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Las Médulas
CC BY-SA 3.0 | Author: Rafael Ibáñez Fernández | Full Size | More Pics >

Las Médulas

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Rank: 1001 UNESCO
Wonder Type: Cultural
Country: Spain
Best of: Mine, Roman
Description:
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. [More Details]
This article uses material from UNESCO World Heritage List article "Las Médulas", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 3.0 IGO License.