As oxen were a very important source of haulage in many contexts, it seemed obvious to wonder whether they found uses in mining. My reason for asking is that oxen were used in the underground quarries in Surrey for hauling stone up inclined drifts to the surface, and the evidence is there in the form of footprints, ox cues and one contemporary reference from the end of the 17th century. As I am currently putting thoughts to paper on this, I wanted to see if there was a wider mining context in which to place my ideas. For example, the number of ox cues we find is quite high, and the animals seemed to lose them (cast them?) frequently. Have such objects been found elsewhere? Maybe they haven't been recognised for what they are? If not underground, then I could envisage they might be used to drive gins, or other surface machinery. As they require less care and can thrive on much poorer feed than horses, and many metal mines are in agriculturally poor areas, oxen would seem a re!
asonable option to consider. I have found plenty of references to the pros and cons of horses/oxen in the agricultural environment, but much less on the industrial field.
Peter
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