Medieval Gold Mines Discovered in Slovakia
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
TUŽINA, SLOVAKIA—The Slovak Spectator reports that evidence of gold mining in the fourteenth century has been found in two areas of the Malá Magura hills, on a slope above the Tužina Stream in western Slovakia, by researchers from Hornonitrianske Museum. Two tunnels and a field of exploration pits have been found in the larger of the two sites. If a gold vein was found in a pit, the miners would weigh the profitability of digging a tunnel. Traces of a cabin, known as a krámik, were also found on the slope. Parts of a metal lamp and tools including a mining wedge were uncovered illegally at the smaller site, and handed over to the museum through an intermediary. “The lamp is a rarity because it shows that miners entered the underground area in Tužiná,” said archaeologist Dominika Andreánska. “It complements the overall picture of gold mining in Upper Nitra.” To read about a 1,600-year-old mummified sheep's leg uncovered in an Iranian salt mine, go to "Salty Snack."
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