<p>This series offers you the opportunity to see and explore part of Wales's beautiful mountain wilderness known as the Elan Valley. You can also add our Dam it series to your journey and find other caches along these routes.<br/>
Here at our Elan Mt Rd Series No2 Earthcache, at Cwmystwyth you will pass through the oldest recorded metal mine site in the UK - at some 4000 years old. Cwmystwyth is considered the most important non-ferrous metal mining site in Wales providing a premier example of mining heritage in Ceredigion. Within the site there is evidence for all phases of mining activity; from the Bronze Age, through the medieval period, to its revival in the 18th century and the peak of activity with a subsequent decline in the late 19th and the early 20th century. <br/>
This once industrialised valley now only has crumbling remains as memorials to those miners that worked and died here. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The site also features prominently in the Upland Ceredigion Landscape of Historic Interest. Silver, lead and zinc have been mined in the valley of the River Ystwyth since Roman times, an activity that reached its peak in the 18th century. The largest of the very many mines was Cwmystwyth Mine. It is reputed that the average age at death of the miners in Cwmystwyth was 32, largely because of acute lead poisoning. There is no longer any active metal mining in the Ystwyth valley. <br/>
During the 18th century, ore was extracted from the hillside around Cwmystwyth by hushing, an ancient and historic mining method using a flood or torrent of water to reveal mineral veins. In the case of the Cwm Ystwyth mine, much of the water was brought in by contour-hugging leats from several miles upstream. The channel of the leat can still be followed on the hillside and is clearly visible from the road on the opposite side of the valley. By 1844 most of the known reserves of ore had been worked out and an investigation was carried out to find potential new lodes. By 1850 the lease for the mine had changed hands again and the mine was producing over 1,000 tons of galena (lead ore) each year, various new rich ore bodies were found and the venture prospered. During the 1860s the mine reached it's lowest level of 54 fathoms searching for new reserves. <br/>
At the turn of the century, the mine turned its attention to zinc ore rather than lead. At this time money was invested in new buildings and machinery, and a network of tramways and inclines were constructed to move the ore across the site from adits higher up the hillside. Unfortunately, the low price of ore at the time was not enough to repay the investment; the mine struggled on until it closed in 1921. A number of levels still remain open and contain a range of mining artefacts, from ventilation ducting and abandoned trucks, to hoppers and timber roof supports. In Level Fawr, an impressive inclined skip way still contains its angled rails supported by great timber beams.
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The answers to these questions can all be found on the information board by the Pink Cottage which has parking next to it at ... N52 21.411 W003 45.285
Question 1: What is a lode?
Question 2: What is another name for Galena?
Question 3: What is a drift?
Question 4: What colour is leaching into the water from the spoil heaps at N52 21 286 W003 45 714?
Question 5: What ore do you think is producing this colour and why is it in the spoil heaps?