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Book X lapis sabinicus, lapis selentinus, lapis liparaeus and other mixtures of stone, metal and earth

Book X lapis sabinicus, lapis selentinus, lapis liparaeus and other mixtures of stone, metal and earth Page of 251 Book X lapis sabinicus, lapis selentinus, lapis liparaeus and other mixtures of stone, metal and earth Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
208
DE NATURA FOSSILIUM
under the iron rods. If vein material is mixed with the cinnabar it is first crushed in the above manner and screened. It is then placed in a wooden trough and after water is added the trough is shaken. The vein material, being lighter, moves to the front or upper part of the trough and the min­eral, being heavier, moves to the lower part. The vein material is removed and thrown away, the cinnabar collected. If the latter is pure it is screened and the coarse material reground. If impure it is reground and recon-centrated. In refineries where they make minium, the workers cover their faces with large bladders. I use the words of Pliny, so they will not breath the deadly powder into their lungs. These bladders have openings for the eyes. Formerly, according to Pliny, this ore was brought to Rome from Spain, especially from the very famous town of Guadalcanal in Baetica. Theophrastus writes that this ore was found in Colchis at the foot of in­accessible cliffs from which it would come crashing down. Juba writes that it came from Carmina and Hermogenes mentions it from Ethiopia. Today it is found at Schonbach in Elboganun, Bohemia. The sand found in the Cilbian fields near Ephesus is this same material although Theo­phrastus believed that it required work to change it to minium. Actually any ore of cinnabar requires some work even though it is nothing more than crushing, screening and pulverizing.16 Today the ore is rarely used since the cinnabar (cinnabaris) made from quicksilver has replaced it. If it contains no sulphur it is not as good. According to Pliny minium was made from the ore from Guadalcanal in the same manner as it is made today unless it had been smelted with silver. Minium was used at one time not only by painters but also by the Romans on feast days to cover the bodies of the winners in various sports to make them look like Jupiter, according to Verrius who copied this from Pliny. During this same period it was placed in the unguent of the victory dinner. A statue of Jupiter painted with minium was rented by the Censors. The Ethiopians valued it very highly. Nobles used it as a rouge in order to be a color similar to that of the Gods. But enough concerning minium.li
The pure black pebbles (cassiterite) from which tin is smelted belong to the mixed minerals. These are rarely white, even less common yellow, and rarest of all, purple. These pebbles are usually dug up mixed with rock and stone but sometimes they are found pure at the junction of veins and veinlets and where persistent, strong veins widen into pockets. These masses of pure mineral may weigh a half-ounce, an ounce, a half-pound or even a pound. Large masses are found at Schlaggenwald and Irberes-dorf, another name for the town of Ehrenfriedersdorf.
15 It is obvious that Agricola applies the name minium to powdered cinnabar or cinnabar concentrates.
16 Agricola discusses minium and cinnabaris at length in Bermannus and it is obvious that he uses the term argentum vivum rude rubrum for the cinnabar ore, minium for the concentrate or pure cinnabar, and cinnabaris, as a rule, for arti­ficial cinnabar.
Book X lapis sabinicus, lapis selentinus, lapis liparaeus and other mixtures of stone, metal and earth Page of 251 Book X lapis sabinicus, lapis selentinus, lapis liparaeus and other mixtures of stone, metal and earth
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