Las Médulas Gold Mines
Las Medulas by Jonathan Pincas/Flickr
The most important gold mine of the Roman Empire, Las Médulas was also the largest open pit gold mine in the empire. Before the Romans ruled the area, indigenous peoples would pick gold out of the alluvial mounds of deposited soft earth that washed out of the mountain. When the Romans realized the riches hidden in the earth, they engineered innovative ways of extracting the gold.
Large tunnels were dug out from the top of the mountain and then filled with water, which pressed down on the rocky walls and softened them enough to be more easily excavated. Seven long aqueducts were constructed for the purpose, bringing water in from the nearby district of La Cabrera, with its high peaks and heavy rainfall.
In a process that sounds very much like a tale out of Lord of the Rings, ruina montium, or the “wrecking of the mountains,” laid waste to the monstrous mounds in a way thought only achievable by giants. The boring of holes into the mountains and subsequent erosion by water left the region in it modern form, with richly colored slopes rising from the ground like so many jagged teeth against a brilliant horizon. No longer an active gold mine, Las Médulas is a much more valuable treasure as a tourist attraction to those who make the journey to see it.
Large tunnels were dug out from the top of the mountain and then filled with water, which pressed down on the rocky walls and softened them enough to be more easily excavated. Seven long aqueducts were constructed for the purpose, bringing water in from the nearby district of La Cabrera, with its high peaks and heavy rainfall.
In a process that sounds very much like a tale out of Lord of the Rings, ruina montium, or the “wrecking of the mountains,” laid waste to the monstrous mounds in a way thought only achievable by giants. The boring of holes into the mountains and subsequent erosion by water left the region in it modern form, with richly colored slopes rising from the ground like so many jagged teeth against a brilliant horizon. No longer an active gold mine, Las Médulas is a much more valuable treasure as a tourist attraction to those who make the journey to see it.
