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Las Médulas

Spain
Date of Inscription: 1997
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
Province of Léon, Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon
N42 28 09.8 W6 46 14.7
Ref: 803

Brief 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.

Justification for Inscription

The Committee decided to inscribe this property on the basis of criteria (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), considering that the Las Médulas gold-mining area is an outstanding example of innovative Roman technology, in which all the elements of the ancient landscape, both industrial and domestic, have survived to an exceptional degree.

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