Ancient Roman Mining and Quarrying Techniques
Read this article about Roman mining to learn how ancient Romans solved its technical problems. They even had mechanical devices for removing modest amounts of water from mineshafts.
Introduction
Indeed, Rome was not built in a day. Although its close proximity to debris from the volcanic eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius allowed it to be built quicker than most cities. This paper explores the history behind mines, the mining techniques and methods of transportation Romans used to take advantage of this vast mineral wealth and use it to build their thriving city and iconic buildings. We also see the working conditions of a slave in the mines and how the demand of Rome's elite during the Late Republic drove production.
Class lectures from Adrianno of Roma Sotterranea, our visit to the tuff mines and online research are how I reached my conclusions. I learned that Romans were as practical as possible in their methods and sought to eliminate extra work when possible. Waterways were used as often as possible to transport goods rather than the land. The seemingly endless amount of slave labor Rome had allowed work to be done on a trial and error basis, deaths in the work site were commonplace.
However, the treatment of a worker depended on his social status. Skilled artisans such as stone masons were not worked to death. Workplace death rate could have only skyrocketed in the Late Republic when Rome's elite started demanding marble as a token of victory for their military victories. Greed for material wealth was a direct cause for poor treatment of slaves in ancient Rome.
Source: Stephen T. Muench, https://brewminate.com/ancient-roman-mining-and-quarrying-techniques/
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