Las Médulas
In the 1st century A.D. the Roman Imperial authorities began to exploit the gold deposits of this region in north-west Spain, using a technique based on hydraulic power. After two centuries of working the deposits, the Romans withdrew, leaving a devastated landscape. Since there was no subsequent industrial activity, the dramatic traces of this remarkable ancient technology are visible everywhere as sheer faces in the mountainsides and the vast areas of tailings, now used for agriculture.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/803
Las Médulas is a landscape shaped by Roman gold mining.
The mining was done ruina montium, which means that hydraulic power was used to blast the rocks away. The Romans started exploiting the Iberian colony's resources in the second half of the first century AD. The production ended at the beginning of the 3rd century.
To be able to generate enough water power, roads, dams and canals had to be constructed. This work was mainly carried out by the Roman army. Water was stored in huge reservoirs, and then transported to the mines via canals. Pressure was created by opening the sluices of the dams at one end of the system. The same water system was used to wash the extensive gold deposits.
Inscription of the site by the WHC in 1997 proved to be controversial: the Delegate of Thailand opposed because "he could only consider this site as a result of human destructive activities as well as harmful to the noble cause of environmental promotion and protection." The delegates of Germany and Finland agreed with his position.
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=803
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