1865.] Hunt on British Gold. 635 



BEITISH GOLD, 



With Especial Reference to the Gold Mines of Merionethshire. 



By Robert Hunt, F.R.S. 



The discovery of Gold in Britain has, from the earliest recorded times, 

 been a question of much interest. There is every reason for believing 

 that before the Roman invasion this precious metal was known to the 

 inhabitants, and prized by them! Julius Caesar was induced to the 

 invasion of these islands, from the report of the immense mineral 

 treasure possessed by the people ; and Tacitus, in his ' Life of 

 Agricola,' distinctly tells us "in Britain are gold and silver and 

 other metals." The early discovery of gold, even by ignorant men, 

 is easily explained. It would be found in the beds of streams, left dry 

 in summer, and the density and colour of the stone would very natu- 

 rally attract attention. The metallic nature of the discovery would 

 be readily detected by men who had already made themselves familiar 

 with tin ; and it is well to remember that all evidence is in favour of 

 the belief, that tin from these islands formed an important element in 

 the commerce of the eastern world, as early as the days of Solomon.* 



Samuel Rush Meyrickf infers, from the ' Triad ' which celebrates 

 Caswallan, Manawydan, and Llew-Llawgyfes as three chieftains distin- 

 guished by the possession of golden cars, that the mines of North 

 Wales were worked by the Cymri at a very early period. 



Cimboline, Prince of the Trinobantes, is known to have coined 

 money of gold, and the probability is that this was obtained in these 

 islands. J The cross of Cong, the tores, and various gold ornaments 

 which have been found in Ireland, and which are preserved in Dublin 

 and elsewhere, are remarkable examples of a tolerably advanced state 

 of manufacture amongst, in other respects, a very unsettled people, 

 and they prove the existence of gold amongst them in considerable 

 quantities. It is thought by those who have examined the subject 

 with care, that the gold was all found on the slopes of the Croghan- 

 kinsella mountain, and in those streams which have made the county of 



* Consult on this vexed question, ' History of Maritime and Inland Discovery,' 

 by W. D. Cooley; 'Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the Ancients,' by Sir 

 George Cornewall Lewis; 'Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients,' by W. 

 Vincent, D.D. ; ' Phoenicia,' by John Kenrich, M.A. ; ' The Cassiterides : an 

 Inquiry into the Commercial Operations of the Phoenicians in Western Europe, 

 with particular Reference to the British Tin Trade,' by George Smith, LL.D., 

 F.A.S. In the last quoted publication, a full and fair discussion of the whole 

 question will be found. 



t ' History and Antiquities of the County of Cardiganshire,' 1810. 



X Sir John Pettus's ' Fodinse Regales ' supposes this gold to have been obtained 

 in Essex. He writes, after having stated that Essex was within the region of the 

 Trinobantes, — " This might be that mine which was afterwards discovered in 

 Henry rV. his time in that countie." There is no evidence which would lead 

 us to suppose that such a mine was ever discovered ; but it is quite certain that 

 this hypothetical gold mine created considerable sensation. " A letter of manda- 

 mus, issued by Henry IV., Mai ii., Anno. 2, Rol. 34, commands Walter Fitz 

 Walter (upon information of a concealed mine of gold in Essex) to apprehend, &c, 

 all persons that do conceal the same mine." — Fodinse EegcUes. 



VOL. II. 2 X 



