Profile picture
, 7 tweets, 8 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
At the heart of Carmarthenshire's Cothi Valley lies the engine of Roman Britain's power.

Deep within this wild, green, rocky landscape sits the most advanced ancient mining operation ever discovered in Britain.

Its quest – a precious, lustrous treasure:

Gold.

THREAD 👇
Mwyngloddiau Aur Dolaucothi (Dolaucothi Gold Mines), are a range of surface and underground mines on the banks of the Afon Cothi.

As the only known Roman gold mine in Britain, it was tasked with producing gold bullion for the imperial mints.
In 74 AD, Sextus Julius Frontinus subdued Wales' Celtic tribes, establishing Isca Augusta, a major base at Caerleon, along with a network of smaller Roman forts for his auxiliary units.

He began exploiting the gold deposits at Dolaucothi from his fort at nearby Pumsaint.
The site is an example of advanced Roman technology, including an aqueduct (or 'leats') system, moving water from rivers to mines.

Frontinus later restored Rome's aqueducts, and wrote the definitive work on 1st century Roman aqueducts, "De aquaeductu" 👉 penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman…
When the Romans left these islands, Dolaucothi's golden story was lost.

But when a Roman treasure hoard – a brooch, and snake bracelets soft enough to be coiled around the arm – was found, along with an 1844 gold ore discovery, interest was piqued, and mining commenced again.
Mwyngloddiau Aur Dolaucothi are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

A heritage mining attraction can be found on site, managed by the National Trust.

More 👉

⛏ nationaltrust.org.uk/dolaucothi-gol…
⛰ dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/HLC/Dolaucothi…
🌳 coflein.gov.uk/en/site/95142/…
🛡 mining-technology.com/features/drago…
Wales is a country fuelled by its special story.

Britain was once ruled by those who spoke an ancient Welsh.
Through Roman dominion, Anglo-Saxon warfare and English rule, Wales and its old language have endured…

We have secrets. Treasures. Legends.
👉 bit.ly/SecretsOfWales
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Keep Current with Owen Williams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @OwsWills see all

Profile picture
Owen Williams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
@OwsWills
At the gateway to Dinas Mawddwy, as the A470 snakes from the capital to Conwy, it sweeps past a protected ancient monument – hidden from the road beyond.

A tiny, secret, moss-green, picture perfect fairytale of all a river crossing should be.

THREAD 👇
Pont Minllyn, also known as Pont y Ffinnant or Pontrusk Bridge, dates to the early 1600s – the post-medieval period.

It spans the river Dyfi at a long-established crossing point, and was built to act as a 'packhorse bridge'.
🐎 Quick 'packhorse bridge' explainer 🐎

• Ferried pannier-laden horses across waterways
• One or more narrow (one-horse wide) stone arches
• Low parapets designed for panniers to pass over
• Built on major trade routes
• Succeeded by turnpike roads and canals in the 1700s
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Owen Williams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
@OwsWills
In 1823, scientists excavating mammoth remains in Paviland Cave, Gower made an intriguing find: a partial human skeleton covered in red ochre, accompanied by periwinkle shells and carved ivory.

What they'd discovered changed everything.

The cradle of modern humanity.

THREAD 👇
When William Buckland of Oxford University found the skeleton, he made some assumptions:

📿 Beads & Ornaments = Female ("Red Lady of Paviland")
🔴 Red Ochre = Prostitute/Witch

And, since Buckland was a creationist…

💀 Remains can't be older than Biblical Great Flood = Roman
In 2009, radiocarbon-dating proved the bones weren't Roman at all, but were 33-34,000 years old, making the Red Lady the oldest example of a ceremonial burial in Western Europe.

To add more confusion to the mix, the Red Lady of Paviland was also male, probably in his late 20s.
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Owen Williams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
@OwsWills
For a millennium it lay unseen and undisturbed, a stone's throw from one of Wales' most beautiful beaches.

But in 2007, an aerial survey revealed something astonishing just beneath the waves.

A brutally effective, colossal coastal hunting ground…

THREAD 👇
Stretching more than 276m (905ft) along the Pembrokeshire seabed, the gigantic V-shaped stone structure at Poppit Sands was used to catch fish without the need for a boat or rod.

Built during the Norman Conquest, it may have fed the Tironensian Monks at nearby St Dogmaels.
Catching fish in rivers, lakes and tidal waters using traps or weirs is an ancient practice.

Coastal traps work by trapping fish behind a barrier as the tide goes out.
Such traps are often V-shaped, and at the tip of the 'V' is a sluice - where fish are moved into a net or trap.
Read 10 tweets

Embed code for your website

×
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!