Las Médulas
Videos
Las Médulas is a historic gold-mining site near the town of Ponferrada in the comarca of El Bierzo. It was the most important gold mine, as well as the largest open-pit gold mine, in the entire Roman
Panoramic view of Las Médulas
Panorama of Las Médulas, 2018
Rock-cut aqueduct in La Cabrera
Ghost town "Orellán" at Las Médulas, 1st–2nd centuries AD
Hushing
Videos
Hushing is an ancient and historic mining method using a flood or torrent of water to reveal mineral veins. The method was applied in several ways, both in prospecting for ores, and for their exploita
Las Médulas
…found in the mountains around Las Médulas. Mining would start with the building of aqueducts and tanks above the mineral veins, and a method called hushing used to expose the veins under the overburden. The remains of such a system have been well studied at Dolaucothi Gold Mines, a smaller-scale site in…
Small tank A near north opencast at the Roman Dolaucothi Gold Mines in Carmarthenshire, Wales: the person is standing within the reservoir bank, which has eroded over the years
Tank C above main opencast at Dolaucothi