Laurionite in ancient mining slag (circa 1900 ,ex AE Foote)

Item Description

Laurionite is a rare Pb-chloride, and the famous and ancient mines at Lavrion are the TYPE LOCALITY. The slender and sharp, 1-2 mm crystals reside in vugs within lead slag matrix. This small cabinet piece is highly representative for the locality, and the multiple vugs add to the quality of the piece. Old Foote and Wards labels included (early 1900s). One seldom sees these on the market, and pieces such as this are certainly over a century old simply out the mine wastes near the mines, and probably formed even much older than that as the mines date to Roman times and these formed in the pockets of slag remains after ancient smelting operations were dumped into seawater, perhaps over hundreds of years in the water. This is odd material, for sure - naturally formed crystals of a very rare species inside human industrial remains! From the extensive collection of Bob Reynolds, who cherished both minerals and fossils as he collected. Bob is a prolific author and has had several curating positions in museums.