For the greater part of this century little has been documented on the origin of the mineral ores that produced the first metal objects of the Copper and Bronze Age periods. Often only vague and brief references give the first indication of the possible ore production sites. Such views have continued until relatively recently, with a commonly held belief that where evidence for early mining should survive it would have been destroyed by mining activity from the recent period, notably the 18-19th centuries (Tylecote 1986). However research over the past 10-15 years has progressively advanced our understanding of early mining and the production of copper and to a lesser extent tin, which are the components of bronze. Numerous sites in the United Kingdom, Europe and other parts of the world are now recognised, where mining evidence of the prehistoric period has been dated through C14 techniques and pottery typologies (Craddock 1986 & 1992). Virtually all of these sites had seen activity during the past two centuries with contemporary accounts documenting the first indication of mining to an earlier period. Of the sites now recognised in the British Isles and Ireland, the most notable are Cwmystwyth in mid Wales (Timberlake 1990a,b), Parys Mountain in Anglesey (Timberlake 1988) Great Orme in north Wales (Lewis 1990a), Alderley Edge in Cheshire (Gale 1989) and Mount Gabriel in south-west Ireland (O’Brien 1994) .
At the Great Orme investigations for early mining have been in progress since the late 1970’s when the first C14 date for Bronze Age mining in Britain was obtained from a small gallery 20m below surface (James 1990). This inevitably lead to further investigation, most of which has occurred during the past several years, beginning in 1988 when a series of underground workings were accessed for the first time in over 100 years. At first these workings were thought to have largely originated during the 19th century but, as they were explored, it became apparent that many of the workings displayed features and artefacts that were very different from those of recent centuries. Through the study of these features and artefacts it became apparent they represented a much earlier phase of mining activity. The unprecedented scale of these early workings together with a programme of radiocarbon dating now suggest the Great Orme (plate 1) may constitute one of the largest surviving underground mines of the Early-Late Bronze Age period in western Europe.
The opportunites to study the early mines of the Great Orme are both varied and complex, as earlier reports have indicated (James 1990, Lewis 1990a, 1993a, 1993b, 1994, Dutton 1990, Jenkins&Lewis 1990, Dutton&Fasham 1994). Often these studies, like many other accounts from similarly dated mine sites, have concentrated on a generalised picture, overlooking the reason why early man was able to remove ores to the extent that has been presently recorded. The main purpose of this work will be the study of the relationships of the geology of the ore and its parent rock and the technology by which Bronze Age man removed it. This will contrast with other works in this area of study where the approach has been an archaeological/historical one, looking at features and finds and relating them to other cultural markers in the contemporary landscape (O’Brien 1994). Such studies have tended to ignore geological factors and their influence on technology and also to lack extensive comparisons of other early mines and their technologies.
Suitable geological conditions are considered to be wholly responsible for dictating the extent, and ease with which, the sought mineral can be removed, so governing the mining methods that were available to extract the ore. This study therefore proposes to consider in detail the geological factors that are responsible for controlling the size, shape and extent of mined areas encountered at the Great Orme. The opportunity to study a relationship of this nature is better than at the majority of other similar sites; this is largely due to the extensive nature of the workings and their excellent state of preservation, sometimes with total lack of later disturbance due to mainly 19th century activity. This has presented an ideal opportunity to determine information on ore types, modes of emplacement, mineral content, ore distribution and mineralogical relationships with the country rock. In order fully to interpret the geological conditions it became apparent that a comprehensive survey of the main areas of early mining activity as well as the 18/19th century workings would have to be completed. This information could then be used to create a set of plan and section drawings of the workings onto which geological as well as archaeological information could be plotted.
Direct comparisons will be made to many other recognised early mines, concentrating predominantly on those in Europe and the Near East. This should assist in obtaining an objective view of any affinities between sites, making comparisons of artefacts, mining techniques and features, for example passage morphology, size and extent of the workings, geological conditions and associations between similarly dated field sites in the local area. These conditions, considered either collectively or singly, may help in determining trends between sites or alternatively support the view that each mine should be regarded individually. Comparisons with other sites may, incidentally, contribute towards the diffusionist-independant evolutionary theories. If nothing else the importance of the Great Orme as a major producer of copper in Bronze Age Europe can be assessed, placing it in correct perspective to those mines in eastern Europe and the Near East. The eventual result will be to propose a chronology of development at the Orme during the Bronze Age period to recent centuries, and at the same time to contrast features and artefacts from these two recognised phases of mining.
By combining geological detail, survey data and field observation it should become possible to understand the complex nature of the early workings at the Great Orme. From this it may be possible to determine the particular mining techniques that were required to remove the ore material through the Bronze Age period. For example, it is likely that the first ores to be removed were weathered and friable and would therefore have required very simple techniques. Contrastingly, once these softer ores had been removed, the more resistant ones remaining would perhaps require a different technique of removal. It may therefore be possible to distinguish artefacts and features that are indicative of these differing techniques of early ore extraction.
1. Identify and discuss other mine sites in the British Isles, Europe and Near East where evidence for early mining to the Bronze Age periods has been identified. This will include special reference to early mining tools and techniques and geological conditions of the ore deposit.
2. Summarise history of archaeological finds and research on early mining at the Great Orme.
3. Investigate, interpret and discuss the geological conditions of the ore deposit and parent rock at the Great Orme. This will include the production of detailed geological logs of the rock strata encountered at surface and through the underground workings where evidence for early mining is known.
4. Survey underground workings and produce plan/section drawings in order to identify all accessible areas where there is evidence for early mining. The drawings will also be used for the plotting of geological detail, and also for recording the positions of individual archaeological artefacts and features.
5. Summarise and discuss all existing evidence for early mining at the Great Orme. This will include new evidence discovered by the study as well as reference to all previous work.
6. Discuss relationship between geological conditions (in 3. above) and passage morphology of the early workings (in 5. above).
7. Propose a chronology of development of early mining at the Great Orme.
8. Summarise and discuss features and artefacts that characterise and contrast early mining from mining of more recent centuries, notably the 18th and 19th centuries.
