The Great Orme Mines are constantly changing New discoveries are being made each year. Since excavation began on the Great Orme in 1987 over 100,000 tons of 19th Century mine waste has been removed to uncover a small section of the original prehistoric landscape. The excavation is still in its infancy with new areas being unearthed every year.
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The Mine as it looks today |
The Mine as it was in 1987 |
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January 2004 under the watchful eyes of the archaeologists one of the Great Orme Mines excavation team begins the removal of 19th Century mine waste. The use of large machines is necessary as the removal of large quantities of recent mine waste by hand would be tome consuming and unnecessary. |
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March 2004 after the machines had finished their removal of mine waste the archaeological team move in to carry on the more detailed excavation by hand. Here in the picture to the right Tony Hammond and Geoff David inspect a small hole in the rock. Unknown at the time of this picture this hole would turn into the entrance to a new area of prehistoric tunnels. |
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April 2004 the entrance to several hundred meters of Bronze Age tunnels is discovered. Many of the tunnels are so narrow that helmets and lamps had to be removed to allow access. Although much time has been spent exploring this new area many areas are backfilled, so there almost certainly many more exciting discoveries to be made. |
In 2005 Excavations on surface continued, after several tonnes of mine waste had been cleared from an area below the Bridge a Bronze Age shaft and tunnels was uncovered.
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| Excavation in Progress May 05 |
A small entrance is uncovered |
Newly discovered tunnel, bone tool marks visible in the roof |