Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Flint mining is the process of extracting flint from underground. Flint mines can be as simple as a pit on the surface or an area of quarrying , or it may refer to a series of shafts and tunnels used to extract flint .
The site is dotted with millions of scraps of worked flint and numerous mining pits, that Neolithic settlers have gradually turned into vertical mine shafts to depths of over 10 m (33 ft). Underneath is an elaborate man-made network of caverns accessible via the many shafts.
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, [1] [2] categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start fires. Flint occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones.
Grime's Graves is a large Neolithic flint mining complex in Norfolk, England.It lies 8 km (5.0 mi) north east from Brandon, Suffolk in the East of England.It was worked between c. 2600 and c. 2300 BCE, although production may have continued through the Bronze and Iron Ages and later, owing to the low cost of flint compared with metals.
The act of mining requires different methods of extraction depending on the mineralogy, geology, and location of the resources. Characteristics such as mineral hardness, the mineral stratification, and access to that mineral will determine the method of extraction. Generally, mining is either done from the surface or underground.
Although most strongly associated with mining, the term adit is sometimes also used in the context of underground excavation for non-mining purposes; for example, to refer to smaller underground passageways excavated for underground metro systems, to provide pedestrian access to stations (pedestrian adits), and for access required during ...
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
A collapsed bell pit, evidence of early coal mining in Middleton Woods Cross section of a bell pit. A line of bell pits following a lead seam. These are often mistaken for shake holes. A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore, or other minerals lying near the surface.