The Ancient Silver Mines of Lavrio
Souriza's Valley, near Agios Konstadinos, Attiki, Greece
Ancient
vertical shaft leading to a horizontal mine below.
(Great care must be taken when exploring the hillsides as most
vertical shafts are unmarked & may be obscured by grass & brush)
Slaves would have been lowered down shafts like this
and hauled up again at the end of their 10-hour work shift.
They must have suffered cuts and bruising against
the rough
edges
of the shafts.
Typical
mine entrances
Entrance to an easily accessible ancient silver mines (A)
GPS Location:
37 41' 41.20" North, 024 01' 09.48" East
(Near to the Ag. Triada church, Ag. Konstadinos)
Another view of mine-A to show the scale
The entrance on the right divides into two tunnels as seen below.
Inside mine-A. The right-hand tunnel is safest for exploring..
Inside mine-A
Inside mine-A
Inside mine-A
Inside mine-A
Inside mine-A
Inside mine-A
Inside mine-A
(Horizontal scroll >>>) Entrance to another easily accessible ancient silver mine (B)
GPS Location:
37 41' 36.96" North, 024 01' 11.22" East
(Near to the Ag. Triada church, Ag. Konstadinos)
From
the unpaved road leading from Ag. Triada church, the entrance to
the mine is reached
by walking under this roofed chamber.
Outside mine-B
Floors level change at the start of mine-B
Inside mine-B
Note the colourful mineral-rich rock
Inside mine-B
Inside
mine-B
Inside
mine-B.
The
tunnels split off in all directions!
Here we are exploring the right (& descending) fork
Inside mine-B
Minerals
can be clearly seen colouring the walls of the mine.
Slaves worked 10-hour shifts of back-breaking work, 7-days a week in these mines!
Some mines have been re-worked in more recent times
Mineral
display cabinet at the Sfirta Taverna in Ag. Konstadinos
(located up the road opposite the presently-closed Mineral Museum)