Davies 1932

Ancient Mines in Southern Macedonia
Author(s): O. Davies
Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 62
(Jan. - Jun., 1932), pp. 145-162
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843882
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5 Sevrian. 26 Perivoli. 4 Krusova. 65 Stirbytsa (this is the
6 Slatino. 27 Politsies. 45 Salonica. mountain marked'
7 Rozden. 28 Haliacmon (Vistrica). 46 Kalamaria. 66 Todoraki.
8 Asar. 29 Servia. 47 Tumba. 67 Fanarli.
9 Zborsko. 30 Haliaomon Bridge. 48 Besik. 68 Kilindir.
10 Noea. 31 Paleograziano. 49 Makhala. 69 Doiran.
11 Berislav. 32 Vriaza. 50 Lake Mavrovo. 70 Karadag.
12 Osin. 33 Mt. Flamburo. 51 Illica. 71 KruNaBalkan.
13 Mount Gandai'. 34 Mt. Olympus. 52 Nigrita. 72 Akincali.
14 Ljumnica. 35 Retina. 53 Lakhana. 73 Rodopolis.
15 Mayadag. 36 Verria. 54 Orliak. 74 L. Butkovo.
16 Djevdjelija. 37 Alt. Bermium. 55 Sacili. 75 L. Langada.
17 Dibra. 38 Sarkopetra. 56 Salamanli. 76 L. Volvi.
18 TomnoriMts. 39 Vlasti. 5T Vardaroftsa.
19 Sancak Ohrid. 40 Sorovi<. 58 Avret Hisar.
20 Ohrid. 41 Florina. 59 Gramatna.
21 Tepeleni. 42 Janica. 60 Kiirktit.
22 Arghyrokastro. 43 R. Vardar. 61 L. Tahinos.
23 Krupigta. 44 R. Galiko. 62 Planica.
24 Kozani. 139 Bitolj (Mfonastir). 63 Duvandfa.
25 Avdella. 64 R. Spane'.
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Scale
G R EEC E 50 MI LES
Area betweenRiver Vardar,Lake Tahinos and Lake Volvi. Area o tohf Lake Volvi Area east of Lake Ta
4 Krusova, 65 Stirbytsa (this is the small! 77 Kricena. 3 Nikisian. I
5 Salonica. mountain marked) 78 Metokhi Monastery. 2 Eikosiphoenisse Monastery. I
76 Kalamaria. 66 Todoraki. 79 Galatica. 92 Amphipolis. I
-7 Tumba. 67 Fanarli. 80 Polygyro. 93 Zdravik. I
.8 Besik. 68 Kilindir. 81 Olthus. 94 Semaltos. I
:9 Makhala. 69 Doiran. 82 Yerakini. 95 Mount Pangaeum. I
O Lake Mavrovo. 70 Karadag. 83 Revenik. 96 Porna. I
, illica. 71 KruNaBalkan. i 84 Madenohorio(lolomonda 97 Ziliahovo. I
i2 Nigrita. 72 Akineali. Mts.). 98 Egri Dere. I
i3 Lakhana. 73 Rodopolis. 85 Neokhorio. 99 Skridgova. I
4 Orliak. 74 L. Butkovo. 86 Mount Stratoniki. 100 Lisa. I
i5 Sa&E. 75 L. Langada. 87 Acanthus (Erissos). 101 Ano Vrondu. I
6 Salamanli. 76 L. Volvi. 88 Stagirus. 102 Zirnovo. I
7 Vardaroftsa. 89 Isvoro. 103 Karakdy. I
i8 Avret Hisar. 90 Lipsada. 104 Krusevo. I
i9 Gramatna. 91 Stavros. 105 Kr6evo.
0 Ki ktit. 106 Demirhisar.
i L. Tahinos. 107 Angista.
2 Planica. 108 Drama.
3 Duvandfa. 109 Kup Kdy.
i4 R. Spane. 110 Mesoropi.
129
-" ''-.ts
124,- -
102 " ''-/
104 3' '10 0
105 101 N
06 9998 08
97 0 i 192A17 Z T U R KEY
122
o50 1~ ~107 119 if 3
9490ws 513
30
13 KIIII
820 AEGEAN SEA

5094 LE
~~ < ^ey (----REPRESENTS

tIe MODERN
STATEBOUNDARIES.
5 t-*~~~~-
- *' APPROXIMATE BOUNDARI ES OF
O8RID ANCAK IN 1827.
Scale
501 M.IL E
I of Lake Volvi Area east of Lake Tahinos to Kavala. Farthest east area.
t. 3 Nikisian. 111 Mustheni. 126 Maroneia.
i Monastery. 2 Eikosiphoenisse Monastery. 112 Demirli. 127 Yardimli.
a. 92 Amphipolis. 113 Giimiisshi. 128 Kirke.
ro. 93 Zdravik. 114 Leftera. 129 Sofonli,
Us. 94 Semaltos. 115 Eski Kavala. 130 R. iebrus (Marica).
ii.
k. 95 Mount Pangaeum. 116 Symvolu Mt.
96 Porna. 117 (?) Ada.
ihorio(lolomonda 97 Ziliahovo. 118 Pinarbasi.
98 Egri Dere. 119 Kakalacik.
wrio. 99 Skridgova. 120 Philippi.
Stratoniki. 100 Lisa. 121 Rah6e.
us (Erissos). 101 Ano Vrondu. 122 Dikili Ta?. Islands ar.
s. 102 Zirnovo. 123 Kavala.
103 Karakdy. 124 Perin. 131 Samothrace (I.).
11. 104 Krusevo. 125 Ryla. 132 Thasos (I.).
105 Kr6evo. 133 Paleokhorio.
106 Demirhisar. 134 Khiyra.
107 Angista. 135 Butos.
108 Drama. 136 Limenaria
109 Kup Kdy. 137 Kumaria.
110 Mesoropi. 138 Kalirakhi.
145
ANCIENT MINES IN SOUTHERN MACEDONIA.1
By 0. DAVIES.
WESTERNMacedoniiais to-day a wild and ill-explored region, but we hear in alntiquity of silver
mines at a place called Damastium,2 which have been thought by somieto have been one of the
causes of contention between Corinth and Corcyra. The place was somewhere in the mnodelrni
Albania, and has been located at Arghyrokastro,3 in the Tomori Mountains, and at Tepeleni
on Aous, near which there is a place called Damasi. At the last there, are said to be traditionis
of oldmines, though what value such have is uncertain ;4 no indicationsofoldworkingsareknown,
though in a region so inaccessible negative evidence is worthless.
It is, however, possible that Damastium is to be located considerably miioreto the north-
cast, in the land of the Pirustae,who were certainly miners.5 There are indications of old mine
workings known oii the Fanidi, which runs into the sea south of the Drin, and at Dibra, north
of Ohrid; old lead mines are mentioned at Opsinka, on the east of Lake Ohrid.6 It is possibly
to the latter that Haci Halfa refers in the seventeenth century, when he says that silver was
worked in Sancak Ohrid.7 Otherwise, however, nothing definite seems to be known about the
date of these mines, but if Damastiumnis near Arghyrokastro or Tepeleni, neither of which are
I This paper is intended to supplement and partly to correct the most recent account of the mines of
Macedonia, in Casson's Macedonia, Thrace (and Illyria, and is largely derived from travels over the country.
From Casson's list have been omitted (a) the mines on the Asiatic side of the Dardanelles, as they do inot belongb
to Macedonia; (b) Scyros, as Deffner 'E(ryeptv 'A0y(1tXOYtLKI1, 1923, 102, has shown clearlv that there is
no natural gold there, and that the source of the gold found by Fiedler, published in Reise durch alle Teile des
Koenigreichs Griechenland, was a Mycenean tomb; (c) Kiistendil, as to examine the mines of central Macedoni;t
would be a large extra task, and Casson should not have concerned himself with Kiistendil without considering
many other mines in Bulgaria and Serbia. The best information on the mines of central and north Macedonia
is in Jire6ek, Mitt. aus Oesterreich, 10, 7. ; Cvijic, Geographic und Geologic von Macedonien und Altserbien
Ra(loslavov, Bergban in Btlgarien; Evans, A rchceologia,49, 1, 1; Doelter, Mlineralschaetze der Balkanlaeuder
und Klcinasiens.
In the matter of ortlhography, Slavonic namiies iave beeni Written as far as possible according to the
Austrian Staff Map, which is the only good map of the whole region yet published, though a, Greek map is
coming out. Turkish names have been written according to the niew Turkish alphabet. Where possible,
the new Greek equivalenits are given, as old niames are likely soon to become obsolete in Greece, though they
are required at present owing to the lack of Greek maps.
The analyses were partly done by Professor Desch, of Sheffield, and partly by myself, owing to the kindness
of Dr. Doree, of the Chelsea Polytechnic, and of Professor Baker, of the Imperial Institute, who afforded me
facilities at various times.
2 Strabo, 326.
3 Ergeri. Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopddie, s.v. Damastion.
4 Imhoof-Blumer, Zeitsehrift fur Nuniismatik, 1, 99.
6 Jirecek, Geschichte der Serben, I, 40.

