The Medulas UNESCO World Heritage Landscape is an impressive place formed by the remains of the largest gold roman mine in the entire empire. It was declared a Unesco site in 1997, due to the interesting cultural landscape that conform the ZAM or Medulas Archaeological Area.Ā Medulas is several things at the same time: An archaeological site, the remains of a mount collapsed in order to extract its gold, the water channels that made it possible, the celtic and roman settlements, a village and a natural reserve.
The Tour of Medulas last around two hours and goes inside the remains of the roman mine, using the Interior or ValiƱas Path, a circular route that begins in the village of Las MƩdulas and continues to the interior of the mine at low height, arriving to the Encantada and Cuevona caves. From there, the route comes back using another path to get to the village again.
It is recommendable to use sport shoes, as there is no pavement inside the archaeological zone. Las MƩdulas and other nearby villages have restaurants, bars, and there is also a small shop. There is a hotel in the village of MƩdulas and rural houses and places to stay in this and the surrounding villages such as OrellƔn, Borrenes or Carucedo. Public do not arrive to MƩdulas. A car is needed to get to MƩdulas, or a taxi from Ponferrada is another option. The Tour of MƩdulas begins at the Visitors Reception Center.
The history of this place begins in the Iron Age, when the land was inhabited by a celtic tribe called the Astures in this region. Asturia, the land of the Astures, expanded from the Atlantic in the north to this site of MĆ©dulas. This people lived in hillforts, very independent ones from the others, in roundhouses or rectangular dwellings belonging to the families, who usually had a home, a warehouse a workshop and an orchard. They lived mainly from hunting and agriculture. They know the gold on the rivers basins, and manufactured jewelry and decorative objects from the precious metal, although gold did not have more value than aesthetical.
However, for Rome, gold was the material of his most valuable coin: The Aureus, and discovered the gold in the Torques and Fibulae worn by the Celtic tribes. The conquest of Hispania began with the Second Punic War in 218 BC when Rome won over Carthage. In the year 133 BC the Lusitans and Celtiberian tribes fall together with Numantia, and the Empire fought the last tribes of Iberia, the Cantabrians and Astures, between the years 29 to 19 BC. The battle of Mount Medulio ended the freedom of the Astures, who fall before Rome, beginning a new era in this land, that of Rome mining for Gold.
The landscape of Medulas changed drastically with the Empire, while mines, hill forts and houses were built. On the engineering side, Rome began the construction of a huge network of channels to bring water from the mountains, at the time that galleries were dug inside the red clay of the gold deposits, and water channels were used to separate the gold from the clay. Several different techniques were used to exploit Medulas, being the most impressive and extensive the called Ruina Montium, described by Plinio in his Naturalis Historia.
Archaeological researches have been developed in the ZAM, on the Celtic hill forts, the channel network, the exploitation front, the Roman Domus, and all the perimeter of the site, discovering swords as Falcatas and Gladii, coins as Denarii, Celtic Torques and Fibulae, ceramics, and many others. There are many information points inside the area, as the Visitors Reception Center, the Domus of Carucedo or the House of the Lake also in Carucedo. For a fast visit it is recommended to go to OrellƔn Viewpoint, or walk inside the mine remains from the village of MƩdulas.
