The ancient copper mine at Tonglüshan, in Daye, preserves evidence of mining and smelting long before modern industrial works. Excavated shafts, galleries and metallurgical remains bring labour beneath the ground into view. They are part of the archaeological record of copper production, rather than simply the old section of the nearby modern iron mine.
From the journal
Two Histories in a Mining Landscape
Around Daye and Huangshi, Tonglüshan’s ancient copper workings and a modern open-pit iron mine reveal different eras of extraction.
In the same city · Huangshi ↗
Copper beneath the hill
An iron pit on another scale
Huangshi’s National Mine Park is associated with the former Daye iron mine. Its great open pit records modern extraction on a strikingly different scale from the ancient copper workings at Tonglüshan. A wide exposed excavation replaces the narrow world of shafts and galleries. Read together as separate sites, the two landscapes show how different materials and technologies have shaped work around Daye and Huangshi.
What remains after extraction
Preserving a mine changes how it is encountered. Ground once organised for taking material out becomes a place to look at machinery, rock and the marks of work. The great pit holds the shape of repeated cutting, while displays give tools and equipment a new setting. Archaeology at Tonglüshan and industrial preservation at the iron mine open two different views of labour beneath and across the ground.
