At 13:51 13/04/05 +0100, Mike Gill wrote:
>It is gratifying to see such a rush of responses from list members who share
>Peter’s and my own wish to move mining history forward,
>Like a new convert, who has been shown the shining path, Peter is also blind
>to my point on archæology.
Mike, and most mining historians who interpret mine sites, have a strong
leaning towards archaeology even if they are not aware of it. Mike is, of
course, very aware of that as, unlike myself, he's an archaeology graduate.
So it's no 'shining path' but a developing awareness that, in some cases,
the way forward is through the archaeology.
As to
>having too many studies -
They have their place but it is limited.
In the course of work in progress, I'm getting myself up to speed on the
mining of iron ores in the north of Spain. There is an excellent study of
the iron mining industry in the Basque province of Vizcaya - Glas, E. J.
Bilbao's Modern Business Elite, (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1996) -
which examines the statistical evidence for iron mining, the developing
infrastructure, the involvement of local and outside investors, and its
impact on the local and wider economy. In doing so it refers to various
mines, mining companies and transport developments - and I will no doubt be
drawn to visit some of the sites if only to get a 'feel' for the area -
but, without going into great detail, it provides an excellent overview
which I could never get from a thousand 'histories' of individual iron
mines in Vizcaya. Read such a book and you understand iron mining.
Mind you I'll leave you with a thought - I think it was David Bick, well
known for his work on the mines of mid-Wales, who said that one could
understand the documentary evidence for mining and one could also
understand the archaeology but, put the two together, and you would be
totally confused.
Peter
______________________________________________
Dr Peter Claughton,
Blaenpant Morfil, nr. Rosebush, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
Tel. +44 (0)1437 532578; Fax. +44 (0)1437 532921; Mobile +44 (0)7831 427599
Hon. University Fellow
School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies (Centre for South
Western Historical Studies)
University of Exeter
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
See http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/files/mining-history/ for details.
Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
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