The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (grid reference SN662399), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are a Roman deep mine located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... The River Cothi is the largest tributary of the River Tywi in south Wales. ... Pumsaint is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales situated half way between , Llanwrda and Lampeter on the A482 in the valley of the River Cothi. ... Carmarthenshire (Welsh: ) is a county in Wales. ... This article is about the country. ...

They are the only mines for Welsh gold outside those of the Dolgellau gold-belt, and are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. There is only one open gold mine in Wales today. ... Dolgellau (formerly spelt Dolgelley in English) is a market town in north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion. ... A Scheduled Ancient Monument is defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983 of the United Kingdom government. ...

Archaeology suggests that mining on this site started sometime in the Bronze Age. Evidence of a fort and settlement show that the Romans worked the mine during the first and second centuries AD (from AD 75 until around AD 140). This site yields some of the earliest evidence anywhere for the Roman use of water-powered trip-hammers to crush ore (Burnham 1997). These workings are comparable with those in Romania and with the late Iron Age gold sites of Limousin in central France. The Romans probably used slave labour taken from the local area to work the mine. No evidence of the Roman minting process exists on or near the site, so the gold may then have been sent as far away as Rome to be minted. After the military occupation the mine may have been taken over by Romano-British civilian contractors. Image File history File links The_golden_wheel_from_Dolaucothi. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Table of Fortification, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... Principal sites in Roman Britain Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... Capital Limoges Land area¹ 16,942 km² Regional President Jean-Paul Denanot (PS) (since 2004) Population  - Jan. ... Slavery in the ancient Mediterranean cultures comprised a mixture of debt-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war. ... A mint is a facility which manufactures coins for currency. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... The term Romano-British describes the romanised culture of Britannia under the rule of the Roman Empire, when Roman and Christian culture had extensively entered into the life of the native Brythonic and Pictish peoples of Britain. ...

Following the Roman departure from Britain in the 5th century, the mine lay abandoned for centuries. There was a short revival in the 19th century; and in the 1930s the shaft was sunk to 430 feet in an attempt to locate new seams. Falling into disrepair and unsafe due to flooding at its lower levels, the mine finally closed in 1938. The Roman departure from Britain was nearly completed by 400. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 - 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

The United Kingdom's National Trust has owned and run the site since 1941. The National Trust organises guided tours for visitors, showing them the mine and the Roman archaeology. The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ...

Barry C. Burnham 1997 Roman Mining at Dolaucothi: the Implications of the 1991-3 Excavations near the Carreg Pumsaint Britannia vol.28 pp325-336

External links

• Dolaucothi Gold Mines information at the National Trust
• An interactive quiz relating to Dolaucothi Gold Mine. Includes an animation of a water wheel used to empty the Dolaucothi Gold Mine of water.