pated)
and let them out to the contractors, as the safest and most profitable
of all investments of the public money. There was no fear (as he
assured them) of the mines being exhausted : no miners had ever come to
the end of the veins, however deep they had sunk their shafts, and the
entire mountain-range was equally productive wherever opened.
Nevertheless, in Strabo's time, four hundred years later, the mines
were completely worked out. They had become a thing of tradition by the
middle of the second century : Pausanias speaks of Laurium, " where the
Athenians had silver-mines formerly."
Diodorus,
Strabo's contemporary, contrasts the poverty of the Attic mines in his
own times with the certain wealth of the Spanish, saying that mining in
the former was a complete lottery ("enigma"), where many were not
merely disappointed, but lost all they had in the first outlay ;
whereas in the latter they make profits beyond their hopes. The woods
clothing the mountains having been completely burnt off by an
accidental fire (whence called Pyrencea), the silver-ore near
the surface was melted, and flowed out in streams. This the Phoenician
' traders obtained for a trifle from the ignorant natives ; and, their
ships being overladen therewith, they weighted the anchors with silver
in place of the lead originally put in them for that purpose. At last'
the Iberians set to working the mines themselves. They were of copper,
silver, and gold. From the copper-ore they obtained one-fourth pure
metal. " Some of the silver-miners get in three days as much as an
Rubaeic talent (65 lbs.) per man. For the whole ground is full of
shining silver-dust. At first the natives worked the mines ; but after
the Roman conquest a multitude of Italians occupied them. These buy
vast numbers of slaves, whom they employ in the works, opening new
shafts, sinking down, and driving levels after the course of the
