Industrial archeology

There is something about industrial archaeology sites that suddenly appear in areas of outstanding natural beauty. Instead of speaking of urban decay, decline and dereliction they seem to add something more positive to the place, an air of mystery or nostalgia for times past (misplaced given the working conditions.) I think of the mine workings on the Cornish coast, old water mills or early rural industrial sites that preceded the full force of the Industrial Revolution. Perhaps the nostalgia is for technology on a human scale.

I have often driven past this chimney and wondered what purpose it served. It was in fact part of the Ria iron smelting works. There are a large number of mines in this area, most of which closed in the early years of the twentieth century; mines for marble, iron and talc. The Canigou mountain has rich deposits of iron and is reputedly the cause of many light aeroplane accidents. The inboard compass of the aircraft has supposedly been affected by the ore in the mountain and produced navigational errors resulting in a crash.