>Researching the convict operated coal mines in Tasmania, Australia, I
recently came across a mention if a shaft said to be 330 feet deep and
acessed by hand windlass. This seems a long way to haul by hand....
John,
A few comments -
Given sufficient men, I'm sure it was possible to haul, by manual methods,
from much greater depths. The central European mines of the early modern
period probably used such methods (I've not looked at Agricola, but he
probably provides an illustration). Treadmill operated windlasses were used
for hauling quite considerable loads in the medieval period - there is an
example still extant in Salisbury cathedral. Surprisingly, there are few
references to windlasses in the record of medieval mining but, with the
materials used being drawn from the general purchases of the mine (timber,
iron and labour) there is little reason for recording their construction.
However, manual haulage predominated at that period although it is difficult
to determine the depths from which they operated - rope was purchased by
weight and the lengths of individual pieces is not recorded. I would
suggest that the limits to manual haulage were overcome by employing short
hauls up a series of stepped shafts, and there is no reason why such methods
should not be employed in Tasmanian convict mines. As in the late 13th/
early 14th century English silver mines, labour was relatively abundant and
cheap.
Peter
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Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen,
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University of Exeter - Department of History
School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
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