Corpus Fontium Historiae Fodinarum: Difference between revisions
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The timeframe is the Roman imperial period; Herodotus (fourth century BC) is also included as his works were often quoted and referred to by later writers. The main authors are, in chronological order, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, Suetonius, Arrian and Photius. It seems that factual knowledge and descriptions of mining were reserved for the western provinces of the Roman Empire, while those for the eastern provinces had a more mythical character. Arrian states that some writers of his time were not so particular about what they wrote on the eastern provinces as, at that time, it was unlikely that people would travel there and witness the operations in these regions. Despite that, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo appear to have obtained a factual understanding of mining in Egypt and India. There is also the prevailing theory that classical writers believed that if the soil and fauna were fertile then by default there was gold. They did not understand the origin of gold in correct geological terms even though they seemed to comprehend that there were different types of stones and that (ground) water could pose serious danger.<ref>Forbes 1971: 6, the Romans and Greek did little to understand the structure of metal.</ref>
On only two occasions a deity is mentioned in relation to mining and/or refining gold – Hephaestus – though only Diodorus Siculus refers to him by this name.<ref>Diodorus 5.74, Pliny ''Naturalis Historia'' XXXIII.4.12.</ref> Pan or Min was the Ptolemaic god taken over by Roman miners in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, as well as the protector of travelers in the desert.<ref>Sidebotham et al. 2008: 342.</ref> However, survey and excavation reveal that the miners preferred to take their personal (household) gods with them when working at the mines. This is particularly visible at the imperial quarries [[Mons Claudianus]], Mons Porphyrytes and Smaragdus Mons, in this desert. There were, of course, also mythical creatures assigned to mining, such as the gold-digging ants who ferociously hunted down those who tried to dig up ‘their gold’ (Herodotus, 3.102–05). Another well-known mythical story is that of the Argonauts searching for the Golden Fleece.<ref>Diodorus 4.40–54; Strabo 11.4.8.</ref> Both Diodorus (4.40–54) and Strabo (11.4.8) present the story of Jason and the Argonauts as fact.
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
! Mining in western Roman provinces !! Mining in eastern Roman provinces !! "Geography (fertile) as an indicator of the presence of gold
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| "
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| '''Factual''' || '''Factual''' ||
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| On alluvial gold: Strabo 3.3.4, 4.6.7 (panning gold), 11.2.19 (describes the use of skins/panning), Diodorus 5.27 || On alluvial gold: Herodotus 5.101, Diodorus 3.45, Strabo, 15.1.57, Photius 59–66 || Diodorus 3.45, Strabo, 3.2.8, 16.4.18
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| On primary deposits: Diodorus 5.36–38 (use of the Archimedean screw in Iberian mines), Strabo, 3.2.8, 3.2.9 (use of the Archimedean screw in Iberian mines) || On primary deposits: Herodotus, 6.46.47 (on mining an entire mountain to obtain auriferous primary deposits), Diodorus 2.36, 2.50 (nuggets), 3.12–14 (detailed description of an Egyptian mine) ||
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| Pliny, ''Naturalis Historia'' XXXIII.21 (mining of primary and secondary deposits) || ||
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| || '''Myths related to the prospection of gold''' || '''Myths related to the prospection of gold'''
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| || Herodotus 3.102–105 (on gold-digging ants, stating he heard the story from a Persian man) || Herodotus 4.200 (Persia, the use of a bronze shield to find gold)
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| || Strabo 15.1.37/44/69 and 16.4.15 on gold-digging ants (quotes at least two other authors), Pliny ''Naturalis Historia'' XXXIII.21 (though states the story of gold-digging ants is untrue) || Diodorus 5.74, Hephaestus the inventor of refining gold, Pliny, ''Naturalis Historia'' XXXIII.4.12 (the only two references to a god in relation to gold mining)
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Herodotus (7.112, Thracia), Diodorus (3.45) and Strabo (16.4.18, both on the Debae in Arabia) describe how indigenous population groups were inexperienced in mining their own gold and invited others to work their mines for them. But they were particular about who excavated their precious minerals. Herodotus (9.75) and Strabo (4.6.7) mention the attempts of outsiders (no names) attempting to confiscate mines and Strabo specifically refers to the Romans. Two classical authors mention on two occasions the greed of the Romans and their conflicts with the local population in certain parts of the Empire (Diodorus, 5.36–38, 5.46.1–4 and Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia XXXIII.21 and XXXVII.74). Strabo mentions the effects of Roman mining on local agriculture (4.6.7) and how it affected the price of gold (4.6.12).
===Herodotus===
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===Agatharchides of Knidos===
Not much is known of this classical historian and his works were little read in his time. He was thought to be the protégé of two prominent political figures in Egypt during the first half of the second century BC. Cineas was a councillor of King Ptolemy VI, and Heracleides was a diplomat involved in negotiations to end the invasion of Antiochus IV in 169 BC. Both men had an influence on
===Diodorus Siculus===
Of Greek origin, Diodorus born in the first century BC and was a historian during the reigns of Julius Caesar (49–44 BC) and Augustus (30 BC–AD 14). He travelled parts of Europe and Asia and lived for a long time in Rome. His ''Bibliotheca Historica'' covers universal history, from mythic times to the beginning of Caesar’s Gallic Wars, and consisted of 40 books of which only 15 were preserved completely; the rest is only known from fragments. He copied
===Strabo===
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