342 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



MINING SITES IN WALES. 



Report of the Committee appointed to investigate early mining sites in Wales 

 (Mr. H. J. E. Peake, Chairman ; Mr. Oliver Davies, Secretary ; 

 Prof. V. Gordon Childe, Dr. C. H. Desch, F.R.S., Mr. E. Estyn 

 Evans, Prof. H. J. Fleure, F.R.S., Prof. C. Daryll Forde, Sir 

 Cyril Fox, Dr. Willoughby Gardner, Dr. F. J. North, Mr. V. E. 

 Nash Williams). 



This spring a survey and excavation of the ancient mining-dumps at 

 Great Orme's Head, Llandudno, was carried out on behalf of the Committee. 

 Stone hammers, of the type believed to be approximately Roman in date, 

 and cup-marked querns had previously been found there. The examina- 

 tion, however, showed that they occurred in no orderly sequence, and some 

 were found on parts of the dumps which can hardly be more than a century 

 and a half old ; it is therefore probable that they have been thrown out of 

 ancient workings by recent miners. Patient search may yet reveal the 

 ancient dumps not too deeply buried by modern detritus. It will be 

 particularly unfortunate if more copious evidence of the ancient workings 

 is not discovered, as this must have been one of the most important ancient 

 mines in Wales. 



A few hours were also spent testing a habitation site below Great Orme's 

 Head, near the Gogarth Hotel, which it was believed might be a mining 

 settlement. The site yielded a considerable depth of stratification and 

 some pottery, which has not yet been examined. No evidence was found 

 for its association with the mines, so it will not further interest this Com- 

 mittee. 



Thanks are particularly due to Mr. G. A. Humphreys, on behalf of the 

 Mostyn Estates, for permission to excavate and for help in many small ways, 

 and to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for permission to dig on their lands. 



The following specimens have been examined : 



By Dr. C. Desch, at the National Physical Laboratory : copper bun- 

 ingot, Penmaenmawr, sent by Mr. W. J. Hemp ; contained io% lead, 

 traces of iron and nickel, but no other metals. 



At Queen's University, Belfast : 



(a) Heavy compact slag with few gas-holes ; colour, black with reddish 

 stains ; from Forden Camp, Montgomeryshire (Roman), supplied by 

 Welshpool Museum. Contains 52-21 % iron, no copper, lead or zinc. 

 An iron slag, probably derived from smelting and not from a smithy. 



(b) Specimen of quartz, containing chalcopyrite and some galena, found 

 in the Roman fort at Caersws and supplied by Welshpool Museum. Con- 

 tains 25-45 % copper, 28-8% iron, some sulphur, no lead, silver, anti- 

 mony, arsenic, bismuth, zinc, nickel or cobalt. Apparently there happened 

 to be no galena in the fragment analysed. 



(c) Bornite, slightly magnetic and containing specks of native copper, 

 from the Roman fort at Caersws, and supplied by Welshpool Museum. 

 Contains 1 5 - 47 % copper, 11-69% iron, 6 - 49 % sulphur, o • 02 % lead, no 

 silver, antimony, arsenic, zinc, cobalt or nickel. 



These last two specimens had presumably been collected in ancient times 

 from one of the Montgomeryshire mines. They indicate the working of 

 some of these mines under the Romans, and show that the road through 

 central Wales, though primarily military, had also some economic signifi- 

 cance. They afford confirmation of a fact pointed out in a previous report, 



