· Mining ·

With the expansion of Roman influence and power during the Principate and early Empire, new areas rich in mineral deposits became available for exploitation and the Romans were quick to take advantage of them. Their mining techniques display a degree of expertise which has been largely unappreciated until relatively recently: most reports on Roman mining methods have concentrated on the more obvious shaft-and-gallery system (with its associated equipment) that was employed in underground mining, with the result that the rather more impressive surface techniques have remained in the background.