"A fantastic discovery and a great insight, very interesting and excellent value for money The Great Orme Mine Llandudno.
About Great Orme Mines
Walking through tunnels mined out over 3,500 years ago gives visitors a feel for the harsh conditions our prehistoric ancestors faced in their search for copper. Follow the ancient passageways to the Great Cavern, the largest prehistoric underground excavation in the world.
Returning to the surface, the pathways will take you around the prehistoric landscape and to the Opencast Mine, the oldest part of the site, mined 4,000 years ago. See how our ancestor’s turned mineral into metal at the smelting shelter and learn about the 19th Century redevelopment of the site as you peer down the 145 metre deep Victorian mine shaft.
The Great Orme Mines in Llandudno boast over 5 miles of explored tunnels and passageways. In 2005 it was awarded the title of ‘The Largest Prehistoric Copper Mines in the World’ by the Guinness World Records Team.
The name Great Orme has old Scandinavian or Norse origins, ormr meaning snake and hofuth meaning head or headland. Modern translations take it to mean ‘serpent’s head’, derived from the appearance of the landmass to those arriving to the area by sea. The Little Orme lies on the other side of the bay, and the two land masses surround the modern town of Llandudno. The area has inspired many artists, poets, and other visitors by its spectacular beauty and setting
Uncovered in 1987 during a scheme to landscape an area of the Great Orme, the copper mines discovered represent one of the most astounding archaeological discoveries of recent times. Dating back 4,000 years to the Bronze Age they change our views about the ancient people of Britain and their civilized and structured society 2,000 years before the Roman invasion.
Over the past 28 years mining engineers, cavers and archaeologists have been slowly uncovering more tunnels and large areas of the surface landscape to reveal what is now thought to be the largest prehistoric mine, so far discovered in the world.
Come and see for yourself and explore tunnels mined over 3,500 years ago.
Many of the tunnels are extremely narrow. Some of them were probably mined by young children, making exploration very difficult. Although the geology of the Great Orme isn’t ideal for the formation of stalactites, we occasionally find some beautiful formations. The tunnels in this picture eventually become blocked with stalactites.
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6 сен 2024
