Las Médulas are the rests of a great open air mine worked by the romans engineers. It were declared World Heritage by the UNESCO in 1997. Plinio describes (XXXIII, 78) it explotación and production. Fue precisamente la gran riqueza minera, uno de los factores que atrajo a los romanos a Hispania. Tribus prerromanas astures poblaron estos parajes desde el siglo III a.C. Más información en la Fundación de Las Médulas. |
Golden Mines
of Las Médulas
I and II A.C. Century
The
romans after conquer the region began the extraction of gold in I A.C. century.
The working system is called Ruina montium, and lie in to knock down
the mountain with the power of miles tons of water that drag its materials and
then are filtered to extract the gold.
Due
the absence of water in the area, was necesary carried it on from Aquilanos
Mountains through channels that saved low grounds in long distances. Once there,
the waters were retained in dams building for that object.
The slaves pierce galleries inside the mountain, through which the water stored was thrown, knocking down and dragging hundred tons of clay with gold.
The braves waters went to the washing places (agogas), where lost their power and
were filtered searching only the gold. These washing places are now pretty lakes.
The calculations made marked that in Las Médulas were produced 960.000 kilograms of gold, which is equivalent to move 240 millions of m3 of lands.
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How to go: At the A-6 motorway, from Ponferrada or from Villafranca del Bierzo, to link with N-120 road. Next to the La Barosa village, we get the deviation to Carucedo. Also by the N-536 road, from Ponferrada, to Borrenes or Carucedo towns. From Orense, by the N-536, to Puente de Domingo Flórez. |
