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water branch off to numerous places, they used to empty the common bed completely. But although this was helpful to the
Salassi in their hunt for the gold, it distressed the people who farmed the plains below them, because their country was deprived of irrigation; for, since its bed was on favourable ground higher up, the river could give the country water. And for this reason both tribes were continually at war with each other. But after the Romans got the mastery, the Salassi were thrown out of their gold-works and country too; however, since they still held possession of the mountains, they sold water to the publicans who had contracted to work the gold mines; but on account of the greediness of the publicans. Salassi were always in disagreement with them too.
307:. He describes the problem gold miners had with a local tribe because of the great volumes of water they had taken from the local river, reducing it to a trickle and so affecting the local farmers. Whether or not they used the water for hushing remains unknown, but it seems possible because the method requires large volumes of water to be operated. Later, when the Romans assumed control of the mining operations, the locals charged them for using the water. The tribe occupied the higher mountains and controlled the water sources, and had not yet been subdued by the Romans:
27:
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121:. The method was applied in several ways, both in prospecting for ores, and for their exploitation. Mineral veins are often hidden below soil and sub-soil, which must be stripped away to discover the ore veins. A flood of water is very effective in moving soil as well as working the ore deposits when combined with other methods such as
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If veins of ore were found using the method, then hushing could also remove the rock debris created when attacking the veins. Pliny also describes the way hillsides could be undermined, and then collapsed to release the ore-bearing material. The Romans developed the method into a sophisticated way of
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so that it could be used to make lime for agriculture, mortar, plaster and limewash. Bennett notes leases of land for this purpose in the 17th and 18th centuries and remains can still be seen at sites like
Shedden Clough. Hushing for limestone seems to have been limited to the eastern side of the
311:
The country of the
Salassi has gold mines also, which in former times, when the Salassi were powerful, they kept possession of, just as they were also masters of the passes. The Durias River was of the greatest aid to them in their mining — I mean in washing the gold; and therefore, in making the
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covering one end of the reservoir, possibly a permanent fixture such as a swinging flap or a rising gate. The size of the tank controlled the height of the wave and its volume. Hushing was most effective when used on steep ground such as the brow of a hill or mountain, the force of falling water
264:
There are the remains of numerous tanks and reservoirs still to be seen at the site, one example being shown at right. It was a small tank built for prospection on the north side of the isolated opencast north of the main mine. It was presumably built to prospect the ground to one side of the
188:. He describes how tanks and reservoirs are built near the suspected veins, filled with water from an aqueduct, and the water suddenly released from a sluice-gate onto the hillside below, scouring the soil away to reveal the bedrock and any veins occurring there.
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region was so successful that the price of gold in Italy fell by a third during this period. From his description of large nuggets, and the find being made only two feet below the ground level, with deposits reaching down to 15 feet, it is likely to have been an
434:, where in around 1580 mine adventurers used the method to work a lead-silver deposit, although lives were lost in the attempt. Phil Newman, writing in 2011, states that there is possible archaeological evidence for use of the technique at two sites on
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from the 1st century BC on to the end of the empire. It was also widely used later, and apparently survived until modern times where the cost of explosives was prohibitive. It was widely used in the United States, where it was known as "booming".
454:
Pennine ridge, between
Burnley and the Cliviger Gorge, and probably occurred here because of the cost of obtaining supplies from further away, as well as the suitability of the boulder clay and the availability of water supplies.
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in the search for lead and silver. This gully is about 100 feet deep, carries a small stream, and is a prominent landmark on the bleak moors. The dams used to store the water are also often visible at the head of the stream.
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345:. It appears to have been worked intensively in pre-Roman days and continued to expand with Roman involvement. The scale of the aqueducts there seems to support Strabo's comments.
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opencast for traces of the gold-bearing veins extending to the north. It failed to find the veins here, so was abandoned. It probably precedes the construction of the 7 mile long
461:(2nd Ed., 1960). The water outlet could be controlled by an automatic system which allowed water to flow through the sluice gate when the overflow triggered a release mechanism.
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where water methods such as hushing would have been very effective. Modern attempts to identify the mines point to one especially large ancient gold mine at Bessa in
Northern
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lessening as the slope becomes smaller. The rate of attack would be controlled by the water supply, and perhaps more difficult the higher the deposit to be cleared.
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from a tributary of the river Cothi about a mile further north up the valley. The method could be applied to any ore type, and succeeded best in hilly terrain. The
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from the 1st century AD. He distinguishes the use of the method for prospecting for ore and use during mining itself. It was used during the Roman period for
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The technique was also used during alluvial gold mining in Africa, at least until the 1930s, when it was described by
Griffith in his book
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363:, does not mention hushing at all, although he does describe many other uses of water power, especially for washing ore and driving
70:
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The remnants of hush gullies are visible at many places in the
Pennines and at other locations such as the extensive lead mines at
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475:
261:. The development of the mine at Dolaucothi shows the versatility of the method in finding and then exploiting ore deposits.
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needed to supply the large volumes of water needed by the method, and construction was probably directed by army engineers.
