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In my opinion, based on some unscientific experiments many years ago :-- The candle was the ultimate in design for its purpose, so I can understand why it was used..( it was perhaps the only thing made available to them,anyway) It could be mass produced, relatively cheaply,from readily available resources and transported quite easily by tying the wicks together, without much potential damage even in the worst of workings..(The Cornish Pasty principle) It could be placed in a number of situations, on the floor , on the hat, in a crevice, tied to a pole . It could be broken into a number of pieces to give a spread of light. when required. It could be easily extinguished. I think carry a bag of 10 or 12 items the size and shape of tennis balls would be lightly undertaken and there would be very few of them useable after transit.through any narrow passages. The light was sufficient without being too powerful. A brighter light would be a disadvantage, casting strong shadows and perhaps having a dazzling effect. When working in subdued light least brightness is much preferable. Does not the burning of large amounts of seashell produce lime in a powdered form and hence limelight? A couple of hundred men using ten shells a day would produce rather large quantities of a potentially hazardous material. I dont think local supplies of moss would support a mine for very long . I also anticipate a few problems in the mass manufacturing of such items when compared to the comparatively easy tasks involved in the wick dipping process. Just my offering . Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: "Catherine Jane Mills" <[log in to unmask]> > Having observed the superior power of illumination of a ball of dried > moss soaked in candle wax burnt on a shell sea compared with an > ordinary wax taper underground I wondered why early metal miners and > colliers (in the absence of methane)would have persisted with an such > inferior technology as the candle. a small handful of dried moss about > tennis ball size burns for one hour. > Was this method used and has any one found evidence of burnt shells or > burnt pottery underground? > Regards > Catherine Mills > >