Las Médulas
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Las Médulas in León province, Spain used to be the most important gold mines of the Roman Empire. Las Medulas Cultural Landscape is listed by the UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.
A spectacular landscape of Las Médulas resulted from the Ruina Montium, a Roman technique described by Pliny the Elder, consisting in the perforation of the mountain and latter irruption of great quantities of water that literally broke the mountain.
To bring the water to the top of the mountain, a system of channels of more than hundred kilometers was constructed from the Sierra of La Cabrera to Las Médulas.
Description of Las Médulas in Pliny the Elder´s Natural History
"What happens in Las Medulas is far beyond the work of giants.The mountains are bored with corridors and galleries made by lamplight with a duration that is used to measure the shifts.For months, the miners cannot see the sunlight and many of them die inside the tunnels. This type of mine has been given the name of Ruina Montium. The cracks made in the entrails of the stone are so dangerous that it would be easier to find purpurine or pearls at the bottom of the sea than make scars in the rock. How dangerous we have made the Earth!"Pliny also stated that 20.000 Roman pounds of gold were extracted each year. 60.000 free workers were involved in the exploitation, that brought 5.000.000 pounds in 250 years (1.635.000 kg).
External links
- Webpage of Fundación Las Médulas, with itineraries, virtual visit and practical information[link]
- UNESCO official website[link]
- Photo gallery and explanation of the explotaition system [link] ()
- "Las Médulas, the Roman El Dorado". Article by the Leonese writer Julio Llamazares.[link] () and ()
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