Mining for Water? Underground Sources of Hydraulic Knowledge and Expertise in Early Modern Europe

Abstract

From Antiquity onwards, the need to keep mines dry has given rise to the development of water-raising machines. In early modern Europe a series of technological innovations, such as suction-lift pumps, were pioneered underground. Mines were an ideal site for hydraulic experimentation for four reasons: the incentive to dig deeper, the availability of capital, the presence of a skilled workforce, and the cost of labour. The new hydraulic technologies developed in mines were deployed in the water supply systems of many European cities, abbeys, and courts, as illustrated by the example of the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, the career of Pilgram Marpeck, and the Falkenstein mine. Given the significance of this technological transfer and the sheer mass of water raised out of pits, which far exceeded the mass of ore extracted, this article makes the case for the technological and environmental significance of the extraction of water from early modern mines.