Elba copper mines
The Elba Copper Mines (also called by Hoardwell) are three copper mines located in Berwickshire in the Scottish border region . They are on the eastern slope of a steep gorge, in a bend in the Whiteadder Water .
history
The currently visible tunnels were built on the site of earlier mines in the Middle Ages at the earliest. Two copper bars from these earlier mines were discovered in Broch Edin's Hall , about 700 m to the west . The existence of the copper mines could explain the enormous size of Edin's Hall.
description
The southernmost tunnel is the largest. It leads to a chamber in which platform holes from working platforms have been preserved. From this chamber, routes to the south-west, north-east and north-west were driven . A shaft leads to a deeper floor on which the ore was mined to the northeast. Traces of a copper-containing dike are still visible in the roof and bottom of the tunnel. The central tunnel is about 100 m long and at least seasonally flooded. The northern tunnel is 40–50 m long and makes a 20 ° bend 20 m from the end.
literature
- GV Wilson: Special reports on the mineral resources of Great Britain. Vol. 17 (1921) - The lead, zinc, copper and nickel ores of Scotland, (Memoirs of the Geological Survey) Edinburgh
Web links
- Entry on Elba copper mines in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
Coordinates: 55 ° 50 ′ 10.5 " N , 2 ° 20 ′ 31.3" W.