Photos, videos and docs of Martin M. Miles, with the keywords: "mining"

Cape Sounion - Attention

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:31:11 +0000

Cape Sounion is best known for the Temple of Poseidon, but there are also ancient mines here. Copper and lead were already being mined here in the Neolithic period. During the Bronze Age, the mines were an important source of income for the Greek cultures of the time – the Mycenaeans, Minoans and Cycladians – all of whom benefited from the deposits’ wealth of silver, lead and copper.

The mines reached their peak during Classical Antiquity. Thousands of enslaved men toiled here to extract galena – the raw material for silver production. This wealth of silver contributed to the fame of Athens.
Today, numerous mines – abandoned for centuries and structurally unstable – bear witness to the dangers of the past. For this reason, the site is secured by signs and fences.

Seen in the backdrop are the ruins of Agios Ioannis Prodromos.

Cape Sounion - Agios Ioannis Prodromos

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:12:54 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

Cape Sounion is best known for the Temple of Poseidon, but there are also ancient mines here. Copper and lead were already being mined here in the Neolithic period. During the Bronze Age, the mines were an important source of income for the Greek cultures of the time – the Mycenaeans, Minoans and Cycladians – all of whom benefited from the deposits’ wealth of silver, lead and copper.

The mines reached their peak during Classical Antiquity. Thousands of enslaved men toiled here to extract galena – the raw material for silver production. This wealth of silver contributed to the fame of Athens.
Today, numerous mines – abandoned for centuries and structurally unstable – bear witness to the dangers of the past. For this reason, the site is secured by signs and fences.

In the heart of this area lie the ruins of Agios Ioannis Prodromos.

Lousal - Mining

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:48:27 +0000

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Lousal became known for a pyrite mine in the pyrite belt of the southern Iberian peninsula, which was first opened in 1900 and in 1928 was transferred to the SAPEC company. This mine was closed in 1988.

Lousal has suffered from high unemployment after the ckosure. Today there is a mining museum in Lousal.

Ponferrada - Basílica de la Encina

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:52:07 +0000

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After the Romans had conquered the place in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) and the area became the largest mining center of the Empire during the Roman period, where gold and other metals and minerals were extracted. The Romans also imported grapevines.

The modern name of the city derives from the iron reinforcements added to the ancient bridge over the river Sil, commissioned in 1082 by Bishop Osmundo of Astorga to facilitate the crossing of the Sil River to pilgrims in their way to Santiago de Compostela.

In 1178, Ferdinand II of León donated the city to the Templar order for protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St. James in their road to Santiago de Compostela.

The church of Santa María, built at the beginning of the 12th century, was replaced by a new building that was completed in 1670.

The name “Nuestra Señora la Virgen de la Encina” goes back to the legend of the portrait of the Virgin Mary. The carving is said to have been brought from the Holy Land by Toribio, Bishop of Astorga, and then later hidden from the Moors. Centuries later, Knights Templar found it in an oak tree.

The horror of the purgatory

Ponferrada - Basílica de la Encina

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:44:55 +0000

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Ponferrada - Basílica de la Encina

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:35:05 +0000

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Ponferrada - Castillo de Ponferrada

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:12:45 +0000

Martin M. Miles has posted:

After the Romans had conquered the place in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) and the area became the largest mining center of the Empire during the Roman period, where gold and other metals and minerals were extracted. The Romans also imported grapevines.

The modern name of the city derives from the iron reinforcements added to the ancient bridge over the river Sil, commissioned in 1082 by Bishop Osmundo of Astorga to facilitate the crossing of the Sil River to pilgrims in their way to Santiago de Compostela.

In 1178, Ferdinand II of León donated the city to the Templar order for protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St. James in their road to Santiago de Compostela.

The Castillo de Ponferrada is a former Templar castle.

The castle hosted the Knights Templar's Grand Master of Castille. However, the Templars were only able to enjoy the use of their fortress for about twenty years before the order was disbanded and its properties confiscated in 1311. Several noble houses fought over the assets until Alfonso XI allotted them to the Count of Lemos in 1340. Finally, the Catholic Monarchs incorporated Ponferrada and its castle into the Crown in 1486. Ponferrada,

Olkusz - Bazylika kolegiacka św. Andrzeja Apostoła

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Sun, 08 May 2022 13:47:07 +0000

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Olkusz already had city rights in 1299. The city was on the important trade route from Kraków to Wrocław (Via Regia). Ore mining led to prosperity. Olkusz was one of the few towns that had the legal system of the "Royal Free Mining Town" with its associated privilege, i.e. free exploration of ores ie search for ores without levy to the landowner. Miners, smelters, mine surveyors, silver, ore and metal dealers from many regions met here.

At the end of the 13th century, some Jewish merchants were already living in the village. A synagogue was built in the mid-16th century. At the end of the 17th century, the city had lost its former splendor. Famines, excessive ore mining, fires, and the war against the Swedes (Deluge) caused this.

The Collegiate Basilica of St. Andrew the Apostle is a Gothic hall church built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Century. In 1596 the old church tower was replaced by a new one (63 m high). In 1864 the church was in danger of collapse and had to be closed. After a general renovation in 1866-1868, it was reopened, but the restoration of the interior and the giving of the neo-Gothic colors took several more years. In 1896 a fire broke out, causing great damage.

Not much remained of the interior splendor because during the Napoleonic wars the French had imprisoned here about 1500 Russian soldiers. These withstood the severe frost by burning everything that could be burned.

The murals around the pillars are not old.

Olkusz - Bazylika kolegiacka św. Andrzeja Apostoła

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Sat, 07 May 2022 22:14:16 +0000

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Olkusz - Bazylika kolegiacka św. Andrzeja Apostoła

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Sat, 07 May 2022 21:44:49 +0000

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Olkusz - Bazylika kolegiacka św. Andrzeja Apostoła

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Sat, 07 May 2022 15:52:04 +0000

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Olkusz - Rynek

nobody@ipernity.com (Martin M. Miles) — Sat, 07 May 2022 11:16:32 +0000

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