8589356544

FLINT MINING OF CENTRAL EUROPE 31

FLINT MINING OF CENTRAL EUROPE 31

Fig. 43. TuSimicc, Chomutov dist. Cross-section through gallery

No 1

Aftcr E.Neustupny

archaeological excavation at its edge (Fig. 41). From thcrc the bottom dipped again towards the south. In thc scction below the bottom lay Karstic clay with lots of flint nodules. Underneath, a fragment of a collapsed side working was found (Fig. 42). The dimensions of this were deformed because clay had fallen away from the roof and side walls. The prehistorie height of the working was some tens of centimeters, the width approx. 1.5 m, and the length 2-3 m.

During the rescue excavations at Tusimice, E. Neu-stupny discovered 19 workings as well as threc galle-ries (1976). Unfortunately, it is not possible to connect them with the known shafts. The published gallery in Tusimice (Fig. 43, 44) was about 2.6 m long and its height ranged from 40 cm to Im (Neustupny 1963). The workings at from Tuśimice show that all three galle-ries could be treated as elements of open shafts with single underground workings. In spite of the different geological situation in both mines, the similarities of gallery No 1 from TuSimice and thc gallery of shaft No 3 from Sąspów attract our attention. Shaft No 1 from the minę at Polany Kolonie should be included to the group of open shafts with underground side workings (Schild, Królik, Mościbrodzka 1977, 34-44). Its depth

Fig. 42. Sąspów, Cracow dist. Shaft No 3. Gallery. Scalę 20cm

Photo by J.Lcch

Fig. 44. TuSimice, Chomutov dist. Gallery No 1

Aftcr E.Neustupny

amounted to 2.4 m, the shape at the mouth was slightly oval with dimensions 3.3x3 m. For this reason the shaft belongs to the category with wide mining holes (Fig. 45). The shaft was sunk through a rubble layer to thc top part of the thin-platted Jurassic limestones with fiints. At the bottom the shaft was surrounded by short side workings — nichcs and short corridors, with a length up to 1.1 m beyond the shaft (Fig. 46).

Because of the occurrence of underground galleries and workings in open shafts, the problem is how we ean uscfully separate this kind of exploitation unit from open shafts, or from shafts with underground exploitation. Workings wherc the main mass of raw materiał was obtained within the actual shaft hole ean be included in open shafts without underground cxploitation. The raw materiał from the rcccsses in the shaft walls an arm’s reach away from thc bottom should be included tbere. It is characteristic for open shafts with underground ex-ploitation that part of the raw materiał was obtained in a typical underground work. But generally, raw materiał was taken from the actual shaft hole and from short workings. This ean be shown by the floor surface or by