According to the BBC Web site (and who’s going to argue with that) Bronze Age miners at the Great Orm could retrieve 50% copper ore with basic tools, while moden copper miners extract only 1% per bulk of rock. It’s also claimed that the Great Orme is the oldest industrial complex in Wales.
“The earliest mining at the surface dates to 1600 BC, whereas the bulk of underground workings took place in the Middle Bronze Age ... Finds at the site underline a society in transition. At the start the mine produced mainly tools, but by the end, the focus was on weapons. It was becoming an increasingly competitive warlike world, with people starting to fight for land and food.”
I’m not sure how dumbed down this analysis is, coming from Auntie Beeb.
Kammer x