At 13:37 05/02/06, Trevor Dunkerley wrote:
>Dr. Marcos Martinon-Torres at UCL has offered a feasible explanation
>for the use of ground down pottery sherds (see Britarch List) and
>his suggestion certainly fits what I am finding.
Marcos is certainly correct to suggest that the crushed sherds might
be components in a parting vessel to separate gold and silver. Now,
we have clear evidence for silver extraction at Combe Martin but
gold? There are gold deposits in North Devon but they are very
isolated - not economic for bulk extraction in the 19th century - and
none, to my knowledge, are associated with the mineralisation at
Combe Martin. You could however be dealing with the processing of
imported material; for example, we have evidence that some ores were
shipped in from co. Wexford; and there is the apparent suggestion
that difficulties with 'parting' contributed to the original failure
to successfully work the Wexford ores on site in the 1550s (Cowman,
'The German Mining Operation at Bannow Bay, 1551-52', Journal of the
Wexford Historical Society, 11, (1986-7), 67-82; however Cowman is
rather confused about the processes involved).
______________________________________________
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 Humanities and Social Sciences (Centre for South Western
Historical Studies)
University of Exeter
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