CHAP. IV. 



ROMAN MINING. 133 



CHAPTER IV. 



On the financial management of their mines by the Romans. 



IT has been before mentioned that the Romans 

 had but few mines in Italy, and, according to the 

 observation of Pliny, they were very sparing of 

 their contents. They certainly wrought no mines 

 of gold or silver in any part of Italy before the 

 commencement of the first Punic war, about 

 490 years from the foundation of their city, or 

 260 before our Christian era. There is no in- 

 formation to be gained respecting the mode in 

 which the few copper and iron mines they then 

 possessed were administered. Our knowledge 

 of the financial administration of the mines of 

 the precious metals must be therefore drawn 

 from later sources. 



The Romans, till the time of their Cartha- 

 ginian wars, were much too rude and warlike a 

 people to pay great attention to the mechanical 

 arts, or to their economical departments, till they 

 were attracted to the consideration by having ob- 

 tained by conquest possession of the sources of 

 the wealth of the vanquished. The rapid sue- 



