Ave Aurum!
The Roman Empire was created by engineers. Forget the consuls, the generals, the emperors. If it weren't for the engineers, there wouldn't have been an empire. Instead of reguarding Caesar and his campaigns as ingenious, we should remember the unknown engineers that made his success possible.
To begin with, the empire needed gold. Gold can easily be found on the surface in only a few areas. But if you dig you can find more. When the Roman legions made their way into Hispania, they found an area in the northwest where the indigenous Celts easily found gold. The Romans then said, "Ah hah! This is where we dig." Then they called in the engineer to find out the best way.
The engineer looked at the area, scratched his head, made a few measurements and then said, "Okay, I've got it figured out. We'll do it this way." Then he went on to enumerate the precise way to create a ruina montium or how best to take a mountain and destroy it in the search for riches. Of course, this hydraulic mining scheme involved
bringing in water from a hundred kilometers away with canals. Which involved slaves. Slaves were also involved to dig the galleries through which the water would later be pumped to create pressure to wash away the soft parts of the mountain where the gold was hidden. There weren't enough slaves in the area to make that workable forever, so they brought in indentured servants after a while. Which is to say they brought in temporary slaves.
Over two hundred years and countless head scratching and indentured servants (slaves) for the grand total of around six thousand kilos of gold. Not much? At its high point, it accounted for about eight percent of the GNP of the empire and was the most important gold mine of the greedy, ehem, great Roman Empire. And, thanks to them, now we have a World Heritage Site that is a gem to visit and wander about in. Though, if a mining company were to attempt that ecological disaster nowadays, no one would be applauding.
To begin with, the empire needed gold. Gold can easily be found on the surface in only a few areas. But if you dig you can find more. When the Roman legions made their way into Hispania, they found an area in the northwest where the indigenous Celts easily found gold. The Romans then said, "Ah hah! This is where we dig." Then they called in the engineer to find out the best way.
The engineer looked at the area, scratched his head, made a few measurements and then said, "Okay, I've got it figured out. We'll do it this way." Then he went on to enumerate the precise way to create a ruina montium or how best to take a mountain and destroy it in the search for riches. Of course, this hydraulic mining scheme involved
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| A hewn-out gallery you can visit. |
Over two hundred years and countless head scratching and indentured servants (slaves) for the grand total of around six thousand kilos of gold. Not much? At its high point, it accounted for about eight percent of the GNP of the empire and was the most important gold mine of the greedy, ehem, great Roman Empire. And, thanks to them, now we have a World Heritage Site that is a gem to visit and wander about in. Though, if a mining company were to attempt that ecological disaster nowadays, no one would be applauding.
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