6 Wray, Geology and Miineral Resources of the Serb-Croat-Slovene State.
7 Srpska Kraljevska Akadermja Spomnenik,18. There is said also to be a German translation by Hammer,
which, however, I have not been able to obtain.
VOL. LXII. 1K
146 0. DAVIES.-Ancient Mines in Southern Macedonia.
in Sancak Ohrid, there must be more than one important occurrence of silver in South Albania
awaiting exploration to-day.
I found a piece of iron slag below the castle at Ohrid, associated with apparently mediaeval
sherds, which I analysed and found to contain Fe 51 08 per cent.'
Mr. Heurtley has recently sent a specimen of slag from his excavations at Armenokhori
near Florina; much similar slag is said to have been scattered about the mound that he was
examining and in the neighbouring fields, so it is probably of later date than the mound itself.
The slag was black and compact, of not very high density; it showed few gas-holes on a fresh
fracture, but the fused structure was obvious; it contained much iron and lead, no copper or
precious metals were detectable. Despite this, its general similarity to slags derived from
pyrites-smelting in other parts of Macedonia makes it probable that this one also is due to
metallurgical operations in search of precious metals; there are granite outcrops in the vicinity,
and it is likely that some contact deposit of pyrites was worked, perhaps in Roman times.
High up in Pindus several old mines are known near Perivoli and Avdella.2 The principal
workings are at Mount Avgo and Caldo Rivo; there are said to be about thirty of them, all
apparently small. Pyrites and chalcopyrite certainly occur, and galena is also mentioned;
they all contain gold and silver, and an analysis gave Cu 14-5 per cent., S 28 per cent., Fe 25
per cent., SiO2 26 per cent. At Butsiki were found many old sherds, with fragments of pipes
and cisterns, which suggest ore dressing, and perhaps gold washing, though the region looks
too mountainous to provide rich placers. I also found some pottery, which appeared to be
medieval, along with slag. Dr. Desch examined this slag, and reports that it contains no heavy
metal, and so little iron that it scarcely seems to be derived from a metallurgical operation.
There is also a mention of old workings at Politsies, above Metsovo, but further details are not
known.3 The mining seems to have been at all times unimportant, and the wildness of the
country would suggest that it was not early.
There are said to be ancient gold-placers in the Haliacmon, which were still being worked
by gypsies in 1875.4 Leger does not say where these placers are, and I have been unable to
find them, but Fournet says that they are not far from Krupista.5 Gold in quartz is said to exist
on the south of the river at Vistrica,6 but the name is probably wrong, as I have been unable to
discover it on any map, and it is the Slavonic name of the river. It is possibly to these placers
that Aristotle refers,7 where he says that large nuggets of gold were dug up in four mines in
Pieria, which is Mount Flambouro, and the upper Haliacmon valley behind it; but he may be
referring to Pangeeum, where there were also Pieres.8
1
I have found such heavy slags on many sites in Greece,and have analysed some of them. I think that
they are derived from smithies using unrefinediron bars, but it is just worth while mentioningthem.
2 Solomos, Report on the Mines of
Perivoli; cf. Report of the British Consulateat Salonica on Macedonian
Mines.
3 Wace and Thompson, Nomads of the Balkans, p. 190.
a Leger, Travauxpublics aux Temps des Romains.
5 Merm.Acadermie de Lyon, Cl. des Sciences, 1862, 1.
6 Report of the British Consulate at Salonica on MacedonianMines.
' Mirabiles Auscultatione's,47.

