In the popular Górgora ravine, recent investigations have uncovered spectacular Roman-era mining operations extending for nearly a kilometer and a half. The documented mining practices reflect different strategies. Surface and underground mining were used alternately, depending on the ease of access to the quartz veins where the gold was found.

Not so long ago, Roman mining was known exclusively for the open-pit mines of Las Médulas and other immense nearby mines where hundreds of tons of earth were moved to extract gold. Today we know that alongside those mines, dozens of other operations existed with the same objective: to obtain gold, in this case by crushing quartz veins. The size of these operations was undoubtedly much smaller, but that doesn't mean they weren't equally, or even more, profitable.

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Observations: Free visit

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  • Postal address Montealegre (Villagatón). León
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  • Villagatón town hall

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  • León tourism office

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