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Mining for Gold in Visigothic Iberia: Archaeological Perspectives on Economy, Landscape, and Labour

Mining for Gold in Visigothic Iberia: Archaeological Perspectives on Economy, Landscape, and Labour Gold coins and luxury objects together play a prominent role in the presentation of Visigothic culture in museums as well as in discussions of the early medieval economy and political history of the Iberian Peninsula. Despite this, there is little consensus about the processes by which gold was exploited under Visigothic rule. This article assembles the disparate evidence for mining in Atlantic Iberia, where plentiful gold deposits were previously extracted on a large scale under Roman rule in the north-west and along the Tagus River. It discusses the contributions of numismatic and liturgical objects as well as the limited direct evidence for mining. It then integrates this evidence into discussions of rural settlement, arguing ultimately that mining should be seen as part of a diversified economic strategy among rural labourers, likely carried out on a small-scale basis alongside agriculture and other subsistence activities. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Al-Masāq Taylor & Francis

Mining for Gold in Visigothic Iberia: Archaeological Perspectives on Economy, Landscape, and Labour

Al-Masāq , Volume 35 (3): 20 – Sep 2, 2023
20 pages

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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2023 Society for the Medieval Mediterranean
ISSN
1473-348X
eISSN
0950-3110
DOI
10.1080/09503110.2023.2207161
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Gold coins and luxury objects together play a prominent role in the presentation of Visigothic culture in museums as well as in discussions of the early medieval economy and political history of the Iberian Peninsula. Despite this, there is little consensus about the processes by which gold was exploited under Visigothic rule. This article assembles the disparate evidence for mining in Atlantic Iberia, where plentiful gold deposits were previously extracted on a large scale under Roman rule in the north-west and along the Tagus River. It discusses the contributions of numismatic and liturgical objects as well as the limited direct evidence for mining. It then integrates this evidence into discussions of rural settlement, arguing ultimately that mining should be seen as part of a diversified economic strategy among rural labourers, likely carried out on a small-scale basis alongside agriculture and other subsistence activities.

Journal

Al-MasāqTaylor & Francis

Published: Sep 2, 2023

Keywords: Visigothic Iberia; mining; economy; gold working; numismatics; rural landscapes

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