Iron Ore Mining

[kelderic]

Was iron ore mined in underground tunnels/shafts, or was it just surface mining? In a couple books I read, they described some tunnel mining, but they were fiction, so I'm not sure if I can trust them. Thanks in advance for the help.

Kelderic

[JoshWedin]

They did shaft mining in medieval times, though it wasn't as deep as it became later. You could check out this link for some beginning information on medieval mining. The site is a survey of medieval technology, but there is a section on mining.

Hope this helps,
Josh

[Maedhros]

The regions around my home were one of the biggest sources of iron in Europe a few centuries ago. It was late medieval and later, but still... Anyhow, there are indeed shafts everywhere, I've seen them (and entered a few)

[Heir of Black Falcon]

Northern Italy was also a major production site. Most countries have some iron ore production whether mined or otherwise.

Heir

[kelderic]

Thank you all for the ideas. I don't have enough pieces to make a full mine that I'm happy with, but someday I'll be able to go back and redo it.