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Although the term "hushing" was not used in south-west
England, there is a reference to the technique being used at
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mines of northern
Britain from at least Elizabethan times onwards. The method was described in some detail by
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A Treatise on a
Section of the Strata from Newcastle upon Tyne to the Mountain of Cross Fell in Cumberland
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Early leats and hushing remains: suggestions and disputes for roman mining and prospection for lead
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The earlier history of the method is obscure, although there is an intriguing reference by
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The power behind a large release of water is very great, especially if it forms a single
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In south-eastern Lancashire hushing was used to extract limestone from the glacial
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The technique appears to have been neglected through the medieval period, because
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on Children in Mines in relation to children being used in the lead mines of the
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where jets or streams of water are used to break down deposits, especially of
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661:, Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 19 (1960): 71-84 and plates III-V.
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615:. The Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council. p. 37
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Royal Commission on Children in Mines describes hushing in 1842
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322:, who lived from 220 to 170 BC, was writing much earlier in
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Hushing was used during the formation and expansion of the
703:, Bulletin of the Peak District mines Historical Society,
367:. However, the technique was used on a large scale in the
657:
Jones G. D. B., I. J. Blakey, and E. C. F. MacPherson,
446:, though he says research is needed for confirmation.
668:, The Antiquaries Journal, 49, no. 2 (1969): 244-72.
666:The Dolaucothi gold mines, I: the surface evidence
753:Remains of hushing systems in Wales by Timberlake
299:, Book IV, Chapter 6, to gold extraction in the
269:supplying the main site, and was fed by a small
253:, and for hard rock gold veins such as those at
102:, south Wales, showing hushing fed by aqueducts.
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689:, University of Wales, Cardiff, 3rd Ed (1995).
682:, The National Trust Year Book 1976-77 (1977).
200:Small tank A near north opencast at the Roman
675:, Journal of Roman Studies 60 (1970): 169-85.
8:
277:were well experienced in building the long
588:. Swindon: English Heritage. p. 152.
680:The Ogofau Roman gold mines at Dolaucothi
224:, and is well known as a strong force in
71:Learn how and when to remove this message
216:Tank C above main opencast at Dolaucothi
211:
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34:This article includes a list of general
743:Roman gold mine with numerous aqueducts
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532:. Durham Miner Project. Archived from
673:Roman gold-mining in north-west Spain
357:, writing in the 16th century in his
94:Sketch map of the development of the
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232:. Such a wave could be created by a
113:method using a flood or torrent of
748:Hushing as used at Cwmystwyth mine
694:Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply
40:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
671:Lewis, P. R. and G. D. B. Jones,
664:Lewis, P. R. and G. D. B. Jones,
654:, Clarendon Press (Oxford), 1935.
586:The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor
406:. Another notable example is the
738:Hushing in Gunnerdale, Yorkshire
162:The method is well described by
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793:Aqueducts in the United Kingdom
328:(Book 34), and he records that
659:Dolaucothi: the Roman aqueduct
610:"Archaeology Alive, volume 11"
476:Derbyshire lead mining history
83:For the consonant sounds, see
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379:(1809), and also in the 1842
788:Roman aqueducts outside Rome
696:, 2nd ed. London: Duckworth.
685:Annels, A and Burnham, BC,
109:is an ancient and historic
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758:Shedings at Shedden Clough
733:Great Dun Fell hush gulley
728:Hushing in Yorkshire mines
245:deposits such as those at
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687:The Dolaucothi Gold Mines
418:, probably formed in the
293:writing ca 25 BC in his
763:Shedden Clough Hushings
55:more precise citations.
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166:in Book XXXIII of his
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798:Hydraulic engineering
652:Roman Mines in Europe
584:Newman, Phil (2011).
481:Dolaucothi Gold Mines
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202:Dolaucothi Gold Mines
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96:Dolaucothi Gold Mines
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16:Ancient mining method
692:Hodge, A.T. (2001).
635:A History of Burnley
398:, Wales, and at the
182:opencast vein mining
154:, is commonly used.
633:Bennett, W. (1948)
471:Dartmoor tin-mining
136:A variant known as
778:Traditional mining
562:on 25 October 2008
536:on 25 October 2008
486:Mining in Cornwall
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169:Naturalis Historia
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783:History of mining
637:Vol.2 p. 97.
595:978-1-84802-033-7
496:Roman engineering
373:Westgarth Forster
355:Georgius Agricola
241:extracting large
180:deposits, and in
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381:Royal Commission
339:alluvial deposit
285:Earlier evidence
174:hydraulic mining
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506:Roman mining
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451:boulder clay
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420:Georgian era
400:Stiperstones
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375:in his book
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530:Lead Mining
330:gold mining
301:Val d'Aosta
296:Geographica
247:Las Médulas
234:sluice gate
53:introducing
772:Categories
645:References
556:"Glossary"
428:Tregardock
412:Cross Fell
404:Shropshire
396:Ceredigion
392:Cwmystwyth
365:watermills
255:Dolaucothi
222:water wave
117:to reveal
61:March 2011
36:references
279:aqueducts
619:24 April
566:24 April
540:24 April
465:See also
436:Dartmoor
385:Pennines
320:Polybius
267:aqueduct
149:alluvial
142:alluvial
85:Sibilant
416:Cumbria
332:in the
303:in the
158:History
107:Hushing
49:improve
592:
334:Alpine
291:Strabo
275:Romans
192:Method
111:mining
38:, but
613:(PDF)
512:Notes
444:leats
440:Devon
343:Italy
259:Wales
251:Spain
115:water
621:2008
590:ISBN
568:2008
542:2008
369:lead
305:Alps
271:leat
228:and
178:gold
147:and
145:gold
438:in
430:in
402:in
394:in
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257:in
204:in
152:tin
98:in
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