nti ios Peed rg Institute of Archaeology, University of London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WCIH OPY Telephone: 01-387 6082 New Discoveries at Rudna Glava — the earliest shaft-and-gallery copper mine in Eastern Europe Rudna discoveries. Rudna Glava is a now abandoned magnetite (iron ore) open cast mine in north-east Serbia (Jugostavia) with early prehis: toric workings partly preserved in the banks of the open east The first indications of the existence of any early eneolithic (Chaleolithie) mining activites at Rudna Glava were found in the provincial anthropological museum at Negotin. Here. & small votive altar decorated with deer-heads, typical of the ly eneolithie Viica culture, was published with the details: ‘originated from an old mine shaft at Rudaa Glava, 2m. below the surface’. This most unusual find triggered off & series of excavations undertaken since 1968 by the Mining Museum of Bor and the Archaeological Institute of Belgrade University. The result was the discovery of numerous eno lithic (Chacolithic) mine “shafts The actual ‘shafts’ consisted of more or less vertical, trench-like or tubular oval veins (1.2-1.Sm. in diameter, 16 2m. deep) of rich copper carbonates, mainly malachite and vunte, very similar to the chalcolithie copper mines at Chinflon, Huelva, Spain, excavated by an [AMS team led by Beno Rothenberg (IAMS Newsletter No. 2. 1981). These however, shafts sunk into the rock in order to reach the ore veins below (as with later mines), but natural veins that had been followed and emptied by the prehistoric miners, In order to reach the mineralized rock, the ancient miners had. in many instances, to clear a thick layer of surface soi resulting in funinelshaped shafts occurring above the actual ‘mine workings. In these instances, platforms had been pre pared to facilitate haulage from the underground workings, ‘More than 200 grooved mining picks. male of large, hard, river-borne pebbles were found in the workings. These belong to the earliest type of mining tools known to-date and can be paralleled at Chinflon, Hueiva; Timna, Israel, and Mt Gabriel in Ireland, ete. A number of antlers used as picks were also recovered from the shafts. these were a widely used im plement in prehistoric flint mines. ‘Of particular importance for the history of mining and a ‘major key for dating the Rudna Glava mines were the groups ff pottery and votive altars found in situ in special storage areas in the underground workings. The votive altars were incipient shaft-and-gallery mi ion from Professor Borislav Jovan toric mine workings of Rudna Glava, which are of ‘ever, during the excavation in 1984.2 new type of . The final report, nov scheduled for 1987, wg systems, known only so far at the excavator, on his previously known from agricultural settlements of the later Vinea culture and noted for their unusual deers-head deco~ ration. Here at Rudna Glava, apparently, they served not only as cult objects but also as mining lamps, the earliest examples known, In sharp contrast to the many different pottery types known from the Vinéa culture, those found inside the mine consisted ‘mainly of amphorae and simple pots, essentially undecorated utility ware appropriate for use in the workings. The pottery backed by CI4 dates, places the mines at the end of the Neolithic to early Eneolithie of the Central Balkans, produc ing a calibrated date of 4200-4000 B.C General view ofthe top of Mine Shaft 2N at Runa GlaveThe Rio Tinto Enigma — no more The ancient mine workings and slag heaps of Rio Tinto {south-west Spain) have often been described in the literature (Nash: Salkield: Avery; Rothenber-Blanco) and some of its mining relics are exhibited in major ‘museums of Spain and abroad, including the famous Roman water wheel shown in the British Museum. It was mainly the huge seale of these workings and the enormous slag heaps which made Rio Tinto unique in the world history of mining and metallurgy. These skig heaps were first surveyed and sampled in 1924, when the Rio Tinto Company’ issued! its ‘Map of the Ancient Slag Heaps’. including chemical assays and an estimate of the quantity of slag in Rio Tinto: 15,300,000 tones of leadsilver slag_and 1,000,000 tons of copper slag. These were astonishing figures and Rio Tinto, was generally acknowledged as the largest metal producer of the ancient world, although some authors expressed their mazement that such a huge Imperi proxluction centre of silver should not be mentioned in classical literature The classification of the slags as copper or silver sla based on the following riteria (Salhi! 1970. p. 8 ‘copper and little lead and silver was det slag With more than 0.5% lead and some as coppers nd Iitle copper was labelled silver slag. Because of the bi ver quantities of leadisilver slag and because some lead ores had been found between the upper oxidized zone (°Gossan’) and the massive pyritic ore body, it was concluded that early Rio Tinto was basically # leadlsiiver smelter ‘The ancient silver and copper ores of Rio Tinto The geologist David Williams (Royal School of Mines. Lon. don) revealed in 1950 that at Cerro Colorado (the main ore | tegenese ED sn omens eens Map of the anciom topography of Rio Tinto before the beginning of mining. The later sag dumps ant the Nordh Lene ‘marked on the map. 3 pyrites and he called these “jerosites’. He estimated that from the Rio Tinto ore bodies about 2,000,00) tons of jerosites, were extracted in ancient times. As it was also assumed that in ancient times only copper th 820% copper were smelted, the source of the copper ore was identified as the chalealitie ores also contained in the same “secondary enich. ment zone’ hetween the gossan and the massive pytites The date and nature of the slag heaps of Rio Tinto, ic. the kind of metal produced and at what periods, was frequently discussed in the literature and it became generally accepted that Bronze Age Tartessians began silver production in Rio Tinto on an industrial scale. enhanced soon afterwards by sea borne Phoenician metal-iraders of the eighth to six centuries, B.C. However, hecause the Romans resmelted much of the cealier Phoeni most of the black shag visible now at Rio Tinto was assumed to be Roman (Salkield, 1970, p, 93) The Rio Tinto Many basic questions remained unanswered 1. The slags of Rio Tinto, especially the huge ancient slag build-up uncovered by the recent Corta Lago open pit joperation, clearly showed very many unclisturhed layers of slag on top of each other and many pre-Roman layers could be identified by finds of undoubtedly pre-Roman pottery, Archacologically there could not have been any Roman resmelting of earlier slag — simply because these caarlier sigs were tll in their orginal position below the Roman layers. But what was their date and when did it all start? 2. Modern geological surveys (D._ Williams and others) Showed that there were only about 3,000,000 tons of jerosite ores in the ore bodies of Rio Tinto, of which igma pon cast mines are ass