One of three portions of model of mines at Freiberg, Saxony, Germany of the 18th century, showing the ladders for the miners, the lined shafts for raising the ore in boxes or “skips”, the use of windlasses and the planked ways on which the skips were slid before the introduction of rails and wheeled trucks. The mine was drained by primitive pumps, working in stages, and two sets of pump rods are shown. They would have been driven by an overshot waterwheel on the surface. The model also shows overhand and underhand methods of working the ore, also called stoping, in the 18th century. In overhand stoping, the waste material forms the working platform, supported by timbers. In underhand stoping, the waste material is temporarily supported over the workers by timber. In both cases the area of the working face is increased by the stepped form adopted

One of three portions of model of mines at Freiberg, Saxony, Germany of the 18th century, showing the ladders for the miners, the lined shafts for raising the ore in boxes or “skips”, the use of windlasses and the planked ways on which the skips were slid before the introduction of rails and wheeled trucks. The mine was drained by primitive pumps, working in stages, and two sets of pump rods are shown. They would have been driven by an overshot waterwheel on the surface. The model also shows overhand and underhand methods of working the ore, also called stoping, in the 18th century. In overhand stoping, the waste material forms the working platform, supported by timbers. In underhand stoping, the waste material is temporarily supported over the workers by timber. In both cases the area of the working face is increased by the stepped form adopted

One of three portions of model of mines at Freiberg, Saxony, Germany of the 18th century, showing the ladders for the miners, the lined shafts for raising the ore in boxes or “skips”, the use of windlasses and the planked ways on which the skips were slid before the introduction of rails and wheeled trucks. The mine was drained by primitive pumps, working in stages, and two sets of pump rods are shown. They would have been driven by an overshot waterwheel on the surface. The model also shows overhand and underhand methods of working the ore, also called stoping, in the 18th century. In overhand stoping, the waste material forms the working platform, supported by timbers. In underhand stoping, the waste material is temporarily supported over the workers by timber. In both cases the area of the working face is increased by the stepped form adopted