Mine

Mining is a hard physical work even today, using the modern facilities of metals and machinery. In spite of this, it is detected among very ancient proofs of human activities. Exploitation sites for necessary, useful and suitable quality raw materials which can be described best, according to our modern notions of activity areas as mines are known since Palaeolithic times. The most ancient mines were typically exploiting lithic raw materials, mainly silices, i.e., 'flint', used for the production of chipped stone artifacts. These mines are generally referred to as 'flint mines' without specifying the exact name of the rock. An essential part of the contemporary tools like picks, shovels and wedges made of wood or transporting vessels made of hide or basketry can be reconstructed, due to the perishing organic raw material, from ethnographical analogies only. Rarely,lucky finds can serve traces of these perishable goods in the soil or traces of working by these tools on more lasting finds.

The most frequently found working tool in a prehistoric mine is the hammerstone. They are typically made of quartzite pebbles of handy size, but there are quite big and heavy hammers as well. These heavy percussion tools could be used directly for breaking the flint bed. It is more likely, however, that the layers were loosened by the joint application of using wooden wedges, natural moisture and heat effects. The large broken blocks of flint were shaped by the help of the smaller hammers into portable blocks for transport and further processing.

Illustrations to this chapter:

MINE LITHICS

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