The Roman Mines at Riotinto

Abstract

Although the name of Riotinto has become synonymous with mining throughout the world and the site was very clearly exploited in antiquity, the Roman mines have received relatively little archaeological attention at the analytical level. The reasons for this situation are complex, not least perhaps the impression amongst archaeologists that there now remains little or nothing from antiquity capable of examination. The two major expansions of large-scale open-cast mining by the old Riotinto Company have led to a general impression that modern mining has removed all worthwhile archaeological evidence. Furthermore, in the last century a massive study by Rua Figueroa appeared at the time to offer a comprehensive survey of all that was known of ancient and more recent exploitation.