368 



ROMAN MINES OF GOGO-FAU. 



proving that there was a considerable Roman station at the western foot of this hill 1 . 

 The antiquary may decipher these inscriptions, and attempt to inform us which of the 

 Caii left his patronymic to the adjacent village of Cynfil " Cayo" whilst the geologist 

 and miner are left to speculate on the probable cause, which led these adventurous and 

 indefatigable conquerors to perforate hills with magnificent galleries, some of which 

 are eight feet high. 



The rock of Gogo-fau is a quartzose grit and sandstone, with very slight appearances of slaty 

 cleavage, and in parts exhibiting the rippled surfaces of bedding. The strike is from north-east to 

 south-west, and the beds dip for the most part to the north-west, as seen in the chief building 

 stone quarries of Clochty. Numerous veins of white crystallized quartz, containing abundantly 

 crystallized iron pyrites, traverse the beds both at right angles and obliquely to the strike, as re- 

 presented in this wood-cut. 



a, a. Laminae of deposit. b, b. Quartz veins. The highly inclined lines mark the planes of slaty cleavage. 



The largest of these veins have been followed, in some instances, to their termination. To these 

 galleries the Welsh assign various names, such as Ogor-hwch, or the Hog's cave ; Ogof-fawr, 

 (large cave) ; Gogor-gowge, &c. The great extent of these excavations is attested by the enormous 

 mounds of white quartz or vein stone debris. 



For what purpose these mines were wrought by so sagacious a people as the Romans 

 remains an unsolved problem. As no particles of lead or copper ore can be detected 

 in the mounds of refuse, and as the pyrites seemed to have been occasionally separated 

 from the quartz, it occurred to me that if in any degree auriferous, it might have been 

 quarried for the gold which it contained. On subjecting, however, some of this pyrites 

 to the examination of that excellent chemist, my lamented friend Dr. Turner, he was not 

 able to detect any trace of gold worthy of notice. Whatever the object may have been, 

 the number and extent of the galleries prove that it was pursued with perseverance, and 

 for a length of time. It is probable that the process of grinding the rock was resorted 

 to, for close to the piles of white quartz which have been deposited near the mouths of 

 the galleries, is a large hard block of stone, having on one of its faces, five circular 

 cavities of different sizes, which may have been used for pounding or grinding the mineral 



1 The Earl of Cawdor first called my attention to this curious spot, to which I was conducted by Mr. Wil- 

 liams, of Llandovery. All the objects of antiquity found in the ruins of the ancient Roman baths, were sub- 

 mitted to my inspection by the proprietor, Mr. Jones, of Dolecothi. Mr. Hawkins of the British Museum, 

 having inspected the drawings which I brought away, informs me that one impression of a signet ring re- 

 presents a fawn holding a bunch of grapes, and the pedum or pastoral staff; and at his feet the bacchanalian 

 leopard. The other remains are chiefly red Roman earthen ware, bearing embossed patterns of foliage, ani- 

 mals, &c, with the names of the makers frequently impressed upon the centres of the different vessels. 



