Mines Database

About the database

This database provides information on the mines of the Roman empire, principally those producing the main metals used in the production of coinage: gold, silver and copper. Since many silver mines also produced lead from the same ores, many lead mines are listed, and some iron mines have also been included, although the coverage of lead and iron mines cannot yet be regarded as systematic. We do hope to have included the known gold, silver and copper mines, although we would always be grateful to receive notification of new discoveries, or of omissions or errors in our database.

The database was compiled by Andrew Wilson and by Dr Hannah Friedman during her employment as an OXREP Research Assistant.

For each mine, information is recorded on: Name, Mining Area, Country, [Roman] Province, Longitude, Latitude, Date range, Metals produced (Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Iron), and the number of mines at the site.

It should be noted that dating of Roman mining is difficult, and little or no information is available for many sites. For mines in Dacia, broad date ranges have been assigned based on the Roman occupation of the province.

To cite this database please use the following reference:

Wilson, A. and Friedman, H. (2010). Mining Database. Version 1.0. Accessed (date): http://oxrep.classics.ox.ac.uk/databases/mines_database/