So, how did the acquisition of metal work in medieval times?

[Creamsteak]

This is a question that occationally pops up in the back of my mind when I think of metal for game purposes. I've never thought about it during times when I can post though.

How did Europe and Asia acquire enough metal to make their weapons, armors, tools, and other equipment? I understand that they used other materials for a majority of things, but I'm still unsure of where they found or acquired this stuff.

In a game with magic and other dndisms, people can detect the metal, or just ask the nearest dwarf. Did we just dig around till we hit something? I can't imagine how that method would have been successful, since there's just so-much "ground" out there. So what were the tools used to "divine" where metal might be found? Is it fairly common to find ore on the surface?

I don't know how we had as much metal (though still relatively little) during the dark ages. I remember that even the greeks had a good deal of bronze, and some degree of silver for currency. How old is the act of actually "mining" metal from inside the earth?

Thanks in advance for opinions and answers.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

How did Europe and Asia acquire enough metal to make their weapons, armors, tools, and other equipment? I understand that they used other materials for a majority of things, but I'm still unsure of where they found or acquired this stuff.

Well don't quote me on this, but I think it might have been that originally, people were able to find nuggets of various metal either on the surface itself, or very close to the surface, and that we only had to start digging deep mines after we'd exhausted the surface deposits.

If that is true, then it does lead on to one interesting story possibility, which is that if our civilisation fell (say nuclear war or asteroid strike) then it would be very hard for a new industrial civilisation to rise up (a thousand years later say) because there would be no metal available. (i.e. the only metals left would be very deep underground and would require advanced tools to get at them - and you can't go from the stone age to deep level mining techniques in one jump).

 

[Hand of Evil]

You should have been watching the history channel last week or was it the Discovery Channel.

Most mining of the time was surface mines, where the metals were exposed in the side of hills allowing for easy access at the metals. The following of the ore into the earth created mines but only after tools hard enough to dig it from the earth, so stone tools for most soft metals and it was only after the mining of coal that harder metals was mined, coal allowed for hotter fires and the mixing of coke to iron to make steel. China appears to have been the first to take advantage of this (as most things) but England had what was called sea coal, where coal can be picked up from the sea shore. I only caught part of it myself but the sea coal was one of the reasons England was important to Rome.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Most of the time, mineral deposits leave some tell-tale signs on the surface. If I recall, one of the greatest silver mines of Germany was said to have been found when the King's horse struck a rock, and the scrape revealed silver underneath the patina (silver in raw form often appears black, if I'm remembering correctly).

Gold of course, is often found in river beds, and very near the surface. Iron isnt found all that deep - the difficulty in making use of it is in the technology of smelting an acceptable product.

I used to have some really good links on this subject, but they've gone dead over the years.

EDIT: Ah! Found the one I was looking for:Link

 

[TerraDave]

I think some of the other posters have largely answered the question, but finding metal was haphazard, and a strike, especially of gold or silver, could be a huge event with all sorts of ramifications.

In terms of use, they used a lot less. It is one thing to make a few breastplates or short swords (many comon tools would be made of wood, not metal), another to make frames for buildings, railroad tracks, home appliances... It is safe to assume that metal is relatively scarce and valuable (and people are poor with very limited buying power)

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Scarcity of metals was occasionally a problem - in the early 1400's (I think) the silver mines of Europe were almost completely played out. There was still silver in them, but the mines couldn't be dug any deeper because water would seep back into the mining shafts. Within about 50 years someone had invented a pumping system that allowed deeper mining, but for a significant stretch of time the value of silver went way up. Incidentally, silver was the main coinage due to the lack of gold mines in Europe. I've never read anything about any other major minerals being in significant short supply overall, but regional scarcity was a big factor in trade.

 

[PaulKemp]

If that is true, then it does lead on to one interesting story possibility, which is that if our civilisation fell (say nuclear war or asteroid strike) then it would be very hard for a new industrial civilisation to rise up (a thousand years later say) because there would be no metal available. (i.e. the only metals left would be very deep underground and would require advanced tools to get at them - and you can't go from the stone age to deep level mining techniques in one jump).

Have you read "Oryx and Crake?"

 

[tarchon]

"Bog iron" deposits occur very predictably in certain locales, though I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine where one might find them.

 

[adwyn]

Hardrock mines in Croatia and Serbia are believed to be more than 5,000 years old. Tin and other "soft" ores likewise have been mined for thousands of years.

The key is the evolution of knowledge. For mining the earliest mines followed relatively pure veins that were exposed at the surface. Over time as technology improves the value of low yield ore grows.

By 0 CE both Roman and Chineese had identified dozens of ore bearing rocks, and in the case of the Romans had even begun to correlate certain aspects of plant growth with underlying ores. They were trying to reason out a better way of discovering metals. They knew that they wouldn't find gold in a coal seam, but the tech wasn't much beyond that. To top it off in both Europe and Asia mining was a government operation, not a business. Feudal warlords rarely had the people available who knew what was needed to know to do exploration geology.

Still, until the 19th century most ore loads were found by luck. As time went on things grew better by increments, not leaps and bounds. And for many cultures a mine was aa curse. Mines attracted powerful outside forces who tended to enslave the population to work the mine and smelter. Those with the knowledge of how to operate things were often considered property of the state.

 

[fusangite]

One of the many reasons for the decline of Roman civilization was the reduction in available slave labour in rural areas. This resulted in significant agricultural decline but its impact was felt most strongly in mining. Roman mines were, in many cases, quite deep, appallingly ventilated (despite huge ventilation shafts) and illuminated by fire (not ideal for air quality). Because of the poor life expectancy of mine workers and horrible working conditions, as the late antique labour shortage increased, the mining industry was severely damaged.

In the medieval period, the supply of labour was a bigger issue for mining than any technological deficiencies.