DoneThat
The Great Orme Mines, Llandudno, Caernarfonshire, Wales
The two sets of paths and steps in the picture lead down into a dip where the entry (figure in blue coat) and exit (bottom of the far steps) tunnels are situated.
The publically accessible tunnel is U-shaped so going into the entrance and following the tunnel will bring you to the exit. There is a vast array of tunnels which are not publically accessible and some are so small they could have only been dug out by children around 5 or 6 years old.
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This is the entrance tunnel and, as you can see, it's not very wide. The Iron-Age miners would have used granite stone hammers probably brought from the beach together with animal bone to dig for copper ore.
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You will be given a hard hat before you enter the mine and visits are self guided.
Amanda is ahead as we make our way deeper into the mine and the original miners would not have had the luxury of steps, or a handrail, which have been installed to make it safer for visitors.
Most of the ore was malachite, a green mineral, however blue azurite, gold chalcopyrite and even native copper may have been mined at the site.
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Occasionally one comes across a grill like this which is covering a dark, deep abyss and, remember, these shafts were dug using stone tools. The only way to carry on is to walk across it. These tunnels go down to 220 feet below the surface.
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This shows some of the uneven cavities left by the miners after extracting and removing the ore and they would have had to carry it out. There is no room for vehicles down here even if they had any. Mining ceased once they had reached the water table.
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This shows how the original miners may have lit the tunnels. The small white objects in the centre of the floor are candles probably best seen in the larger picture. The original candles would have been made using animal fat.
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