Metals and Metalla
Metals and Metalla
Roman Copper-Mining Landscape in The Wadi Faynan, Jordan
This chapter presents a single case study of a Roman imperial mining operation (metalla) as an example of the potential environmental and human consequences of large-scale Roman metal production. As such, it stands for many instances of Rome's exploitation of the key natural resources of provincial territories. Tacitus, for instance, was explicit in describing the mineral resources of Britain as the “spoils of victory.” However, it is shown that the consequences of Rome's pursuit of economic gain carried a high human and environmental cost. It draws on the results of the Wadi Faynan landscape survey (1996–2000), an interdisciplinary and diachronic investigation of evidence of environmental and climatic change, settlement pattern, and human activity.
Keywords: Roman Empire, mining, metal production, metalla, Wadi Faynan landscape survey
Princeton Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.