8 Herodotus, 7, 112.
0. DAVIES.-Ancient Mines in Southern Macedonia. 147
Small deposits of ore are reported near Kozani, but they appear not to be anciently
worked. Mr. Keramopoullos told me that he had found old mine-shafts with slag of uncertain
date at Vlasti,1 and the place-names Rudnik and Srebreno near Sorovic2suggest Slav mines.
There seems to have been iron-mining, or perhaps magnetite washing, near Servia in post-classical
times, as I found a number of pieces of iron slag at the Byzantine village of Palaeokastro, near
Palaeogratsiano, on the Slav site above the Haliacmon bridge, and on the prehistoric mound
on the other side of the river, the last being probably connected with the establishment of a
Turkish fort there.
There is an ancient tradition of gold mines on Mount Bermium.3 This was the mountain
just.above Beroea,4 and the frontier of the territories of Pella and Pelagonia, the modern Janica
and Bitolj5; but Strabo may refer to another mountain, and the connection of Midas with this
part of Macedonia is at present wrapped in obscurity. The presence of much gold is unlikely,
as the region is mainly limestone; at Zervokhori, near Verria, "worked grains of gold " are
said to have been found, " showing metallurgicalexploitation of it.' 6 But it is doubtful how one
could tell that such grains had been worked, or whether they were exposed as the result of
mining operations. Copper is known at Sarkopetra, near Javornica, west of Verria, but I was
told that it was not anciently worked.
Above Vriaza,7on Mount Flambouro, there is an ancient marble quarry, and some distance
higher several more or less vertical holes descending into the limestone, perhaps towards the
schist, which crops out in places below. The holes were mainly blocked, but so far as they could
be examined, they seem all to have been large pits below ground level, whence galleries branched
off descending steeply; such remains could not be quarries, and they looked like old mines, as
this method of working is common elsewhere, especially in Roman times. No metallic minerals
were, however, found, and tool-marks were not observed; but there were no old stalactites
either, the longest being less than an inch. Some very light slag was found near, which, however,
Professor Desch says is probably burnt clay. There seemed to be traces of an old road running
past the quarry to these mines. If metal was won here, the geological formation would make it
most probable that it was lead.
Not far off, near Retina, pyrite has been found, and the dust of some coal-mine near is said
to contain a high percentage of gold, probably also pyrite.
'In the region north of the Macedonian Campania, Cvijic8mentions copper at Djevdjelijski
Hrid, Mrzenacki Hrid9 and Zborsko, and arsenic and antimony at Alsar and Rozden; at Alsar
there is much antimonial slag, and the mine certainly goes back to the twelfth century, while
1 Vlah Blaci.
2 Amyndaeon.
2 Strabo, 680.
4 Herodotus, 8, 138.
5 Diodorus Sic., 31, 8, 8; cf. Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. Bermion.
6 Report of the British Consulate at Salonica on MacedonianMines.
7 Vrya.
8 Geographieund GVeologievon Macedonienund Altserbien.
9 Wray, G. C., mentions old lead mines at Curidat,near Djevdjelija, and north of Lake Dojra4.
K 2
one shaft is thought to be Roman. If so, the Romans may have worked it either for gold or to
make bronze alloys, as antimony bronze was much used for Greek mirrors in Anatolia.1 Cvijic
also mentions slag near Mayadag in the Sljopinacka Reka, connected with old mines up the river.
I found the slag-heaps by the side of the stream; the workings, however, were not visible, as
the rock is much eroded, and has been scored by the trenches, but there are signs of mineralization
in some places. Enquiries at Ljumnica only elicited the information that some recent prospect-
ing trials for iron and gold had been made, one for the latter on Mount Gandac being Turkish,
but nothing earlier was known. With regard to the slag, Professor Desch writes that it
" appears to be a silicate mass which has been cast in a mould, but it does not bear evidence of
being a metallurgical slag. It contains no heavy metals and very little iron. It is much more
like the kind of fused rock and salt mixture which one finds in the British vitrified forts." Its
origin then must remain uncertain, seeing that a considerable heap of it was found, and there was
much more washed down in the river bed.
At two places between Ljumnica and Osin I found heavy compact slag, as if from lead
smelting or gold retorting, and a fragment which Professor Desch says might have been a
crucible, only it had no metal or slag adhering; both the heaps were small, and one was by a
stream while the other was nearer Osin on a hill. The slag from the former contained much
iron and lead, no gold, silver, copper, arsenic or antimony. I could obtain no information about
mines at Osin, and both heaps are undatable.
At some places near Berislav2 there are small quantities of pyrites in schist, and an old iron
mine is reported two hours to the north-east. I heard of two deposits of mineral north of Notia,
one of iron and the other perhaps of lead, but there are no signs of ancient work at either. Some
old workings have been known at Zborsko, but the shafts are now filled with mud. On the
slopes above Sevrian there are signs of considerable activity, with many pits and gangue-heaps
close together. The only ore I found was disseminated pyrite, so perhaps the work was for
gold or copper; the workings are undatable. The place-name, Rudino, suggests mining or
perhaps gold-washing, but if Slatino castle was built to protect the mines, they must be early
mediaeval.
On the hills just east of Salonica are traces of working, probably not for stone, as they are
too far from the town and very small, and they attack bands of quartz running across the
serpentine; especially near the town on the hill above the football ground, and just above the
modern quarry, there seem to be pits, and some dumps of finely broken rock and Roman sherds
were found here. These pits were probably only prospecting pits for gold, as none of them seems
large enough to have been worked profitably. Mr. Wace informs me that nowadays, after rain,
the population of Salonica turns otutto wash the gravels in the stream flowingpast Tumbafor gold.
At the tumba of Kalamaria I found a small piece of black light brittle slag containing white
quartz pebbles, visible under the microscope; no gold was detected, but it resembles in character
the Macedonianriver-gold slags.
1 Gaudin,Bull. Socie'mnat. des Antiquairesde France, 1900, 144; cf. late Celtic mirrorcontaining antimony
from Glastonbury, Smith, Arch1eologia,61, 2, 337.
2
Perilea.
At the Metokhi, near Apanomi, I found some pieces of iron slag with pottery which looked
fairly recent, though it might have been early iron age; the slag contained Fe 46c97 per cent.
Iron slag in association with late Roman sherds was also found up the river above Kricena.
There were probably other such small bloomeries in Chalcidice.
At Olynthus there is a fair amount of iron slag on the west side of the mound, probably
derived from iron-working, and which I found to contain Fe 40 45 per cent.; there are said
to be some mines some way west of Polyghyro, up a large valley, and I have seen a specimen of
haematite from this region. I also found iron slag at Polyghyro and near Gherakini, the latter
containing Fe 57 81 per cent.
There is no direct evidence for ancient working in the important mining district of
Madenokhorio, though Cassonl adduces the high tribute and rich silver coinage of Acanthus;
but though Acanthics' 3 talents' tribute might suggest mines, it is too far south, while Stagirus,
in the centre of the mining district, only paid 1,000 dr. In the fourth century, in the speech of
the Acanthians at Sparta,2there is no hint of these mines, though those of Pangaeum and other
resources of the country are mentioned; this can only mean that the mines were not yet open.
The district was important in the late sixteenth century, when Belon describes the small
furnaces built of solid masonry behind and fragile in front, and reconstructed once a week.3
These furnaces were scattered over a large area, from Erissos on the south-east to Galatica on
the west, and Makhala, north of Lake Volvi, on the north.4 Haci Halfa, of the seventeenth
cenitury,says that the mines were at Besik, on the south side of a large steep mountain; though
Besik is on the wrong side of Lake Volvi, this must refer to the Kholomonda Mountains, as the
hills north of Besik are neither large nor steep. At least, the tradition of the mines survived
till the late eighteenth century.5 The centre of the industry was Sidrekaisi, also written
Sidrekapisi,6 and Hellenized by Casson to Siderocapsa. The place has disappeared, but Haci
Halfa says that it was twelve miles from the sea, between Nigrita and Besik, and that Besik
is on the left of the road from it to Salonica, so it must be north of Lake Volvi, and probably
somewhere near Lake Mavrovo. No mines are known in this region, but it was perhaps the
seat of government control.7
The Madenokhorio is a highly mineralized district; it has various auriferous and argen-
tiferous ores, especially arsenical; pyrites which is worked to-day; cinnabar, of which I was given
a specimen; and copper, as shown by a trace of it on what was probably a crucible which I
found at Neokhorio. The auriferous pyrites, with some galena from Isvoro, contains
1 Loc. cit., p. 72.
2 Xenophon, Hellenica, 5, 2, 14-19.
3 Vasic, Spomenica, 1922, 256.
4 Gheorghiades,'E(jipEpts 'ApyatoXoytKr, 1915, 88.
5 Cf. de la Rochette, quoted by Casson, loc. cit.
6 Tafel, de Thessalonica.
7 Belon's topography also is difficult to disentangle. He mentions Provitza east above Siderocapsa,
but it is not now known. He also mentions two lakes which seem to be inland, which one might naturally
equate with Lake Langada and Be?ik; on the other hand, I doubt if one could see Lake Langada from
anywhere on the west part of the Kholomonda Mountains, so he may put Siderocapsa north of Besik, the
second lake being Lake Tahinos or Lake Mavrovo.
Pb 3 5-4 per cent., Ag 0009per cent., Au 0 002 per cent., S 42 8 per cent., Fe 40-81
per cent., SiO2 4*3 per cent., Zn 4 *53 per cent., As 1 *24 per cent., Sb 1 27 per cent. ; that
from Lipsada,l Pb 3*5 per cent., Ag 0-0114 per cent., Au 0.001 per cent., S 20 87 per
cent., Fe 20 5 per cent., SiO2 43*4 per cent., A1203 1 per cent., Zn 5 39 per cent., Mn 128
per cent.2
The most active exploitation was on both sides of Mount Stratoniki, at Neokhorio Isvoro
and Lipsada. Slag goes further afield, as far as Revenik, but I have not heard of mines there.
There is much pitting; the hillsides above Neokhorio are said to be honeycombed with shafts,
now much overgrown; there are old galleries in the pyrite at Isvoro, and above Lipsada there are
chisel-cut pits about every fifty yards, which follow the soft rock and turn aside when they
meet the harder. Some of them are more than 100 metres deep and fairly narrow, and they
were used partly for hauling up ore, as in some the rope marks on the quartz are still visible,
though in others a pulley seems to have been used; the leather sacks used for the transport of
ore have also been found. The pits usually connect by galleries below. This system of pitting
suggests the defective ventilation or rudimentary methods of surveying of Greek exploitation,
and is similar to the methods used at Laurium, while the much closer pits at Stan Trg, near
Kosovska Mitrovica, which dates from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, are due to the small
concessions, in each of which a shaft had to be sunk.3
Some manganese also occurs in the marble at Lipsada, and was mined by sloping adits
following the dip of the mineral; it was perhaps used as a flux, as is also suggested in Cyprus,4
the gangue here being very acid.
The largest slag-heaps are near Lipsada. They have glazed sherds on top, their appearance
is fresh and not overgrown, and the pieces of slag are larger than is usual from ancient furnaces;
also there are traces of water-channels leading to them, which suggest the use of water-bellows,
which is late., There is also glazed pottery on the slag-heaps of Neokhorio. The castle of
Stagirus was probably interested in the mining, and there is a site on the promontory of Lipsada,
with one or two Byzantine inscriptions on stone, and, as far as I could gather from the descrip-
tion, a Byzantine monogram on brick. This slag seems to be what Belon mentions, but it is
probably derived from re-smelting.6
1 Olymbias.
2
Report of the British Consulate at Salonica on MacedonianMines. Sagui, EconomicGeology,23, 1928,
671, gives also 6-10 dwts. Au per ton Pb, and Pb 16 per cent., Ag 0-5 per cent.
3 The typology of Roman and medieval mining is not yet fully understood. It is true that the second
table of Aljustrel, ?3 (Mispoulet,Nouv. Rev. hist. du Droit fran9ais et 6tranger,1907, 345), says, apparently,
that a lessee must sink five pits in his concession; but the size of the concession is doubtful, and I do not
know of any Roman mines in which the close pitting of Saxon work is to be found. Cf. also Katzer, Berg-und
huttenmdnnischesJahrbuchder k.k. montanistischenHochschulezu Leobenund Pribram, 1910, who discusses
technical reasons for this style of work.
4 From the large amounts of manganese in the slag, though there is little of it in the ore, cf. Terreil,
C.R. Acad. des Sciences, 1861, 53, 1275.

