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Slate mines are found around the world. 90% of Europe's natural slate used for roofing originates from the Slate Industry in Spain. [1] The major slate mining region in the United Kingdom is the Lake district, with Honister slate mine being the last working slate mine, the only producers of the world famous Westmorland greenslate.
Penrhyn and Dinorwig were the two largest slate quarries in the world, and the Oakeley mine at Blaenau Ffestiniog was the largest slate mine in the world. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Slate is mainly used for roofing, but is also produced as thicker slab for a variety of uses including flooring, worktops and headstones .
Lesser slate-producing regions in present-day Europe include Wales (with UNESCO landscape status and a museum at Llanberis), Cornwall (famously the village of Delabole), Cumbria (see Burlington Slate Quarries, Honister Slate Mine and Skiddaw Slate) and, formerly in the West Highlands of Scotland, around Ballachulish and the Slate Islands in the ...
Adjacent to the exhibition mine, there is a small documentation centre, "Mine and Wine", which exhibits rare slate mining and wine-making tools. A continuous video presentation about modern slate mining in Europe taking place in the Rathscheck slate mine near Mayen. The small museum has statue of Saint Barbara from 1897 on display.
The Honister Slate Mine in Cumbria is the last working slate mine in England. Quarrying for Westmorland green slate has been taking place in the area since the late 17th century. Apart from the mining it is also a popular tourist attraction in the Lake District National Park.
The main aspect of Llechwedd is its Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour which has the steepest narrow gauge railway in the UK and travels over 500 feet underground to the disused slate caverns, and the Quarry Explorer Tour which heads out to the furthest reaches of the Llechwedd site to explore the history of mining in the area.
1500 – 700BC There was a substantial increase in trade with the rest of Europe during the Bronze Age, prompted largely by developments in metallurgy. 800 – 500 BC During this period the region was heavily influenced by Celtic culture, and caestros (circular fortified areas atop a hillside, surrounded by a moat) became a common sight.
It was an innovative region in the development of the slate industry. The Cilgwyn quarry on the north side of the valley is the oldest in Wales and one of the oldest in Europe, dating from the 12th century. [3] By the start of the 19th century, slate was still being extracted in a primitive manner: