Roman Gold mine in the Camino Primitivo

[Pelegrin]

Referring to the Hospitales variant, it is known for pilgrims who have done the Camino Primitivo the presence of ruins of some albergue/hospitals on that route and also its spectacular views. But I think that it's much less known the existence of and old Roman Gold Mine (RGM).
This RGM is located in the stretch Alto de la Marta - Puerto del Palo in the point called A Freita, 1,7 kms before Puerto del Palo.
The Romans injected hot water into the mountain to demolish it and remove thousands of tons of land to extract gold. For this purpose, they built water reservoirs, canals and tunnels.
The small lakes in Alto de la Marta and Puerto del Palo are part of these reservoirs.
The mine has had an impact on the toponomy of the area:
The name Palo comes from latin "Palus" (reservoir).
Freita (arrow) is the local name for this type mines.
Montefurado means holey mountain. Near, there is a tunnel called A Cova de Xan Rata used by the Romans to build galleries .

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Wonderful post, Pelegrin! I did not know the Romans mined gold up there!
There´s a truly spectacular RGM mine just outside Ponferrada, the first stop on the Camino Invierno, now known as Las Medulas. It is Spain´s answer to the Grand Canyon. The Romans used the same methods you describe, on a massive scale, and created an environmental holocaust. Several hundred years later, it´s an eerie and breathtaking tourist attraction.

 

[ebrandt]

Thanks for posting this interesting info!

 

[Pelegrin]

"Rebekah Scott, post: I did not know the Romans mined gold up there!"

I did the Primitivo last year (Pola de Allande variant) and I didn't know anything about the mine till now.
I liked so much the Primitivo throughout Allande, that I've decided to spend there 1 week in September.
Preparing the trip I learned about the mine and its strong influence on the area.
One of my routes will be: Hospitales from Borres to Puerto del Palo and down to Pola de Allande doing the other variant in reverse (25 kms in total) and then a taxi to recover my car in Borres. In Freita I'll check how the mine looks like from the Camino (from the top).
This is not the only Roman gold mine in Allande, there are more. It is thought that there were also a detachment of soldiers to protect the gold.