5 Cf. Florance, Cong. intern. d'ArcheJologie
prehistorique,14, 1912, 313.
6 It is not easy to make out what Belon did see. Apparently he was there when they were beginning to
re-open the mines after all the older slag had been re-smelted, and he saw some pieces of slag on the hillside
still.
The engineers are unanimous that the mines are Greek. They think that the original
slag-heaps were on the hills above Lipsada and Isvoro, where I also have found slag; this is much
more weathered, and in small quantities, as it was mostly taken by the Turks. Hill-top furnaces
suggest a natural draught, which is more primitive. Near the Lipsada mines has been found
a pot of coins, which seem to have been lost, save for one of Cassander which I saw. On a
small hill near Neokhorio I picked up no slag indeed, but rough sherds, and black-glaze pottery
and coins are said to have been found here. I also found a heavy lump of lead carbonate,
which Professor Desch analysed, and said was possibly formed by the action of the carbonic
acid of the soil on metallic lead, and a piece of lead, which Mr. W. E. Woodward, of Cambridge,
examined and stated was undoubtedly extruded through a die. This is probably an early
mining site, and perhaps lead was brought here after cupelling to be revivified, or for some other
purpose.
Though the Acanthian tribute might suggest that these mines were working from the
beginning of the fifth century, the lack of ancient evidence for them makes it more probable
that their floreat is the obscure period of the late fourth and third centuries, as the coin of
Cassanderwould suggest.' There is a strong local tradition that they were opened by Alexander.
They may have been among those which were closed in 167.2
There is a little gold in the sand at Stavros, but it is not known if it was ever worked.
There is some gold in the Vardar,3which was worked in early times, as is seen by the slags
from prehistoric levels at Vardaroftsa,4but it is much richer in the Galliko,5though it is doubtful
how Casson6 derives this from primary reefs at Avret Hisar, which is not on the river at all,
especially as there is little gold in its lower course near Nea Maghnisia, and all remains of
washings are above Avret Hisar. The extent of these washings is seen by the debris at KiirkUt,7
1 I have found, too late to use in the composition of the article, two papers by Sagui in EconomicGeology,
23, 1928, 671, and 25, 1930, 65, which are concernedwith these mines. He makes some valuable remarks as
to the ancient method of tunnelling by chipping out a narrow trough on one side of the rock face, and then
chipping the rest of the face away, which is also found in Etruscan work at Serra Bottino. It is impossible,
however, to agree with his chronologicalestimates. He says that coins of Philip III and Alexander the Great
were found in the deepest parts of the mine, and estimates that it would take 2,500 years to work down to this
level. He also says that the mines are mentioned in Herodotus and Diodorus, but gives no references,and
I cannot find in these authors anything resembling the statements which he attributes to them. With
regardto his chronologicalestimate, it is almost certain that the mines were not working before the Iron Age,
as the only Bronze Age site known in north-easternChalcidiceis a small rock with a few rough sherds one mile
north of Lipsada; and the arguments I have given from ancient historians seem fairly conclusive that there
was no intensive working before the middle of the fourth century B.c. It is most likely that the mines were
opened by Philip of Macedon, and they may well have worked rapidly, consideringthe enormousnumber of
prisonerswhich the Macedonianconquests of this period must have provided. It is a pity that Sagui does not
give more detailed plans or descriptions where these coins were found, so that one may check his statements
as to their depth.
2 Livy, 45, 29.
3 Axius.
4 Annual of the British Schoolat Athens, 28, 195.
5 Echeidorus.
6 Loc. cit.. p. 62.
7 Terpyllus.
where there are rows of large stones along the bank, and two mounds resembling prehistoric
tumbas, which are said to be derived from the waste material; there are also smaller remains
in the river at Gramatna.' These placers may be those referred to by Aristotle,2 as in
Paeonia, though this would apply equally well to Nigrita.
The centre of the industry was perhaps Gramatna, where there is a tumba apparently
built up like the prehistoric ones, and without stone houses, as at least I could find no traces of
stone foundations; it contains black-glaze pottery and much Roman ware. I found there
pieces of black slag derived from smelting pyrites, and also more friable slag, which may come
from iron-working, containing Fe 50 15 per cent.
Either Gramatna or Avret Hisar may be the ancient Gallicum, but perhaps more probably
the former, if it gave its name to the river. The Peutinger Table says that Gallicum is 16 miles
from Salonica and 17 from Tauriana on the Stobi road. Tauriana is Doiran. Sixteen miles is,
anyhow, too short, as from Salonica to Doiran is rather 40 than 33, so perhaps one should read
XXI for XVI.
The source of this gold is the two principal ancient mining areas, at the head-waters of the
Spanc near Fanarli, and of the Galliko, near Todoraki and Planica.3 The principal ore is auri-
ferous and argentiferous galena, but cinnabar also occurs. I received fabulous accounts of the
percentage of gold, but perhaps it is really O*017per cent. Many ancient adits and galleries are
known. The slag is hard and black, like that found at Gramatna; in the first area there are
many small slag-heaps, extending even to the north of the pass towards Rodopolis, which may
indicate either many privately owned pits or furnaces moving about as the fuel was exhausted.
In the second area slag is not so common, but there are larger heaps as far as Planica and
Krusova.4 There also seems to be much pitting above the ruined church between Duvandza
and Ser9ili, but I could only find on the surface inferior iron ore, which may, however, indicate
the gossan of auriferous pyrite below.
These mines are only recently opened, and so internal evidence for date is lacking; but
they are large, and topographically they suit Dysoron, while no others do so. Herodotus5
describes the route from Lake Prasias to the mine whence Alexander later obtained a
talent of gold a day, and then to Mount Dysoron, after which one is in Macedonia. The
boundaries of Macedonia at this time are not known, nor is Lake Prasias: Casson,6following
Svoronos, puts it at Doiran and Dysoron in Kara Dag; but one would naturally go from Doiran
to Macedonia by the route which the railway follows, and Kara Dag is much out of the way; it
is better, with Doll,7 to identify Prasias with Butkovo; Dysoron cannot then be the Krusa
1 For the d6bris of old washings, cf. Pactolus and Aranyos

Teglas, Ungarische Revue, 9, 1889, 323.
Feistritz-Paternion Hauser, Mitt. k.k. Zentralkommission,1884, CXCVI. Lower Loire, Maitre, Rev. Archgol.,
1919, 1, 234. Labassette Andollent, Rev. des Etudes anciennes, 1911, 202.
2 Mirabiles Auscultationes,45.
3 Physka.
4 Kokkinia.
5 5, 17.
6 Loc. cit., pp. 62-63.
7 Studien zur Geographiedes alten Macedoniens.
Balkan, as the mine comes first, but rather Stirbytsa, whence there is a good view and an easy
road either down the Galliko to Salonica or west to Pella.
Casson is probably right in inferring that the mine was not intensively worked before
Alexander I, but the pink and black stone of this region has been found in the tumba of Kilindir,'
which may show an interest of its inhabitants in the mines.
Among the finds of Kilindir2 is a miner's hammer of weathered limestone, more or less
square in section, and about twice as long as it is broad, with a deep groove round the middle
for hafting, and both ends much worn by friction. At various levels were lumps of light and
brittle slag, which might be tailing from gold-washing; but no gold was found in them, and the
pieces are large, so they are probably of a different origin.
At Sacili, near Salamanli, is a mine containing small quantities of pyrites and malachite
and there is said also to be gold; the country is rocky, and the ancients probably worked
surface ores, as on a hill close to the mine I found a stone hammer with its front face slightly
worn, which is now in the collection of the British School at Athens, and a hand-made sherd,
probably ancient and perhaps Bronze Age. I analysed a specimen of ore and found it to contain
Cu 92J17 per cent., Sb 0 28 per cent., Pb 0 60 per cent., Fe 6 81 per cent., Zn 0 07 per cent.
As 0 06 per cent., Ni, Ag, Sn, Co, Bi none.
At Avret Hisar an English company was working reef gold in 1928. I heard that they had
struck a deep ancient gallery, but could not make out its purpose; some hard black slag was
found in the river, which may have been derived from working rock gold, like that at Planica.
I picked up some similar slag, perhaps derived from the same source, at the castle, which is
mediveval,but contains sherds of Roman and pre-Roman date. I was told that some engineers
who had been there had said that the side of the hill above the river had been mined away;
but it is hard limestone with occasional patches of eruptive rock and no signs of metallic minerals,
and its steep slope to the river looks natural; also that a shaft, round above and lined with
stones, and with old boards at the bottom, belonged to this mine; but it looked more like a well
inside the castle, perhaps going down to the level of the river in case of siege, as does that at the
castle of Kosovska Mitrovica, which is much deeper.
In the Kara Dag and Krusa Balkan magnetite crystals were formerly washed,3 probably on
the north side, as there is much weathered rock there and none on the south; perhaps connected
with this industry is much iron slag containing Fe 61 *88 per cent. from a natural mound a little
south of Akincali,4 on which there is Roman pottery.
At Orliak and Lakhana are Turkish stibnite mines, with ore containing silver and traces of
arsenic and lead ;5 there is no evidence for earlier working.
Ancient gold placers are said to exist in the R. Cerpisti, near Nigrita,6 but I could hear
nothing of them locally.
'
Kalender, Kalindria.
2
No. 208, cf. Casson, Antiquaries'Journal, 6, 1926.
3 CvijiC, loc. cit.
4Mouries.
S Pappadakis, Reporton MacedonianMines.
6 Gheorghas, O OpVKros Xpvcos C'vrl 'EXX(L8t.
In the Illica Dere, two kilometres above illica village,' there is said to be a site containing
many coins, while the hills around are covered with slag-heaps.2 I could find neither; the only
mines in the Illica Dere are for magnesite, and there is a little iron slag there, containing Fe 40 51
per cent., but not enough to suggest serious exploitation.
The washing of magnetite crystals derived from the decomposed granite of Ryla Perin
and Rhodope has for long been important, and has only recently ceased.3 Jirecek, indeed, would
suggest that they started in Roman times, or even earlier, and continued uninterruptedly
through the Middle Ages, which may be true of certain parts. On the south-west they extend
as far as Demir Hisar,4 where I found a little iron slag in the castle, which contained Fe 46 12
per cent., but the ore was probably mainly smelted in the lower town, which would be under
the modern houses. I saw two small iron slag-heaps on the river between Demir Hisar
and Krusevo,5 and scattered slag suggested the presence of others: they were associated with
fairly modern sherds. There is a good deal of magnetite in the sand. There was also working at
Ano Vrondu, and further down towards Serres, at Samokov, was a Turkish factory which was
only closed down in this century. I have heard of magnetite also at Krcevo, but could find no
traces of it. Thus, on the Greek side of the frontier at any rate, the mining appears compara-
tively recent.
I was told of ancient rock mines at Krusevo, but could elicit no definite information. High
up, between Ano Vrondu and Karakdy,6 is hard black slag, quite unlike iron slag derived from
bloomeries, with fragments of crucibles; the slag contains much iron and lead, traces of silver,
no gold, copper, arsenic or antimony. The heap is small, and no pottery was found in con-
junction. Zinc also occurs at Karakoy.7
On an Iron-age tumba at Ziliahovo, which lasts into later Greek times, as is seen by one or
two black-glaze sherds, I found a piece of iron slag containing Fe 60-27 per cent. There are
ancient mines above Ziliahovo at Lisa Skridzova and Egri Dere.8 Pappadakis' report mentions
arsenical slag derived from ores worked for gold. Owing to the suspicions of the owner, I could
not learn much about the mines, but I heard that zinc and lead also exist in the neighbourhood.
At Porna9 there is much slag, perhaps derived from a fairly recent ruined town between Porna
and Ziliahovo; the slag is heavy and compact, and shows white metallic particles on a fresh
fracture; it contains much antimony, some iron, a little copper, and a very slight trace of gold,
but silver and lead are not detectable; it seems thus to have been derived from auriferous
stibnite, probably worked for gold or copper at some date.
IThermia.
2Welsh, Annual of the British School at Athens, 23, 64.
3 Jirecek, Mitt. aus Oesterreich, 10, 75. Professor Charlesworth has thrown doubts on the derivation
of the magnetite from the granite on geological grounds, and suggests that there may be basic rocks
accompanying it.
4 Siderokastro.
5 Akhladokhori.
6 Kataphyto.
Pappadakis, loc. cit.
8 Mertzidis,'O. C'ILM7rot.
9 Ghazoro.
At Zirnovo,' on a hill just west of the river, are old iron workings with slag containing
Fe 57 *59 per cent. On the hill just above the town to the east is another old iron mine running
some way into the rock; on its walls are marks of a blunt pick and chisel, but no signs of
dynamite. Lower down, just above the village, I found slag and a piece of fused furnace lining;
many of the pieces of slag are flat, and probably due to skimming during the smelting process.2
The slag goes up to three or four shallow holes about 2 metres across and 30 cm. deep, which were,
perhaps, pits cut out of the rock to give a foundation to the furnaces. There is no evidence of
date, but some rough sherds suggested on the whole that the mines are post-classical.
Pangaeum and its neighbourhood was a most important gold field in antiquity.3 Casson's
account of the region is weak; his map of the mountain, apart from being 90 deg. wrong on
compass bearings, corresponds but little to the actual geographical features, and his knowledge
of the district and- of the mines is faulty, though much of the evidence comes from easily
accessible parts. He could never have denied the extent of the mining if he had had any know-
ledge of the slag-heaps at Nikisian, which contain hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of slag
derived from pyritical ores worked for gold.
The ancient evidence for gold and silver on Pangaeum is strong,4 and Casson dismisses it too
cavalierly. Herodotus also mentions silver at Myrcinus,5 which is on the west or north
side of the mountain. There was gold at Crenides,6which Appian shows7was the same place as
Daton and Philippi; the absence of the mention of silver here suggests placers, while its presence
at Pangaeum and Myrcinus would point to rock-mining. Casson8 is right in distinguishing
Neapolis from Crenides, as the Peutinger Table mentions both Neapolis and Philippi ;9 the
direction of the road is shown by Fons between, which must be Dikili Ta?, so Neapolis is Kavalla.
The identification of Daton with Crenidesis not so certain, as Strabo10says that besides a lake and
rivers it has docks; though the rivers could be the two east and west of Philippi, the docks
can hardly have been on Lake Bereketli, which is a swamp, and it is plausibly suggested"l that
Daton is the whole district including Neapolis and Crenides, and apparently also Drabescue.'2
The gold mines of Asyla were not far from Philippi, at a place later called Dionysus Hill ;13 as
there are no mines on the hills behind Philippi, this probably refers to placers in the plain, and
1Kato Nevrokopi.
2Cf. Kyrle, Oesterreichische Kunsttopographie, 17, for various shapes of slag at Mitterberg, and especially
shape 2, rough flat pieces, never more than 2 cm. thick, due to tapping during smelting.
3 Strabo, 331, cf. legends of the origin of gold-working by Cadmus on Pangaeum and at Panchaea. Pliny,
Natural History, 7, 56, 197. Hyginus Fabulae, 274. Kremmer, De CatalogisHeurematon.
4 Herodotus, 7, 112; Strabo, 331; Xenophon, Hellenica, 5, 2, 17.
5 5, 23.
6 Herodotus, 9, 75; Strabo, 331; Aristotle, Mir. Ausc., 42, who mentions gold from the gangue-heaps
thert;.
7 Bellum Civile, 4, 105.
8 Loc. cit., p. 67.
9 The distance given is 44 miles, but as this is too long perhaps one should read XIIII for XLIIII.
10 331.
"I Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. Daton.
12 Cf. Herodotus, 9, 75.
13
Appian, Bellum Civile, 4, 106.
so Asyla would be one of the two mounds to wards Pangaeum, on one of which I have found a
little slag; 1 as I know of no other mounds in the plain, this may also be the Roman furnace
centre at Ada.2 Drabescus is not directly connected in the ancient evidence with mining,
but the colonists of Amphipolis in 465 were annihilated there,3 and Thucydides seems to connect
the colony with the revolt of Thasos, in which one of the causes of dispute was the ownership of
the mines. The place is identified by some with Drama, by other4 with Zdravik; but this is
probably too near Amphipolis, and it encroaches on Myrcinus, which must have been close to
this village. If Drabescus is the same as the Daravescus of the Peutinger Table, it is on the road
from Philippi to Serrae, and not on that to Amphipolis, which would pass near Zdravik; the
distances given are 12 miles from Philippi and 8 from Strymon, which is 13 from Serrae; the
figures are not always right, but if in this case they are, such distances can only be obtained by a
straight road from Philippi skirting the Bereketli marshes on the north, which would locate
Daravescus near Angista, where there are many traces of Thracian habitation.5 Scapteshyle
is mentioned only as a gold mine by Herodotus,6 but Lucretius7 apparently describes mining
there for both gold and silver; it is, perhaps, to be identified with Eski Kavala, behind which
are ancient workings.8
It seems, then, that there were three principal mining areas-Pangaeum, Symvolou, and
the placers in the Bereketli plain; it is uncertain how Casson, after denying that Pangaeum is
geologically suitable for the occurrence of gold, proceeds to say that " the wealth of the mountain
itself may well have come from what was washed off it rather than from what was buried under
its mass," as what was washed off it must ex hypothesiequally have come from rocks geologically
unsuitable.
I could not find the mines on Symvolou, but I heard of some on the north side; but I found
some slag-heaps, and probably there exist many such, as the mountain is covered with low wood,
suitable for smelting. At Leftera9 itself nothing is known. At Giimiislii there is slag, and
perhaps traces of opencast working, possibly with galleries running off it; the slag contains much
lead and iron, small traces of silver, and no copper or gold detectable; it is, perhaps, derived
from pyrites worked for precious metals, the lead being used for their extraction.10 Above
1 Gheorghiades, 'EOnMEpig 'ApXatOXoyLKb,1915, 88, also mentions mines near Pinar BaPi=Kephalari on
the left of the stream running through Philippi; there are none on this side, so he must refer to the right of
the stream in the plaiin, which would also be Asyla.
2 Mertzidis, loc. cit.
3 Thucydides, 100; cf. Herodotus, 9, 75, referring to this event, e'v acTr(po7rEL r7)v )fertiXXcov r"1, Xpvorecov
LaXo/LFVOV.
4 Perdrizet, Klio, 1910, 1. Casson, loc. cit., p. 45.
5 Miller, Itineraria Romana, p. 585, would locate Daravescus at Drama, and avoids the difficulty of the
distances by suggesting that Serrae has dropped out.
G
6, 76.
7 6, 808-11; cf. Perdrizet, loc. cit.; this is probably the mine referred to in Thucydides, 1, 100, 2.
8 Mertzidis, loc. cit.
9 Eleftheropolis, close to Eski Kavala.

10 Cf. Pliny, Natural
Histor~y, 33, 6, 95; 3, 60; Rickard, Journal of Roman Studies, 1928, 129, however,
suggests, with regard to this passage, that the lead was needed to concentrate small particles of horn-silver
in a siliceous gangue.
0. DAvIES.-Ancient Mines in Southern Macedonia. 157
Demirli there are several slag-heaps; the slag is heavy and compact, and contains much lead
and iron, no copper arsenic or antimony, and traces of gold and silver; it thus seems to have
come from similar ores.
The summit and the west part of Pangaeum is mainly limestone, with some schist and small
granite outcrops; the lower part of the east side and the ridge running out towards Symvolou
consists of granite, which seems to have tilted the limestone cap sideways.' The ores that it
contains are mainly pyritic. Cordella2mentions bands of auriferous and argentiferous galena
tunning across the mica-schist at Crenides, which, however, I have not seen on Pangaeum,
and may refer rather to Symvolou. Pappadakis3says that there is arsenical slag and mispickel
high up the mountain containing 22 grammes of gold per ton. Iron is stated to occur, and to
have been worked vigorously in 1697.4 Old tin mines are also mentioned,5 but I have not
identified them.
Cviji'6 says that there are many traces of ancient gold mines above Amphipolis, and i have been
told that the Greek attack on the Bulgars in this district during the war was hindered by old
mines. I have not, however, identified them, and the rock is mainly limestone; but Myrcinus
should be in the neighbourhood, and high up in the Semaltos7 valley I found what was probably
an old gangue-heap which stood out from the hillside, and was remarkable in containing much
schist, while all the surrounding rock was limestone.
At Kiip K6y8 there was originally much slag, which is now washed down the hill and
scattered; it begins rather above a small granite outcrop, where, presumably, mining had been
undertaken, but I found only a small piece of iron ore. The slag is weathered, and probably
therefore old; it looks like a pyritic slag, produced when smelting or retorting for precious metals,
and contains much iron and lead, a slight trace of gold, and no coppet or silver.
On the path leading to the Eikosiphoenisse Monastery from the north there is much slag,
probably derived from furnaces low down on the hill to the west, as I skirted round the hill
higher up and could find nothing. Lower down the valley there is grey-green slag of medium
weight, probably derived from pyrite; higher up there is very heavy red-brown slag, showing
on a fresh fracture a white and almost metallic appearance, and containing much arsenic and
small quantities of antimony; it seems, therefore, to be derived from arsenical ores worked for
gold.9 In association with this slag I found one piece of Roman sigillata and many rough
1For the geology of the district, cf. " Erdmannsd6rfer,Siidostmazedonien,"p. 85, in Wilser, Die Kriegs-
schaupldtzegeologischdargestellt.
2 Le
Laurium.
3 Loc. cit.
4 Jirecek, Mitt. aus Oesterreich,10, 75. I do not know the source of this information.
5 Arzruni, Verh.Berlineranthropol.G/es.,1884, 58.
6 Loc. cit.
7 Mikron Souli.
8 Proti.
9 For the ancient knowledge of gold in arsenical ores, cf. Pliny, Natural History, 33, 4, 79, and especially
34, 18, 177, that sandaracais often found in gold and silver mines. For its exploitation in France, cf. Daubr6e,
Rev. Archel., 1881, 1, 261, as I regardhis assumption of tin in all the ancient mi-nesin Creuseand neighbouring
departments as hazardous,seeing that mispickel was the only ore found.
sherds, one of which had thumb-print pithos ornament, and another a curious band of stamped
ornament, with herringbone pattern and a cross inside lozenges; but this affords no definite
evidence of working in pre-Roman times, as local wares in this region may continue late. The
rock here is limestone, and ore may have been brought from elsewhere for smelting; but in
some places on the level of the valley there seemed to be small tunnels running into the rock,
but they were much fallen in and their identification as old mine workings is doubtful.
High up the Nikisian gorge, at the foot of the precipice, I saw three old mine workings,
and I heard of one or two more in side valleys; they occur at the contact of granite and
crystalline limestone. They are large caves worked out near the surface, and mainly filled with
water, so that it is impossible to estimate their depth; but the amount of slag below would
suggest that it was considerable ;1 pick-marks were visible. There are also traces of ancient
pits further down the Nikisian valley. The ancients, however, did not exhaust the ore, as one
or two mineralized veins were opened and tested recently, though they are near the old mine
workings. I found on the floor of one ancient mine working a specimen of pyrites which seems,
from the character of the slag, to have been the ore sought. It only contained 8 ounces per ton
avoirdupois of precious metals, or 0 *002455 per cent., of which most was silver, though gold was
present; but much of the ore worked may have been richer. Near the village are several large
slag-heaps; unfortunately, I only found fragments of furnace-linings, and no pottery on them.
There are said to be old mines near Moustheni.
At Mesoropithere is much granite with patches of mineralization. Near the village I found
a possible mine with traces of ferrous sulphate. High up the valley to the north-east at Pouliana
there is some slag, largely washed down the hill, and some coarse sherds and pieces of furnace
lining; the slag is brown and very heavy. The place is close to the granite-limestone contact,
and the old workings are probably near, but I only saw a natural cave formed by water. Rather
further west I found a flint knife. At the head of the next valley, to the west at Tsaieruda,
there were some very small pieces of slag, which seemed from its appearance to be derived from
pyrite. Further down the valley at Oudes, on the granite, there is a place which strongly
resembles an old gangue-heap, and I found a specimen of weathered pyrite on it, which contained
no gold and 1 ounce of silver per ton avoirdupois, or 0 003061 per cent. A pot of Macedonian
gold coins is said to have been found near the mines.
There is also slag in Mesoropi village. It may be from a refinery, but more probably it is
due to all the fuel higher up having been used, or to later re-smelting as at Madenokhorio.
Pangaeum must have been a mining centre in 510,2 probably in Pisistratus' day,3 and perhaps
much earlier if the flint knife found in a mining area is to be connected with the exploitation.
The fragment of Archilochus4 is difficult to date or to interpret, but may refer to mining on
1 For this method of mining, cf. the ogo at Llanymynech branching out into galleries, V.C.H. Salop,
1, 263, and also the pits with galleries branchingoff in all directions at Doward and Colefordin Dean, Roeder,
Trans. Lancs. Ches. Antiq. Soc., 19, 1901, 77, who remarks that the Romans preferred to make a cave or
shaft till they struck a vein, which they then followed up.
2 Herodotus, 5, 23.
3 Aristotle, 'A e 1ioX, 15, 2; Herodotus, 1, 64.

