Ben,
Wholesale destruction of metal mining sites was not uncommon in the 1950s
and 60s: we can all list structures like engine houses and smeltmills which
became evidence for the TA's demolition skills. To blame the National Trust
is to mask the fact that very few people were promoting the value of mining
heritage in the immediate post war decades. In fact the desire to clean up
the evidence of our industrial past continued, with the coal industry in
particular, into the present period. To some extent the caving clubs
contributed to the damage by removing durable artifacts which if left in
situ might now be recorded in context. But, there again, at that time no one
thought beyond the short term option of saving the artifacts from perceived
loss through burial. It was beyond comprehension at the time that
archaeologist would excavate a mine site.
I would like to think that damage, such as occurred at Alderey Edge, could
not happen now. The National Trust attitude has certainly changed, as Welsh
Mines Society members were made aware at the Ogofau Gold Mine, Dolaucothi,
over last weekend. What I would expect from any published report on the
Alderley Project is a assessment of the surviving evidence and a review of
past errors to remind, those bent on similar action in the future, of the
damage that can be caused.
Peter
______________________________________________
Peter Claughton, Blaenpant Morfil, Rosebush, Clynderwen,
Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 07831 427599
University of Exeter - Department of History
School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
See http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/mining-history/ for details.
Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
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