Thanks you gentlemen for your responses, I have so far traced comments back
via Edward Hull's 'The Coalfields of Great Britain' of 1861, to Pennant's
'Tour of Wales' and
Mammat's 'Geological facts', neither of which I have yet consulted.
Mike Shaw
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Claughton" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2011 12:05 PM
Subject: Re: [mining-history] stone age coal
> At 11:30 05/11/2011, M J Shaw wrote:
>>I have been trying to establish the earliest example of the use or mining
>>of coal in the UK. Wikipedia contains an un-referenced statement on the
>>matter which is repeated on a number of websites and had by a public
>>authority 'introduction to coal mining' site become
>>'It is documented that Stone Age man dug for coal for flint axes have been
>>found still embedded in the layers of coal, in the Derbyshire, Monmouth
>>region.'
>>I am not entirely convinced of the accuracy of this but have failed to
>>find anything better on-line, can anyone point me to a reliable source on
>>this matter.
>
> Mike,
>
> Whilst I have no references to hand on the finding of flint axes in coal
> seams, I am aware that coal was used for decoration in the Early Bronze
> Age. A quick search found the following - Investigating jet and jet-like
> artefacts from prehistoric Scotland: the National Museums of Scotland
> project, by Alison Sheridan, Mary Davis, Iain Clark, Hal Redvers-Jones,
> Antiquity, September 2002, but I'm sure I have seen something published
> more recently than that date.
>
> 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 - College of Humanities, University of Exeter
> http://people.exeter.ac.uk/pfclaugh/about.htm
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