4 Inscriptiones Graecae, 12, 5, 445, 1. 46 ff.; Diehl, AnthologiaLyrica, 1925, p .224.
the mainland opposite Thasos as early as the late seventh century. Perdrizet1 thinks that
Miltiades' expedition in 489 was'ultimately directed against this region. It is difficult to decide
whether the series of apparently early fifth-century octadrachms belonging to tribes round the
Strymon, such as the Orescii, who may be on Pangaeum, the Edoni on the lower Strymon, and
the Bisaltae west of the Strymon, are connected with the mines or not; others would refer
them rather to the passage of Xerxes' army in 480, as the coins of the Edoni are found mainly
in Mesopotamia and Syria.2 The latter view is probably correct, as, though the mines on
Pangaeum were working at this date, the coins of the Bisaltae would also suggest exploitation
of Madenokhorio, which we have seen is unlikely. The Roman sherds north of the monastery
show l.ate working, and the amount of slag in various parts would suggest continuous exploita-
tion, with perhaps a gap for a short time in 167. There is no evidence as to when or why the
mines closed down; it may have been due to the influx of water or to the barbarian invasions
of the third century.
It seems to be currently held that there are mines on the hills above Philippi.3 I know of
none there, and only heard vague reports of them farther to the east. They are also unlikely, as
the range is pure limestone. I found a piece of iron slag at the late Byzantine fort of Kakalacik.
There is also a little heavy compact slag on the site of Philippi, and I found one piece of the
mound of Dikili Tas, but as there is more near by this piece is probably out of place, and does
not imply gold mining in the prehistoric period; the slag contained much lead and iron, and
a trace of copper, gold and silver being not detectable; but it does not follow that it is not
derived from the smelting of precious metals, as the quantities detected at any time are small,
and the wet method of analysis is not really satisfactory for them, for otherwise its composition
suggests comparison with the pyritic slags of the region. Why it is present at Philippi is
uncertain, but perhaps assays of ores from Pangaeum or Symvolou were made here, as it was the
chief town of the district.
Herodotus4 gives definite topographical details about the mines in Thasos, saying that
betweenAenyra and Coenyra, opposite Samothrace, he saw o'po'l'eya aveoTpa,,tpevovCV Tfl
vfT?7 cTt
the mines were Phoenician, and so probably long disused by the fifth century.5 Few travellers
have found them, but they are mentioned in the F.O. Handbook to the Turkish Islands as
being on the east side and containing iron, copper and antimony.6 The area which Herodotus
describesis Palaeokhorio,on the coast just north of Kinyra. There was a classical building at the
north end-of Kinyra Bay, of which only one stone remains. I found one sherd of black-glaze
ware there, and much rough red pottery, which Mr. Forsdyke, of the British Museum, thinks
is perhaps early rather than late. Further north close to the sea the formation is superficially
limestone, but there are probably eruptive rocks beneath; close to the sea galleries seem to run
I Klio, 1910, 1.
2 Cf. Head, Historia Nummorum,pp. 194-201.
3 E.g., Mertzidis, loc. cit., who mentions mines at Rah'e-Krinidis and the spur of Kakalacik; there are
certainly none at either.
4 6, 47.
5 Cf. Eustathius Comm.in Dionysium, 517, that the mines were long disused.
6 This may be a
topographical mistake, the mines referredto being those of Limenaria.
into the hill, cutting through a fairly thin limestone cap, and in one I found bands of quartz
running across schist. Other mines are said to exist higher up the hill.
Herodotus' words puaipcpOj
qv auTZJT Vavj.acndirata Ta o0 (Doivuce'( avevpov might well
be held to imply that he knew also of other mines on Thasos. In the south-eastern part of the
island, near Limenaria and Kalirakhi, are extensive deposits of pyrites,1 argentiferous chalco-
pyrite,2 and galena, now worked for calamine. There are several cuttings in the rock, which are
probably ancient mine workings, and some slag in the valley, just north of Kalirakhi Skala.
I found much old slag near Kalirakhi village; on top of the hill between Kalirakhi and
Limenaria are several old shafts and gangue-heaps, with only red haematite on them; over
the hill near Koumaria, and on the opposite side of the valley, ancient workings are being
re-opened; there is a small ancient site containing rough pottery, perhaps a harbour town,
on the hill just above Limenaria, and I saw a small opencast mine between Limenaria and
Boutos, and in it one black-and-white and several coarse red sherds. These mines then seem
undatable, but the coarse ware might belong to the fifth century, if we are right in interpreting
Herodotus to mean that he knew of other mines on the island; and the bi-coloured sherd
from Limenaria is of uncertain ware, possibly even mediveval.
A slag specimen contained SiO2 66 3 per cent., SbO2 4 3per cent., CuO 1I86 per cent.,
Fe2O3 18 per cent., CaO 8-8 per cent., -S and Ag tr.3 Sulphur was apparently removed by
grilling, and then limestone added as a flux and the copper and silver taken. Lead does not seem
to have been added here to extract silver, as it was on the mainland and at Rio Tinto.4 This
may point to different and, perhaps, more primitive methods of working, but galena was almost
certainly also mined in this district, and so it is not unlikely that the copper in the ore was used
as a collector vehicle for the silver in the first place, and that then the copper and lead matters
were mixed in a second process, of which the slag has not been tested, and the silver thus
separated from the copper.
Argentiferouslead is now known on the west side of Samothrace,5but I have been told that
there are no ancient workings, and that the only sign of early metallurgy is some iron slag,
which probably derives from the iron working mentioned by Lucretius.6
There is placer gold in the Hebrus,7 but I do not know where; it is, however, probably a
long way up it, as gold is also known in the Topolnica near Tatar-Pazardzik,8 and there are
ancient workings in rock at Despotovo, about 40 miles south of this town,9 indicating ancient
gold-mining activity.
1 Perrot, Thasos.
2
de Launay, Rev. ArcheIol.,1888, 1, 242. The ore contains Cu 28*37 per cent., Sb 24-2 per cent., Ag
0-096 per cent.
3 de Launay, Rev. ArcheIol.,1888, 1, 242.
t de Launay, Annales des Mines, 8, 16, 1889, 428.
F.O. Handbookto TurkishIslands.
6 6, 1035.
pliny, Natural History, 33, 4, 66; cf. Casson, loc. cit., p. 71.
Jovanovic, Richessesmineralesen Serbie.
Hirschfeld, Mitt. aus Oesterreich,1, 63.
At Yardimli a company was working a copper mine before the war, but I could not see or
hear of older works. I found a small piece of light friable black slag there. Cassonl is probably
right in saying that there are no mines at the Tbracian Maroneia, as, though I have heard of
ancient workings there from engineers in other parts of Greece, I could not learn anything
locally; and though many sections of the stratification are exposed by trenches, there is nothing
to suggest metal-working on the site, save for a small piece of light black glassy slag, with small
white pebbles in it; there is no evidence that it is a light gold slag, and it may be derived from
iron refining.2
At Kirke there is one ancient shaft with many branching galleries and wood props for them,
and a small opencast where the shaft emerges. The ore is galena, with g little chalcopyrite,
and the mine might be Roman, as suggested by the style of working. Various other old mine
workings are known in the vicinity, but they are probably Turkish. I found a piece of heavy
iron-slag in the valley, containing Fe 57 96 per cent.
Auriferous and argentiferous galena and blende are said to exist at Kambarler, near
Sofonli, containing ZnS 49 7 per cent., PbS 16-3 per cent., FeS2 12 75 per cent., ZnO 5 9 per
cent., CuO 5-34 per cent., A1203 2 68 per cent., CaO 0*8 per cent., MgO 0-2 per cent., SiO2
1- 86 per cent,; but I have heard nothing about their being ancient.
CONCLUSION.
A little mining seems to have been carried on in the Bronze Age, as Sacili and some of the
gold-washing seems early.3 But this washing can hardly have extended over the areas most
productive in later times, as placer gold works out quickly, and the accounts suggest many
virgin fields.4 Clement of Alexandria5 does indeed say that the Noropes, a Paeonian race now
called Norican, invented the purification of iron and the working of copper; but Kremmer6
is probably right in suggesting Pannonian for Paeonian, as there are no sufficiently large mines
in Paeonia to give rise to such a tradition, and so the reference would be to the Alpine copper
in the late Bronze Age and Hallstadt period, and to Norican and Bavarian iron.7
In Macedonia intensive mining probably starts in the sixth century B.C., under Thasian
and Athenian inflaence, and was much encouraged by the expansion of the Macedonian state
and the demand for gold. It continued into Roman times, and the measure of 167 B.C. did not
permanently affect all districts, but under the empire the Romans turned their attention to
1 Loc. cit., p. 73.

