What is Las Médulas?
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site | image = Panorámica de Las Médulas.jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | caption = Panoramic view of Las Médulas | location = [[Province of León]], [[Castile and León]], [[Spain]] | includes = {{flatlist| #Zone principal de la mina de oro de Las Médulas #Estéiles de la Balouta #Estéiles de Valdebría #Estéiles de Yeres }} | criteria = {{UNESCO WHS type|(i), (ii), (iii), (iv)}}(i), (ii), (iii), (iv) | ID = 803 | coordinates = {{Coord|42|28|9.8|N|6|46|14.7|W|region:ES-CL_type:landmark|display=inline,title|format=dms}} | year = 1997 | area = {{convert|2,208.2|ha|acre|abbr=on}} | locmapin = Spain Castile and León#Spain | map_caption = }} '''Las Médulas''' (As Médulas or As Meduas in [[Galician language]]) is a historical site near the town of [[Ponferrada]], [[Spain]].<ref>Damien Simonis; et al., ''Spain'' (Footscray, Vic.; London: Lonely Planet, 2007), p. 221</ref> It used to be the most important [[gold]] [[gold mining|mine]] in the [[Roman Empire]]. In order to remove the gold, the Romans washed away an entire [[mountain]].<ref name=Anderson190>James Maxwell Anderson, ''Spain, 1001 Sights: An Archaeological and Historical Guide'' (Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary Press; London: Robert Hale, 1991), p. 190</ref> From the [[2nd]] to the [[4th century]] [[AD]] the Romans used slaves to mine about 900 tons of gold.<ref name=Anderson190/> It left a series of [[rock pinnacle]]s, [[gully|gullies]], [[cave]]s and [[tunnel]]s.<ref name=Anderson190/> Las Médulas is listed by the [[UNESCO]] as one of the [[World Heritage Site]]s.<ref>Henry Cleere, 'The World Heritage Convention As a Medium for Promoting the Industrial Heritage', ''IA. The Journal of the Society for Industrial Architecture'', Vol. 26, No. 2, 2000, p. 33</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} == Further reading == *Lewis, P. R. and G. D. B. Jones, ''Roman gold-mining in north-west Spain'', Journal of Roman Studies 60 (1970): 169-85 *Jones, R. F. J. and Bird, D. G.