Archealogiccal evidence indicates that modern Turkey, previously known as Anatolia, was the first Old World silver mining hub. Greece and Asia Minor were the main destinations for silver ore coming from this region.
In 2,500 BC, a process called “cupellation” was created by the Chaldean people for extraction of silver from lead and silver ore. Minoan and Mycenaean craftsmen created demand for silver in the region now known as Armenia. As these civilizations declined, in about 1,200 BC, the hugely productive Laurium mines sprang up near Athens, Greece. Approximately a million Troy ounces of silver was gleaned from these mines, each year between 300 and 600 BC.
The exploitation of Spanish silver began with the Carthaginians, and continued with the Romans, as silver mining spread to other areas of Europe. During this period, silver also played an important role in the growing Asian spice trade.
As the Moors invaded Spain, silver conquest spread to central and Eastern Europe, between 750 and 1,200 CE. Increased technological advances for both mining and processing of silver caused great silver industry expansion between 1,000 and 1,500 CE.
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