Article citationsMore>>

Cuvigny, H. (2005). Ostraca the Krokodilȏ. La correspondence militaire et sa circulation. Praesidia due désert de Bérénike II. Imprimerie de l’institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Literature and Contextualization of Classical Texts on Mining in Antiquity

  AUTHORS: Barbara Tratsaert

  KEYWORDS: Roman Gold Mining, Classical Writers, Gold, Roman, Herodotus, Agatharchidus of Cnidos, Diodorus of Siculus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, Suetonius, Arrian, Photius

  JOURNAL NAME: Advances in Literary Study, Vol.14 No.3, July 24, 2026

  ABSTRACT: This manuscript is a compilation of accounts by classical writers referring to the mining of precious minerals and stones. The timeframe is the Roman Imperial period; Herodotus (fourth century BC) is also included to emphasize the perception of the early understanding of gold and its extraction. It seems that factual knowledge and descriptions of mining were reserved for the western provinces of the Roman Empire, while those for the eastern provinces had a more mythical character. Many did not understand the origin of gold in its correct geological terms even though they seemed to comprehend that there were different types of stones and that (ground) water could pose danger. However, as time progresses the technological understanding of classical writers increases, and the descriptions become less mythical.