History
This brooch, found at Dolaucothi, is a typical Roman design
© Carmarthen Museum
The golden age
Dolaucothi gold mines are the only known Roman gold mines in the whole of the UK. Skilled men worked the mines, diverting water from the hills above the site to wash away waste rock, leaving the heavier gold behind. They sent the gold to be made into coins at the Imperial Mint at Lyon.
A long history
Back in business
After the Romans left, the mine was disused for hundreds of years. It was revived in Victorian times and was in full swing in the 1930s. It was very difficult, though, to separate the valuable gold from the stone ore. The mine closed in 1938 but gold remains hidden inside the labyrinth of mines and rock formations.
Tools for the job
Photos from the 1930s show a mine yard very similar to today. The winding gear turned the wheels at the top of the head frame, lowering the miners into the shaft. It then brought the quartz - containing precious gold - up to the surface.
This equipment was brought here from the Olwyn Goch mine in north Wales in the 1980s.
Family seat
The Johnes family gave Dolaucothi estate to the National Trust in 1941. It covers 2500 acres and includes not just the mines but a large upland farming estate. This contains nine tenant farms and 24 tenant cottages.