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SLIDE SHOW: Mines, what mines?

Evidence of a small scale mining enterprise and attitudes to it over the centuries.

Abstract

The copper minerals at Alderley Edge are known to have been mined since the Bronze Age (carbon dating c. 3800 bp). Copper or lead was worked during the Roman era (probably 1st Century AD) and sporadically from around 1693 until 1919. Despite this long history, mining has always been on a small scale. The evidence left has quickly disappeared and, if it were not for recent field work, even more would probably have been lost. Nevertheless, the argument for better protection is growing and, recently, scheduling of part of the site as an Ancient Monument has led to changes in methods employed by those working in the area. This presentation will briefly describe the surface and underground evidence remaining and show what may still be observed, despite the ravages of time. The small scale of the operation will be discussed and views will be expressed on how this influenced the perception of the mines in the latter part of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The presentation will also demonstrate and explain how the attitudes and techniques of the resident mine exploration group (the Derbyshire Caving Club) have changed over the last thirty years leading up to and including the Alderley Edge Landscape Project run jointly by the Manchester Museum and National Trust between 1996 and 1998. A further aspect of the changing attitude to the investigation of the site is the number of range of stakeholders involved and the way their views of and interaction with the site have developed. Parallels could be drawn with industrial archaeology on other mining related sites around the country.

Further detail

This talk was given to Technical Archaeological Group on 2002 at Manchester Town Hall.

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