2 Cf. May, Warrington'sRoman Remains, describinga similar light cinder.
3 Some of the light gold slags seem to be scums from gold working, as ProfessorGordon,of King's
College,
London, told me that it is quite possible for a little quartz or pyrites to adhere to the gold, but the scum
formed from melting should not be large, and so large lumps are probably derived from other sources.
4 Cf. Strabo, 331; Aristotle, MirabilesAuscultationes,47.
S Stromatica,1, 16, 76.
6 Dt Caklogis Heurematon.
7 Cf. Reineeke,
BayrischerVorgeschichtsfreund,1926, 45.
VOL. LXII. L
inner Macedonia,which had been recently opened up.' It is unknown why the mines of Southern
Macedonia ceased to work; but the Byzantine empire seems to have mined mainly further
north, as Procopius' Ferraria seems to be near Bozica,2 and at Dobrevo, near Kratovo, there is
a shaft whose style closely resembles Greek work; but sherds there suggest rather a date when
the Slavs were beginning to appear. The Slavonic kingdoms mined extensively, largely with the
help of the Saxons, as at Novo Brdo, Stan Trg, and Ciprovac.3 Place-names also suggest working
further south. In early Turkish days there was great activity both in Serbia, where Haci
Halfa mentions mines at Novo Brdo and Kiistendil, and in South Macedonia at Madenokhorio,
while magnetite and, to some extent also, gold-washing continued until very recent -times.
1 Cf. coin of Domitian found near the mines of Kratovo, Jirecek, loc. cit.; the identificationof Kopaonik
and Argentaria; Evans, Archaeologia,49, 1, 1; and the coin evidence from Kiistendil, the ancient Ulpia
Pautalia, under the Severi, Ivanov C66-pHa MaiteRo1ian-
2 Jirecek, loc. cit.
3 Jire6ek, Handelsstrassenund Bergwerkevon Serbien.

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Ancient Mines in Southern Macedonia

' ~ ~ > _ ___ , ~~~

o50 1~ ~107 119 if 3

820 AEGEAN SEA

~~ < ^ey (----REPRESENTS

ANCIENT MINES IN SOUTHERN MACEDONIA.1

6 Jirecek, Geschichte der Serben, I, 40.

' Mirabiles Auscultatione's,47.

C.R. Acad. des Sciences, 1861, 53, 1275.

1 For the d6bris of old washings, cf. Pactolus and Aranyos

9 Eleftheropolis, close to Eski Kavala.

3 Aristotle, 'A e 1ioX, 15, 2; Herodotus, 1, 64.

1 Loc. cit., p. 73.

3 Jire6ek, Handelsstrassenund Bergwerkevon Serbien.

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