Peter Thomas

Studien zu den bronzezeitlichen Bergbauhölzern im Mitterberger Gebiet Peter Thomas

South of Salzburg, in the inner Alpine Salzach valley, lies the Mitterberg area, one of the most important mining areas of the European Bronze Age. Discovered during the modern mining operations of the 19th century, archaeological research has been carried out by the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum since 2002. The present volume focuses on the wooden artefacts from the prehistoric mines of the Mitterberg area. Pit props, lighting splints and a broad spectrum of tools were uncovered partly in the 19th century, but mostly during the systematic excavations in recent years. Alongside the mine itself, these finds are the direct traces of human activities underground. As they also represent almost all aspects of mining work, their detailed analysis provides rich insights into Bronze Age mining, which is shown to be a highly developed and specialised field of activity.