Dolaucothi Gold Mines - Similar Sites

Similar Sites

Although there is nothing directly comparable with Dolaucothi in Britain in terms of the extensive hydraulic systems, there are many other known Roman mines in Britain, some of which seem to show traces of hydraulic activity. They include the extensive remains of lead mining at Charterhouse in the Mendips, Halkyn in Flintshire, and many areas in the Pennines. Dolaucothi is most directly comparable with gold mines in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania in modern Romania, at Rosia Montana, and with the Roman gold mines in north-west Spain, such as the very much larger site of alluvial mining at Las Medulas and Montefurado. The Romans may have used slave labour taken from the local area to work the mine, although the army itself was probably most directly involved, especially for their engineering skills in surveying and building aqueducts, reservoirs and water tanks or cisterns.

There is some evidence that some of the gold was worked at the site, judging by the finished brooch shown above, as well as other finished gold products.

A part engraved jewel has also been found in the vicinity. Such activities would have needed skilled, not slave labour. No workshops or furnaces have yet been found, but it is likely that both existed on site. Ingots of gold would have been easier to transport than dust or nuggets, although a high-temperature refractory furnace will have been needed to melt the gold, which has a melting point of 1064 °C. Pliny mentions such special furnaces in his Naturalis Historia. A workshop will have been vital for building and maintaining mining equipment such as the drainage wheels, flumes for washing tables, shuttering for aqueducts, crushing equipment and pit-props. Official mints would have produced gold coins, a key component of Roman currency. After the military occupation the mine may have been taken over by Romano-British civilian contractors some time after 125 AD, although the final history of the site has yet to be determined.