Portrait of Pliny the Elder

People/writer, rescuer

Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder (0023–0079), writer, rescuer, from Italy. Linked to gold, silver, copper.

The lucky break

As procurator of Hispania Tarraconensis from AD 73 he became familiar with the agriculture and mines of Spain.1,2

The downfall

Died on 24 August AD 79 at Stabiae across the Bay of Naples, after launching his galleys during the eruption of Vesuvius to observe it and to rescue friends on the shore.1,2

Legacy

Books 33 to 37 of his Natural History deal with mineralogy and its use in life and art. The 1911 Britannica gives his dates as c. AD 23-79.1,2

Story cards

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Where next

Mines

InvestigatedLas MedulasAs procurator of Hispania Tarraconensis from AD 73 he knew Spain's mines.1InvestigatedRiotinto mining districtHe wrote about Spain's silver and copper after serving as procurator there.1

Sources

  1. Pliny the Elder Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, 1911 (public-domain text on Wikisource), article by J. E. Sandys
  2. File pages and licence metadata for portraits (via the Commons imageinfo/extmetadata API) Wikimedia Commons

Pictures on this page: Grande Illustrazione del Lombardo Veneto Vol 3 Plinio Secondo 300dpi.jpg, Geoffrey (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Pictures: Timna in de Negevwoestijn; rotspartij "de zuilen van Salomo", Poll, Willem van de / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Kimberley, South Africa: miners and washing gear at the Bultfontein diamond mine. Woodburytype, 1888, after a photograph by Robert Harris., Harris, Robert, active 1881-1888. (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Falu gruva, Lundberg, Bengt A / Europeana (CC0 1.0).