Discovering Cartagena

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Roman Water Wheel For Mines 

The Romans were enthusiastic exploiters of the mines in the hills to the east of Cartagena and slave workers, many of whom were captives from various wars, toiled deep in the earth in dreadful conditions. 

Extraction of water from the shafts was always a problem.  The Romans developed a system of wheels underground which lifted water from level to level and eventually discharged it outside. 

The caption explains:  “The wheels, arranged in pairs in vertical sequence, were each worked by a slave as a treadmill.  The wheels of each pair turned in opposite directions and their discharge was carried to the sump of the pair above.” 

A section of a wheel from a Roman mine, at Rio Tinto, is on display in the British Museum.  This must be very similar to those used in Cartagena’s mines.  The wheel section dates back to the 1^st or 2^nd century AD. 

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