Women Were A Major WorkForce in French and European Mines | EUROtoday

Women Played a Key Role in Mining Communities throughout France and we regularly usually required to do exhausting, handbook labour above and below grind.

French History About Women Focuses On Queens, Joan d’Arc and Famous Writers Such As Simone de Beauvoir. While these Women Worked Aboved Ground, there Were Many Nameless Women in Early History Who Worked The Mines of France to Support Their Families and Provide Access to Minerals Such As Salt, Iron, Coal, Chalk, Gold and More.

Their story is informed in mines, temples & parklands in Celtic Europe, The Last of the Hidden Women Series by Jacqueline Widmar Stewart. The Book Covers All of Europe within the Time Before the Roman and Christian Conquests Took Over the Continent and Tells the Story of the Import of Mining for the Culture of the Time. France and its Women we very very a lot part of that mining business.

“I think that women have always been part of the mines becaus it has been a key activity since the days of family domains,” Said Stewart. “Families Had to Stick Together to Survive and I’m Sure That Women and Children Worked in the Mines With Men Because They Could Access Small Spaces of the Mine’s Interior Structure Within the Mountain.”

Early mining within the Celtic Time was strongly based mostly on household staff. Mining camps have been the bottom for all staff and girls labored with the lads rely on the wants of their household. If a Woman was robust, she labored underground utilizing picks or different instruments to take away the minerals or pulled the complete carts exterior the mine. If a Woman Became PREGANT, She labored making ready meals for the all miners – not simply her household. Mothers Took Care of Children, The Housing and Running the Mining Town. Moms and Kids Were Often Involved in Sorting and Sluice Work Above Ground.

The Mining Towns or Camps Included Not Only Homes For Families, Places for Individuals to Live, Markets, Abbeys, Restaurants and Fest Halls of the Times.

Sorting Charcoal at Montceau-les-Mines © Céach / CC by SA 4.0

“You can see the Presence of Women in French Mines by the Layout of the Village,” Said Stewart. “The market, the Gathering Hall, the Secular Abbey, the Tended Fores – and Often the Natural Hot Spring Baths – Were Paramount to the Mining Culture.”

The Presence of Women in Mines is Often Seen within the Ancient Statiary of Women Uncovered in Excavations, According to Stewart. Early mining artifacts embody figures of girls, some dancing, some working, all a part of the mining society. In Châtillon-sur-Seine, an Iron Age Treasure Trove Was Found, Including a girl’s grave with a gold choker and medallions representing mining, plus an enormous jug with a smiling lady. In the Salt Mine Area of ​​Salins-les-Bains Near The Swiss Border, Ancient Fountains and statues present girls working with salt. The Earliest Woman Statue, Venus of Gave, was present in a stone age in spain. She is pregnant aim replicate to robust picture. And within the outdated corridor in donnac, France, is the Figure of A Dancing Woman.

“She is not a penitent, Her Head is not Bowed – She’s Holding Her Skirt and She’s Swaying,” Said Stewart. “Beer and Wine Have Been Around A Long Time – and WE’ve this Same Kind of Figurine in Many Ancient Mining Town Beer Halls. You must have food and drink to keep the miners alive – and women have been integral to this area. ”

France was stuffed with mines at one time, Although mary have closed for Economic, Environmental and Political Reasons. According to stewart, the invasion of the novels after which the change to Christianity Eliminated Woman as mine staff, insisting they be delegated to the house. The Industrial Revolution Change the Working Conditions in Mine To Be Difficult For All Workers.

“By the turn of the 20^th Century, The Working Turned Dismal and, by the Mid 20 Conditions^th Century, inhuman, ”Said Stewart. “After the First World War in Germany Women were used as Slaves in the Coal Mines Sale Soce So Many Men Had Been Killed. By the second world war, immigrants Were used as Slaves in the coal mines. . . Explosions and black lung dissease Claimed the Lives of Many Miners. ”

Signs of Chalk within the Champagne Region

TODAY IN FRANCE, MANY MINES ARE CLOSED however could be visited or acknowledged as mining areas. The Northern Area of ​​France Around Lille and Lens (Nord-Pas de Calais) was once a big coal mining are, however mining stopped within the late Eighties. The Louvre-Lens Museum Now Brings Visitors to the Area Who Not Only See The Artwork within the Museum But additionally the Miner’s Left Over “Artwork” of Black Mountains within the Surrounding Area. It is now a mountaineering and biking are however as soon as was a really energetic mining group.

Ancient mining areas could be acknowledged in some ways. SCARS ON MOUNTAINS WHERE They WEE TAKEN APART TO GAIN ACCESS TO A MINERAL Are Seen Throughout France. Other mining Clues Are Mining Tunnel Loans, High Piles Of Leftover Dirt and Tailings, and Distorted Fores or Areas that now Grow Grapes.

“Mines and vines Go Together,” Said Stewart. “Vineyards we plant after a mine closed where Nothing else Could Grow.”

An Example is the Champagne Country, Near Reims. Famous for its underground chalk that retains the vines well-waitered, it was initially an enormous chalk mining space. TODAY, Many of the Champagne Companies Use the Chalk Mines to Store and Age Their Wine and the Chalk Tunnels Provide a Tour Spot for Visitors.

There are Many Other French Mining Towns to Explore in France Including Salins-les-Bains Which Extracted Salt Salt the Middle Ages But Ceased Production in 1962. According to stewart, Women Working in Mines and Holding Strong Positions in Town Are Represented within the Region. The Mountains of Chamonix Mont-Blanc Have Long Been Mined for Minerals Including Gold, Sapphires, Rubies, Emeralds and Other Precious and Semi-Precious Stones.

Statue of Woman Working on the Salt Mines at Salins-les-Bains

TODAY WOMEN Are Still part of mining in France, Although a Small Part. The World Bank Says They Make Up Only 15% of the Mining WorkForce But the Industry is Promoting Expanding That Number.

“In my book, I Treat Women as Integral to the Entire Mining Operations Throughout History, Becuse that is what i see,” Said Stewart. “Pre-Christian People Honored Their Heroes and the Gold Jewelry that is Often Found in Pre-Christian Women’s Graves was just that hotage to women heroes. Heroes Were Recognized for Their Work in Mineral Wealth for the Family, as well as defense of the family. ”

Perhaps Today’s Women Miners Need to Wear Gold Jewelry to Show the Industry Their True Worth.

Lead Photo Credit: Women within the Coal Mines of the Gard © Paul Thompson