Mining waste landscapes

'Characterising mine wastes as archaeological landscapes' a paper by Lawrence, Susan., Davies, Peter., Hil, Greg., Rutherfurd, Ian., Grove, James., Turnbull, Jodi., Silvester, Ewen., Colombi, Francesco., & Macklin, Mark. (2023).

Mining waste causes transformation of landscapes and river systems on vast scales, yet this often falls outside the scope of archaeology to study. This paper takes the crucial step and treats mining waste landscapes and riverscapes - in this case the result of 19th century gold-mining in Victoria, Australia - as intrinsically archaeological. As the authors themselves put it, "The downstream sediment systems triggered by both milling and mining are part of the archaeosphere, the global-scale stratigraphic horizon created by human industry and activity... The ongoing effects of mining waste on the form and functioning of rivers demonstrate the dynamism characterising the archaeosphere and the degree to which rivers and floodplains are now human creations".

Lawrence, S., Davies, P., Hil, G., Rutherfurd, I., Grove, J., Turnbull, J., Silvester, E., Colombi, F., & Macklin, M. (2023). Characterising mine wastes as archaeological landscapes. Geoarcheology, 38, 389–405. doi: 10.1002/gea.21958 Open access