Great Orme Mines

The world's largest Bronze Age copper mine open to the public, on the slopes of the Great Orme

The Great Orme Mines are the largest Bronze Age copper-mining complex in the world open to public visitors. Mining began around 1900 BC and continued for some 1,300 years, producing the copper for a substantial part of the British Bronze Age. The site was rediscovered in 1987 and excavation since has revealed five miles of tunnels, with at least double that estimated to lie still unworked.

Visitors descend into the mine on a self-guided walking route that takes you through about 200 metres of original Bronze Age tunnels. Hard hats are provided. The cavern complex inside includes one chamber up to 25 metres long, all dug with stone hammers and antler picks — the marks of the original tools are still visible on the walls. The surface visitor centre has displays of the artefacts found, including child-sized hammers and an extraordinary copper ingot.

The site is on the road up the Great Orme, reached on foot from the town (uphill walk of 30 minutes) or by stopping at the Halfway tramway station. Allow 90 minutes. The mines are open daily from March to October.

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A story
The miners who worked the Orme between 1900 and 600 BC excavated several million tonnes of rock using nothing more than river-rounded stone hammers and antler picks. They produced enough copper to make perhaps 10 million bronze axe heads — at a time when most of Britain had a population of only a few hundred thousand. The scale of the operation was completely unknown until 1987, when a local quarry firm cut into the side of the headland and exposed previously unsuspected tunnels. Excavation has been continuous since.