - thousands of mining slaves revolt, suppressed brutally, Diodorus describes horrific conditions
ID: 5326
55 BC
ID: 5359
Caesar notes British tin - describes Cornwall tin mines in Gallic Wars, attempts to control trade routes
ID: 5359
50 BC
ID: 5345
Roman mining law codified - detailed regulations on claims, slaves, safety, ore processing, and taxation developed
ID: 5345
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
15
ID: 5357
Roman mining census - Empire operates over 100 major mines, producing iron, copper, tin, lead, gold, silver, mercury
ID: 5357
50
ID: 5354
Fire-setting mining technique widespread - Romans heat rock with fire then quench with vinegar to fracture ore veins
ID: 5354
60
ID: 5348
Ruina montium perfected at Las Médulas - Romans collapse entire mountains using water pressure, Pliny calls it 'victory over nature'
ID: 5348
75
ID: 5329
Romans develop Dolaucothi gold mines - only known Roman gold mine in Britain, sophisticated aqueducts and water-powered machinery
ID: 5329
77
ID: 5330
Pliny describes Spanish mining - Elder Pliny records 20,000 pounds gold annually from northwest Spain, environmental destruction
ID: 5330
80
ID: 5350
Roman drainage wheels at Rio Tinto - series of waterwheels lift water 30 meters from mine depths, 24-hour slave operation
ID: 5350
90
ID: 5362
Gold rush in Dacia - discovery of new veins at Roșia Montană triggers migration, boom town develops
ID: 5362
100
ID: 5346
Mining technology innovations - Romans perfect water-powered ore crushing, advanced ventilation, and deep shaft mining
ID: 5346
106
ID: 5331
Trajan conquers Dacia for gold - captures Roșia Montană mines, 165,500 kg of gold funds Forum and Column
ID: 5331
120
ID: 5349
Deep mining at Roșia Montană - galleries reach 100+ meters depth, wax tablets preserve miner contracts and slave sales
ID: 5349
130
ID: 5356
Slave children in Spanish mines - boys as young as 7 carry ore baskets, life expectancy under 25 years, no daylight for months
ID: 5356
150
ID: 5332
Aljustrel bronze tablets - detailed mining laws found in Portugal, regulate everything from bath house hours to ore theft penalties
ID: 5332
170
ID: 5333
Almadén mercury mining peaks - Romans extract cinnabar for vermillion pigment, later crucial for silver amalgamation
ID: 5333
180
ID: 5363
Marcus Aurelius debases coinage - silver mines exhausted, reduces silver content of denarius to 75%, inflation begins
ID: 5363
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
271
ID: 5352
Dacia abandoned - Aurelian withdraws from Dacia, Roșia Montană gold mines lost, major economic blow to Rome
ID: 5352
300
ID: 5342
Rio Tinto environmental catastrophe - centuries of mining create permanent acid drainage, river runs red with iron oxide, fish extinct
ID: 5342
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
650
ID: 5836
Melle silver mines begin production - Carolingian Francia's main silver source, enables Charlemagne's later monetary reforms
ID: 5836
968
ID: 5838
Rammelsberg silver discovered at Goslar - massive silver vein found in Harz Mountains, transforms Ottonian economy
ID: 5838
970
ID: 5839
Otto I develops Rammelsberg mines - imperial control of silver enables strong central government, funds Italian campaigns
ID: 5839
1168
ID: 5844
Freiberg silver discovered in Saxony - 'First silver rush', town founded, becomes Europe's largest silver source
ID: 5844
1170
ID: 5848
First European 'price revolution' - massive silver influx from German mines causes widespread inflation, social upheaval
ID: 5848
1180
ID: 5845
Mining innovations at Freiberg - water-wheel drainage systems enable deeper mining, output surpasses Rammelsberg
ID: 5845
1260
ID: 5846
Kutná Hora silver discovered in Bohemia - becomes Europe's richest silver source, funds Bohemian kingdom's power
ID: 5846
1526
ID: 5482
Paracelsus proposes that miners' lung disease (silicosis) is caused by inhaling metal vapors, not punishment from mountain spirits
ID: 5482
1724
ID: 464
Daniel Bernoulli begins work on fluid mechanics leading to Bernoulli's principle, driven by need to drain deeper mines
ID: 464
1729
ID: 492
Thomas Newcomen improves steam engine design using Bernoulli's fluid pressure calculations
ID: 492
1735
ID: 503
Bernoulli's principle applied in designing efficient water pumps for Cornish tin mines
ID: 503